pooping in waterer

[cassie]

Any ideas on how to keep half grown chickens from pooping in the waterers? We have those waterers that work on a vacuum. I forget what they are called. But they hold five gallons of water and they ar heavy. I hate to have to dump and refill them more often than once a day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you can elevate the waterer to the height of their backs, it will help. Mine is up on bricks. Also, if you can put something on top to keep them from perching on top it will help. I hung a wooden pyramid-shaped thing directly over the waterer. Some people hang one gallon milk bottles or inverted funnels, whatever you have handy. Make sure it's heavy enough the wind doesn't blow it out of the way. You can also attach something to a brick or heavy block of wood to set on top to keep them off. I wired the pyramid shape to a brick for a while but got tired of the extra handling and decided to just hang it.

 

[onthespot]

I hang a cluster of gallon milk jugs over mine. Also I set it up on a sawed off top of a plastic barrel that is about a foot tall. It is all about building habits. Once they get the habit of "not" perching on the waterer, they are unlikely to do it in the future. Make sure they have somewhere else to perch that is higher than the waterer, and if they are young birds, sometimes I put a ramp leading up to the perch to encourage them to use it until they are all able to get up there okay without it.

 

[jafo]

Ours is on a small chain, hung from the center. The key for us was hang it at the hieght of thier backs as stated before. Nothing like putting in a fresh dose of water, and by the time you get back with the crumbles, there's a "bomb" in the soup! Gross, picking it out,,,,,,,,,Hieght of thier backs, ain't had a surprise since,,,,,,

 

[juliect]

Why don't they make poultry waterers and feeders that are taller to start with???
I don't have a place to hang one, so I have to experiment with all these weird methods and materials to elevate them while keeping them stable.

 

[scbatz33]

A couple cinder blocks would work, then you're not stacking anything.

 

[MIKE555444]

If you can get it up about 8" off the floor i will help

Here is mine

 

[SunnyChic]

Like everyone is saying, raising up the height of the waterer really helps. I also purchased some oil funnels ($1.99) in the automotive section at Walmart and taped them on top with duct tape:

The funnel wasn't large enough to keep them off my 5 gallon feeder, so I taped a beach ball to its top:

 

[RL]

It doesn't seem to matter what I do with my waterier. On hot days they all try to get their feet in it, they even find a way to poop in the ones that are hanging and they can't roost on them. It's like they all play a game of who can fling their poop the highest. I thinking when they dust in the litter on very hot days to get to the cool floor they fling stuff everywhere.

So I am about to give up on the standard waterier and I think I'm going to try the chicken water nipples and see if they will work. They are real cheap and you can attach them to the bottom of just about any size bucket or a piping system.

 

[Tonopah Pati]

I purchased 2 plant hooks that stick in the ground. I used a cord to hang just the height that I want. I can move them when I want. One member posted a home made one, using a gallon milk jug with a nipple plugged into the bottom. Drip less and poop less. They even gave a web site to order the nipples. If I remember correctly they were only $1.99 each I think it was under Water's and Feeders. Good Luck.

They do need a wading pan/tub to cool their feet in hot weather.