Vent: Beyond irritated with Little Giant products.

[Kristina]

I use the dog waterers from wal mart's pet section. They are about $15 dollars and hold 2 1/5 gallons of water. The trough is a nice size but not too big. It's blue and looks like the kentwood water jugs. I really like mine.

 

[Moonwalker]

You can make a waterer from a 5 gal bucket and a pan or dish that goes under flower pots.
Make sure the pan is at least 1" bigger than the TOP of the bucket with the lid on, and at least 2"deeper than the rim of the lid. Then use a keyhole saw (1" size) and make several holes just below the lid.
fill bucket with water, put lid on tight and turn it upside down in the pan. The water will fill the pan until it covers the holes and stop.

 

[Moonwalker]

also, the rubbr feed bowls for horses can be used.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
You have a problem changing the water every couple of days? They should have fresh water.

That is a good consideration. If I had it to do over, I would not get the 5 gallon waterers. They are too heavy for me to move and the top is very hard for me to loosen, as I have arthritis. I need hubby's help to get them rinsed and filled with fresh water every couple of days. Now the 3 gallon is easy. It is 16 pounds lighter and I can easily rinse and fill it daily as needed and not have to wait for my husband to get home from work.

Arky, when you buy a waterer, multiply the gallons by 8 pounds and add two pounds for the waterer itself and make sure you can lift and move it easily.

Of course, we also have 5 gallon buckets for the ducks. Those are easy, just kick em over rinse and fill and just leave them wherever.

 

[Arklady]

I have considered the weight of the water, my hands just will not hold the waterers they are too big for one hand. When putting them in a tractor with bantams they sometimes get out and I can't catch them so... I have to use two hands and I can't so my children help me with the watering. I do all the washing and cleaning of the water jugs. I was only looking for easier ideas on how to do it so I COULD do it myself.

Arklady

 

[sBrickmanHouse]

We have two Harris Farms One Gallon waterers, but only one stays filled in the coop. The other one stays in the house.

We check on the chickens each morning and evening, so each time we go out there, we bring a freshly filled waterer. Take the old dirty one back to the house, rinse it out, set it on a shelf by the sink, and it's ready to go for the next time. Fill it up and take it out there when we go next... lather, rinse, repeat.

Works out great, because our young daughter is the main chicken caretaker, and the one gallon waterers aren't too heavy for her. Plus, the chickens get fresh water twice a day.

These waterers are not the kind with the screw off top (she couldn't get them tight enough to create a good seal, and they leaked). The BOTTOM of these waterers comes off and goes back on with a quarter turn-- much easier!

 

[valmom]

We used the Fortiflex rubber dishes for our hens water this winter. Just pop out the ice cubes and carry out warm water in a big thermos camping jug twice a day.

Actually, now that I think about it, using one of the horses' large Fortiflex pan for them to wade in in the summer sounds like a great idea.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
Maybe you should try posting a pic of your tractor and see if anyone has any ideas on adjusting it so watering is easier. Sometimes a little idea can really help.

 

[janastasio]

I bought a little giant 4? gallon waterer 2 years ago when I first started my back yard flock. It was one of the gravity waterers. It broke after 4 mos of having it. Very frustrating! Spent $70.00 on it. We were able to fix it the following year when we realized that the handle had come undone from the top. We used wood putty to seal the hole and it works again. I do feel if it was a quality product, this wouldnt have happened after 4mos. Tried to contact the company, got nothing back.

 

[EggCentric]

Quote:
I use that one also, the 3 gallon one. The plastic pan did crack this winter though, so I use a rubber hog feeder with it now. Works great. The lid can be a little tough to remove sometimes though.