water spill in coop

[FunClucks]

Have you seen a grazing frame? Like what is used to grow grass for chickens to munch on. Usually it's a rectangular wooden box with sides that are ~2" tall (built from 2x4 on their sides) with an affixed hardware cloth mesh on top. I've seen people use this concept inside a brooder to capture water spilled from a chick waterer set on top of the mesh. So you have the waterer elevated from the floor by the height of the "grazing frame", and mesh over the top of the frame to prevent chickens getting into the spilled water, also this eliminates much if any bedding getting inside the "grazing frame" from the coop because the mesh is at least 2" higher than the rest of the bedding (for big chickens you might want about 6-12" height for the "grazing frame"). The hardware cloth mesh is sturdy, and can be like a picture frame removable top with wood or metal edges that fits snugly over the "grazing frame". The "grazing frame" can be a square/rectangular plastic bin. This would allow spilled water to dry out with a minimum of added bedding and mold.

Best idea would be to figure out how and why the chickens keep spilling their water and put a stop to it. But in the mean time, you can at least keep the spilled water off the bottom of the coop and away from the chickens, hopefully this would give it some time to dry also.

 

[Tami2]

No I haven't heard of it. I will indeed look into it, thank you.

The coop is elevated. For now I purchased an 18" heavy duty rubber plant saucer to place under the water container. Thanks so much everyone for your input.

The Coop
Prefab in front with nest boxes & addition in rear. This was before the addition was complete.

 

[raingarden]

We have a waterer that is hung so the birds can't knock it over again and, at the same time, it is sitting on a block of wood so they cannot bump it and splash water. I think the rooster in this group does it on purpose

 

[Ozarkoak]

We put no no water in our roosting house because it makes a mess. We put no food in our roosting house because it attracts pests. Open doors in the morning and they have their access back and even after the hottest nights they don't mob the water. They are much more interested in their morning scratch than they are the water.

 

[Naisha]

I have several kind of waterers and I know my girls use some of them to make a mess and play, and others only to drink because it’s not so easy for them to scratch and make a mess. I also have food and water inside the coop just in case they want to be there, and I use one of the waterers that they only use for drinking. It’s like this, let me look for a picture

But these are a mess, even if they’re hanging, they find a way to spill the water.

 

[Jeanw]

It gets too hot here to not put the water in the shade which means I have to either put it under the lean-to or in the barn. I have found that those cheap plastic shoe trays set under my waterers keep everything else from getting wet. I also like how they aren't smooth and have the treads to keep them from getting slippery. The handles also make it easy for picking up to dump any excess water. I get mine for $5 usually.
View attachment 3236776

Agree. Boot trays are awesome, can be used as a removable poop board too. I used to have 2 lengthwise under the roost and it worked pretty good.

 

[Dralix]

We live in Central Pa. and, ultimately, purchased two of these for our ladies. They're pricey, but drastically cut down on water waste and have the added advantage of keeping water thawed in the freezing temps we experience.

We started out (our oldest lady is now almost two), through trial and error, by placing the standard plastic domed open tray feeders and waterers on the ground in the run, not the coop. It was too messy. Our girls loved to spill them and do their chicken business in them.

We then resorted to hanging the waterers and feeders from the enclosed run rafters using small-link chain. I have waterers suspended at head height and feeders just under head height. It made a huge difference in reduction of food waste and water spillage, but, the water still got too dirty from chicken dust, etc.

The next step was the heated waterer at the link above. Sooo worth it. You do get some "drippage," right after the girls drink... but, given the nipples are self-sealing, so not nearly as bad as a spill/dump from a trayed waterer.

You can even make your own version using a plastic bucket. We did this before buying the heated waterer, as I got tired the first year's winter of having to break ice/frequently change out water. A simple sealable bucket, and these... or watering cups like these... make a huge difference in spillage. I tried both. I purchased the cups at my local TS, but the nipples I had to get off Amazon.

Still, as our girls' primary caretaker, I check on them usually twice a day, sometimes more in the winter... despite the snow and freezing temps... I don't regret the heated waterer purchase one bit.

I'll end up switching to enclosed feeders at some point... likely a PVC drop to make it easier to fill, outside the run. But, for now, in the winter, I put up a gray tarp to serve as a wind/snow break and to keep the food dry.

The attached pic shows the main hen house. We're simply BYC hobbyists. But we love our ladies. You can see the food buckets, and almost, to the left, behind the ramp, the heated waterer. The other heated waterer is to the right, in another much cheaper, and barely "adequate" prefab coop with which we started. We keep it in case one of the ladies gets sick and/or needs separated from the flock. No roosters, as our noise ordinaces wouldn't allow it.

What we do for our girls, geez. Good luck.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Agree. Boot trays are awesome, can be used as a removable poop board too. I used to have 2 lengthwise under the roost and it worked pretty good.

Never thought about using them as poop boards that's kind of genius!

 

[ChickenMama1988]

No offense taken. I'm looking for advice to eradicate my problem. I never even considered not offering them food & water inside the coop. They pretty much turn in anywhere from 7:45 to 8:00pm. The last couple of evenings they've turned in even earlier. Hubby lets them out at 6am when he leaves for work.
Not offering them water inside seems cruel to me. (no judgement towards you of course)

I always air on the side of caution. As my circumstances requires it. What if, we can't get out to them for whatever reason. They'll be locked up without any water.
For example my son got Covid in Jan & spent 2 weeks in the hospital. Normally, when he is hospitalized we both stay with him. This time due to covid restrictions, I was only permitted to stay. That being shared, I'm not really comfortable leaving them inside without sustenance.
So, for my situation, I'd rather come up with a solution including water inside the coop.

Thanks so much for your feedback, it's much appreciated.

try a nipple watering system! that way they need to peck for the water to come out and it can’t spill

 

[FunClucks]

Here's the nipple waterers I use. They work well! The chickens do sometimes dribble, but not much at all. You do need to check to make sure they don't leak (I haven't had trouble with that, but checking periodically is a good idea). And I like that their water stays very clean. I usually clean the container with soap and water every 2-4 weeks, depending on weather and how dirty they've made the outside of the nipples. Set the container above the coop bedding around chicken head height, and that will minimize dirt kicked up onto the nipple waterer spouts.