Shavings kicked in water

[6RandomBrownLayers]

Hullo, so here's the deal, whenever there is a decent amount of shavings in the coop, they always end up in the water!!

Is there anyway, besides hanging the waterer, to fix this? I tried hanging but there isn't really anything good to hang it to without it being in the way. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[PsychoChicken]

You should try the chicken nipples. You can set up a bucket outside the coop and run a PVC pipe with nipples into the coop. It works great because the chickens can't compromise the water source with poop or shavings so it is always clean.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Make drinking platform from 4 concrete blocks, set smooth side up. Set the fountain up on the platform, leaving a square foot for the birds to stand on. An elevated drinking platform is pretty common.

 

[6RandomBrownLayers]

Wouldn't I have to train them to drink from them? And how complicated would this contraption be? Any price range?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I don't know about the nipples, but a drinking platform......

There's no expense. Use what you have. It's a simple matter of elevating a platform. Wood. Cinder blocks, anything. Anything sturdy. It would take about 10 minutes for the chickens to hop up there and investigate. Not a problem.

 

[6RandomBrownLayers]

For the cinder block plan, my coop is rather small as it is just for them to roost/lay and get in from bad weather. They free range the rest of the time. Would one block work and they wouldn't have to hop up? They could just drink from the floor but the thing is still elevated?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yup. You can elevate a fountain 6" or 8" and most birds have no problem "reaching". Bantams are different, of course.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

Chicken Water Cups will solve this problem. They make the whole watering process much easier and less tedious.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Raising it higher will probably solve the problem.
It doesn't much matter what it sits on as long as it's level and can't turn over.
This would be a perfect time to make a "cookie tin" heater, and solve 2 potential problems at once

 

[jeepguy982001]

i keep mine on 1 block on its side and it stays fairly clean.