Prevent chickens from pooping in their water

[raazzzin]

Hi - I have a Bergan automatic waterer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DIYQ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's elevated inside my run, stacked on bricks and there is a brick step for the chickens to be able to get to the water b/c they were previously kicking dirt and more into it.

Now, the chickens are perching atop the automatic waterer. I have other perches in the run but they continue to do this. How do I prevent them from doing this b/c they are sometimes pooping into their own water.

Thanks.

 

[LizzzyJo]

This is a hard habit to break, but getting a cone shaped cover will help. They generally cant perch on a slanted metal cover.

 

[Ryguy3684]

X2 on some type of slanted cover. In the run, mine roost everywhere but the nice perches I built.

 

[kerbotx]

Wrap some wire around it, maybe like a tomato cage, but custom fit. Doesn't have to be fancy!

 

[parvani]

Even if you stop them from pooping in the bowl, their water will still be full of crap every day because they drop stuff out of their beaks into it. They drop anything they want to moisten into the bowl, including feed, bugs, and even dried grass or weeds.

That bowl will be clean for about 20 seconds after you wash it and put it back down for them. That's it.

The best watering system I have found is "chicken nipples". Chicken nipples dispense a few drops of water every time a chicken pecks them. The chickens figure it out really fast, and they love it.

I have them on two 5-gallon bottles and one huge plastic "must bucket" left over from our days of wine-making -- but you can use any plastic container that has thick enough walls to make a good seal, and is flexible enough not to crack when you drill into it. (Those big plastic storage boxes don't work.)

Most people use those plastic food-storage buckets that are everywhere. You can pick them up cheap or even free if you find a place that gets ingredients delivered in them.

I like chicken nipples a lot! They keep my chickens hydrated, their water stays clean, and the litter stays dry because the chickens can't take a bath in their drinking water anymore.

(Yeah, what is that about? Why do chickens like to walk through their water?)

Also, I used to have to clean their water containers every time, because they got them so filthy. But chicken nipples are self cleaning because the water only flows out and never into the container; so I don't have to scrub the water containers more than once a week or so.

I worried a bit about them leaking, but that only happens if a chicken manages to get something stuck between the nipple and the hole it's in. As long as you keep the container clean, that's not going to happen very often. Mostly it happens if you let straw or feed fall into the container.

Anyway, I've been using chicken nipples for a couple of months, and I haven't had any trouble with them.