Pooping in the water!!!

[plantmgr]

I bought a new heated drinker for winter, and placed it in the coop. I had been using 3 regular drinkers outside until it got below freezing. The chickens all like to sit on top of the drinkers and then their poop falls into the water tray at the bottom. This wasn't a huge problem before because I had 3 drinkers, and I would just tip them daily to flush it out. Now that I only have the one (kind of expensive) and I have to keep it in the coop to be plugged in, it's becoming an issue. I keep having to flush the poopy water out, but then that takes half the water out of the drinker and I have to refill more often.

2

Any suggestions on how to keep them from sitting on top? I thought about building a corner shelf above it (since it sits in the corner) so they could sit on the shelf - which might keep the poop from falling in the water. What do you all think?

 

[Judy]

Put something on top that they can't sit on. One of those useless heat lamp guards comes to mind. Twist something together out of wire coat hangers or metal clothesline. I've glued a plastic funnel to the top of a waterer. Wad up a scrap of window screen and fasten it down. There's always something lying around my shed that I can use for something like that.

 

[Mahonri]

I'm going to go buy a funnel and duct tape it to the one in my polish pen, they do that all of the time.

 

[rancher hicks]

Dump the drinkers, I wish I had never gotten them.

Now I swear by the nipples sold at Farmtek. I'm sure a light set up of some kind could be used to keep the liquid. What I like is this. One I recycle the clear cat litter jugs which hold two gallons of water or thereabouts. B. there is no back wash to muddy things up which mean less changing of the water and less waste. Third, no dripping on the coop floor so if they can't go out, they still have water and the coop floor stays dry. Trylin uses 5 gallon plastic buckets. So Last, no poop in the water.

Finally I hang the jugs on the side of the coop or run and that means no loss of floor space to a stupid water hanging from the ceiling. I use plastic milk jugs to cart water to the coop and the cat litter jugs have openings big enough that I don't have to take the down to add water. Just be sure to leave the lid a little loose so the air can flow.

Give it a shot, nipples are easy to install and cheaper than those plastic jugs. A 25 watt bulb hung nearby but not to close should be enough to keep things thawed, though the inside of the coop should be warm enough. I rarely had solid waterers last year and I have an unheated coop.

Hey for $2 bucks a nipple it's worth a shot to try it.

Wishing us all an unfrozen waterer winter

Rancher

 

[chicmom]

I just use those black, rubbery buckets. They work great. I attach a bungie cord to the handle and hook it up so that the hens can't tip the bucket over (the bucket is still sitting on the ground, if you can picture that). There is nothing for them to set on. No poop in the water, because the handle keeps them from getting on the rim of the bucket. Works great!

 

[plantmgr]

Quote:
so they can't perch on the rim of the bucket? Is it because its too narrow? Not sure if I'm picturing it correctly. Then what do you do about freezing? I'm still thinking my coop needs a heated drinker. It's not that warm.

I'm going to look into the nipple thing. Kind of discussed that I bought this heated poop catcher now.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Can you rig some sort of baffle - like the ones to keep squirrels out of birdfeeders - so they can perch on but not poop in the waterer?

I use a heated dog bowl and while they don't perch on the bowl itself, in order to plug it in I have to sit it near a favorite roost.

As long as all 7 don't use that roost I am fine.
If #6 & 7 perch with everyone else I have to dump & clean the bowl.

 

[rolffamily]

Driving down the road one day I screamed at my hubby to stop the car and back up. I picked a metal bulb protector (shaped kind of like a heat lamp shade) out of the ditch. Hung it from the ceiling about 6" above my waterer. No poop. I've also plunked a plastic flower pot on top with a twisted up clothes hanger stuck in that drip hole. I'm a little smarter than those darn chickens.

 

[Ohhhdear]

I made one of those cookie tin water heaters and put the waterer on top of it. Raises the waterer so it's head-height and easier for the chickens to drink out of. The waterer has a wire bail carrying handle which I keep in the up position; chickens can't roost on it so there's no poop in their water.

 

[igotchickens]

Just get a tray like the kind that goes under a flower pot and cover it. They'll still perch on top but it's cheap and they'll poop farther off than the water. If you get what I mean. Not sure if I explained that right.