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- #301
black_cat
♥♥Lover of Leghorns♥♥
That looks really good! the issue is we are not allowed to 'cause damage' to the coop and run, per rental agreements. I"m pretty sure that cutting a hole in the hardware cloth counts as damage, and I'd probably want four of them to avoid fightingI just remembered another style of waterer that can be tended from outside the pen:
https://www.strombergschickens.com/product/plastic-pop-bottle-founts
It's a little plastic trough that goes on a pop bottle (or soda bottle, depending on where you live.)
The trough sticks into the pen through a 1" by 1" hole in the wire, and the bottle hangs on the outside for easy access.
Good points:
--They cannot dump it over (because it's attached to the pen)
--Dirt and poop usually stay out, because it's small and raised
--It does not take up much space inside the pen
--It can be tended from outside.
--Easy to store, if you quit using it for a while and might want to again later (just store the little plastic troughs, and grab a new bottle when needed.)
Bad points:
--If you dump out the old water (warm, stale) and refill with fresh water, it feels like it takes forever to do that, because the opening of the bottle is small.
--You probably need at least two, because of how much the bottle can hold and how many chickens can drink and once and whether they chase each other away from it.
--Not good in winter, because small things freeze so fast.
--You do need a 1" hole in the hardware cloth (even with brand new hardware cloth sometimes has holes, so you might not have to actually cut it.)
--If you don't drink pop in the right kind of bottles, you could try a water bottle, but the neck-size of the bottle does matter: so you might have to try several bottles to find one that's just right.
If you want to try that style--do not try to hang the whole thing inside the pen. Going through the hardware cloth is an important part of keeping the parts together, so it does not work to just hang it inside.