Safe waterdish for chickens with chicks

[Lins_BE]

hello all,

My 2 week old chicks are starting to explore the chicken run when i am in there with them. They have the possibility to escape from the chickens so that’s fine. I am just getting worried about the water my chickens have in there. It’s just a regular plastic container filled with water. Off course now i am scared my chicks will drown in it.

What is a good way of getting my chickens the water they need without endangering my chicks? At some point i want them to be able to be in there safely without me nothering over them.

And at what point can i start to let them go out with the other chickens, off course they will have free access to their enclosure with the warmth and food they need at all times, while being protected from the bigger chickens who can’t fit trough the access holes.

 

[Spartan22]

Nippled waterers will be the safest for them, but if you don’t have them just raise the water to the level of the back of the mature chickens or get a hanging waterers that the 2 week olds can’t reach, by the way at this age their drowning chance is very slim.

Integration is another issue, you need to mixed the newbies when their almost the same size so at least they can defend themselves or get away easy. Now if their both seeing each other but not able to touch for weeks or months they might integrate a lot faster than when you just throw them in together.

 

[WildCHILD400]

You can use a quail waterer. They are just like chick waterers but the bowl part is way smaller which helps prevent drowning.

 

[lazy gardener]

Never leave chicks with a container of water in which they can fall. They start growing their flight feathers at 1 week old. By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, they can fly quite well, but do not have good judgement. Leaving an open container of water around with chicks is a recipe for a drowning. I would switch them to a moat style waterer until they are quite a bit older. If you can put them on either horizontal or vertical nipples, that would work also, but you must be sure that the chicks can use the nipples, and that the older birds do not drive them away from the waterer.

Many of us have found that it is actually easier to integrate chicks into an adult flock than it is to wait until they are full sized. I like to start integration around 4 - 5 weeks of age, while others do so during the first couple of weeks. You might look at the article written by @azygous regarding "the panic room" set up.