My wife and I are always experimenting with our coop and run setup, especially when we can reuse or repurpose materials. For a long time, we placed waterers on pavers or hung them under the coop, but both approaches had drawbacks. The waterers were often too low, collected debris, or needed frequent re-leveling to prevent spills.
We happened to have a couple of shepherd-style hooks that we had used years ago to support tomato plants on our back deck, so we decided to try them for hanging waterers and potentially feeders as well.
We also like to use hooks with ropes, which makes it easy to pull the waterer over the run fence without having to enter the run.
To find the right height, we used pavers for a few days, making sure the setup worked for all of our hens, including two that are smaller. Once the proper height was determined, we secured the shepherd hook to the fence and added a length of rope with hooks. This allows for easy height adjustment and still lets us pull the waterer over the fence when needed.
So far, the setup has worked extremely well. There is no need to re-level the waterer, and the water stays cleaner and lasts much longer with far less spillage and debris. This spring, once the snow melts, we plan to add another watering station using this same method to support the flock throughout the summer.
Anyway, we figured we would share. Everyone’s setup is a little different, but this might spark an idea for someone
We happened to have a couple of shepherd-style hooks that we had used years ago to support tomato plants on our back deck, so we decided to try them for hanging waterers and potentially feeders as well.
We also like to use hooks with ropes, which makes it easy to pull the waterer over the run fence without having to enter the run.
To find the right height, we used pavers for a few days, making sure the setup worked for all of our hens, including two that are smaller. Once the proper height was determined, we secured the shepherd hook to the fence and added a length of rope with hooks. This allows for easy height adjustment and still lets us pull the waterer over the fence when needed.
So far, the setup has worked extremely well. There is no need to re-level the waterer, and the water stays cleaner and lasts much longer with far less spillage and debris. This spring, once the snow melts, we plan to add another watering station using this same method to support the flock throughout the summer.
Anyway, we figured we would share. Everyone’s setup is a little different, but this might spark an idea for someone
