Hi everyone, I have 10 3 week old standard chicks and i am getting four more within the next couple weeks that are going to start to lay in mid-august. So i will have 14 birds in total. My question is: How many birds can i have per 1 gallon of water. or what sixe waterer should i have for 14 birds? I have a 2 chick wateres in with the babies. and a 3 gl one for when we have all 14. I have a feeling based on what the little ones are drinking now - i will need a bigger waterer, but how big? Thanks in advance!
A one gallon will be plenty good for now. I always felt the size of the waterer also depends on how often you can check it during the day. If it's only a morning & evening check then you may want to get something bigger. For now just wait and see. As they get older check to see if the waterer gets lower and lower each week. My rule of thumb is that if it's only 1/4 full by the time I get home then I need a bigger waterer.
You can keep using that 1-gallon waterer for quite a while if you don't mind refilling it twice a day. I have 16 twelve-week-olds still using a one-gallon waterer on that basis. HOWEVER, if you don't mind my noticing, it sounds like you are planning on putting your four soon-to-be-new 14+ -wk-olds in with the ten that are only 3 wks old (although I guess by then they'll be 5 wks or whatever). Am I understanding that correctly? If so, I am worried about that plan -- that is an awfully large difference in age and I would be very concerned that you might, um, experience losses Hopefully I have misunderstood, Pat
I think three gallons will be fine. I guess it depends on how often you will replace the water with fresh water. I have 12 laying hens in my coop, and I have a 2 gallon black rubber bucket that I keep in there for them, but I rinse it out and fill it once a day. It's usually not even half empty when I refill it--even with this summer being super hot. The rubber buckets are nice because in the winter, you can just flex them, and pop out the ice if they freeze. Plus they've got a nice handle, so they're easy to carry. I hang it over a hook, that way the chickens can't knock it over, it doesn't get full of the wood shavings I use in the coop, plus it's just the right height. Hope this helps! Sharon
I use a 5 gallon bucket for my eleven 20 week old pullets. I wash it out twice a week though it does last longer than that.
Thanks everyone. I managed to squeeze getting 1 more bird out of my parents so ill now have 15. I think what i will do is buy another 3 gallon and keep it in the run through the spring,summer and a bit of fall and bring it inside for the winter. Whatcha all think? And also is there a "rule of thumb" for waterers? Just like rule of thumb for space per chicken: 4 feet? Somthing like: 1 gallon= 5 birds when changing water every other day. ( that is just a made up ex.)?
