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Probelms with homemade waterer

Discussion in 'Feeding & Watering Your Flock' started by Loco Ken, Aug 9, 2011.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Aug 9, 2011 #1
    Loco Ken

    Loco Ken Out Of The Brooder

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    Sep 13, 2010
    Pacific NW
    Hey, Everyone!

    I've been having an issue with my pullets getting their feed in the waterer. From what I can tell, they are getting it in there from their mouths. This all started more regularly after I started feeding them organic feed. They must not be swallowing the feed all the way before they take a drink because I have to clean out the waterer every day. I can't leave it in there for any length of time or it ruins the water. Why are they doing this? And how can I prevent them from doing it, if that's possible? I made my own waterer out of a HD bucket with a automatic waterer for dogs and a small length of garden hose. It works great but kinda defeats the purpose of having it fill by itself when I have to clean it out everyday anyway. Sometimes multiple times a day. Any suggestion would be helpful! Thanks!

    Loco Ken
     
  3. Aug 9, 2011 #2
    gale65

    gale65 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Aug 19, 2010
    north central indiana
    My Coop
    I've had better luck with the feeder further away from the waterer. However, I change the water every 3 or 4 days and if it gets food in it, it doesn't seem to bother them. When they were getting food in it a lot I would tip the waterer and just dump the part in the bottom once a day or so.
     
  5. Aug 10, 2011 #3
    fireguy56

    fireguy56 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Oct 2, 2010
    Slidell, Louisiana
    Hi, Have you given any thought to a nipple watering system? In my humble opinion it is the only way to go for simplicity and convenience. No more cleaning out waterers. Just a thought. Good luck.
    erik
     
  7. Aug 10, 2011 #4
    mommissan

    mommissan Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Quote:It's not just for your convenience. It prevents a lot of contamination and pathogens from growing in your water supply.
     
  9. Aug 31, 2011 #5
    Loco Ken

    Loco Ken Out Of The Brooder

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    Sep 13, 2010
    Pacific NW
    Quote:Sorry for the late reply (Life happens whether you want it to or not) but I would really like to try this. I need to investigate more on the construction and availability of parts but it sounds like a good alternative to my watering problem. I will do some searching, but is there a good thread here that you know of that explains putting this all together and where to buy parts? Thanks for the replies, everyone! I will post pics of the new system when it gets put in place and of the old one too. [​IMG]
     
  11. Aug 31, 2011 #6
    DanEP

    DanEP Chillin' With My Peeps

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    May 15, 2010
    Cadiz Ky
    Neal Grassbough ( I think thats the right spelling) on this forum sells water nipples at a good price and resaonable shipping cost. You just need the nipples and a bucket and your good to go. I hang mine so it's easy to adjust the height. No more stuff in the water and you can put a heater in the bucket for winter, this doesn't work if your usinf pipes or hoses they will freeze.
     
  13. Sep 1, 2011 #7
    Loco Ken

    Loco Ken Out Of The Brooder

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    Sep 13, 2010
    Pacific NW
    Ordered up some watering nipples last night. Looking forward to getting this installed. Thanks for the help, everyone!
     

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