Waterer Suggestions

[New to Chicken]

Hi,
So we have a silver-laced polish that sort of walked into our backyard a month or so ago. We were not looking for a chicken, but my daughter always wanted one, so we have her in a covered pen for now, while preparing our sideyard for a more permanent home. Right now, my daughter slips a pie pan under the base of the pen...it is wedged in tightly so that our hen doesn't step on and flip the water, like she did when it was in the pen. The pens is only about 3.5 x3.5 ft, so I don't want to take up "floorspace" that she can use to walk around, etc. The only problem is that her water gets so dirty so quickly. We change it once (sometimes twice a day), but we still find bedding, dirt, and even once her dropping in it! I tried to find something I could clip to the side of the metal pen, but the only thing I could find was for tiny birds, so it looks too small. Any suggestions for what would allow us to only change her water once a day and it would stay clean and clear without taking up valuable exercise space in the pen? Thanks in advance!

 

[3KillerBs]

The best way to keep an open waterer clean is to have it up at the level of the chicken's back. Can you improvise some kind of wire contraption to attach a plastic food container up at that level? Maybe a quart yogurt or cottage cheese container? Or a cut-down milk jug/soda bottle?

Punch two holes in it up near the rim and run a wire through it then use that wire to hang it on the pen fence.

Ultimately, you might want to train her to use a nipple waterer, but there's a learning curve to that so it won't solve the immediate problem.

 

[David61]

find that chicken a home. You need to get into chickens or get out.
Chickens need a flock. They do not do well solo.
Now, get a plastic 20 oz or two liter and cut it about where the bottom of the label is , making a cup. do not cut all the way around so you leave a handle or a "spine" that goes up to the bottle cap. use this handle/spine to mount it to the cage/pen. its easy, look here Feed, grit & oyster shells! How do you feed you chickens these? | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

 

[New to Chicken]

find that chicken a home. You need to get into chickens or get out.
Chickens need a flock. They do not do well solo.
Now, get a plastic 20 oz or two liter and cut it about where the bottom of the label is , making a cup. do not cut all the way around so you leave a handle or a "spine" that goes up to the bottle cap. use this handle/spine to mount it to the cage/pen. its easy, look here Feed, grit & oyster shells! How do you feed you chickens these? | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

I' must admit, I'm a little taken aback. We are doing our best to create a home for her, have flipped our lives amid COVID and caregiving to try and create a home for her, learning where we can, digging and building what we can.

The best way to keep an open waterer clean is to have it up at the level of the chicken's back. Can you improvise some kind of wire contraption to attach a plastic food container up at that level? Maybe a quart yogurt or cottage cheese container? Or a cut-down milk jug/soda bottle?

Punch two holes in it up near the rim and run a wire through it then use that wire to hang it on the pen fence.

Ultimately, you might want to train her to use a nipple waterer, but there's a learning curve to that so it won't solve the immediate problem.

The best way to keep an open waterer clean is to have it up at the level of the chicken's back. Can you improvise some kind of wire contraption to attach a plastic food container up at that level? Maybe a quart yogurt or cottage cheese container? Or a cut-down milk jug/soda bottle?

Punch two holes in it up near the rim and run a wire through it then use that wire to hang it on the pen fence.

Ultimately, you might want to train her to use a nipple waterer, but there's a learning curve to that so it won't solve the immediate problem.

The best way to keep an open waterer clean is to have it up at the level of the chicken's back. Can you improvise some kind of wire contraption to attach a plastic food container up at that level? Maybe a quart yogurt or cottage cheese container? Or a cut-down milk jug/soda bottle?

Punch two holes in it up near the rim and run a wire through it then use that wire to hang it on the pen fence.

Ultimately, you might want to train her to use a nipple waterer, but there's a learning curve to that so it won't solve the immediate problem.

Thank you for your kind, thoughtful and resourceful reply. I will do that immediately!

Our suburban area allows 4 and we are seeking flockmates that are similarly aged and similar in temperament.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can also use something that's already designed to hook on a wire fence, such as parrot cups, or there's watering dishes made for dog kennels.

I do prefer a nipple waterer and it's not too hard to train a chicken to use it, but you would want to need to keep an eye on them to ensure they learn to use it.

 

[New to Chicken]

You can also use something that's already designed to hook on a wire fence, such as parrot cups, or there's watering dishes made for dog kennels.

I do prefer a nipple waterer and it's not too hard to train a chicken to use it, but you would want to need to keep an eye on them to ensure they learn to use it.

Thank you Rosemary Thyme for your kind reply. If the nipple waterer is better for our chicken we can carefully train her on that. Now, someone said something about chickens naturally liking to drink out of a "puddle-like" source of water, which is exactly how we spotted her behind our home before we were able to catch and house her safely...she was drinking from a puddle on our patio left from the sprinklers. I have no idea how long she had been wandering, but since she came as a full grown, we would definitely want to monitor...we try to spend as much time as we can sitting with her.

 

[Lucy Brown]

I still use a chick waterer for my hens it looks like this down below and you could get hooks from home depot or lowes

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you Rosemary Thyme for your kind reply. If the nipple waterer is better for our chicken we can carefully train her on that. Now, someone said something about chickens naturally liking to drink out of a "puddle-like" source of water, which is exactly how we spotted her behind our home before we were able to catch and house her safely...she was drinking from a puddle on our patio left from the sprinklers.

Oh even after being trained to a nipple waterer they'll always go for puddles, which is fine (can't stop 'em), but always a good idea to offer a source of fresh, clean water.

I've trained 2 year old hens, all the way down to little chicks a few weeks old, to use our waterer. There's a few ways to do it, but I simply pick up each chicken, use its beak to toggle the silver pin, let them drink a few drops, and then put them down. Repeat in an hour or so if they don't seem to pick up on it. Once I see them successfully pecking and drinking, they're set.

 

[gtaus]

I' must admit, I'm a little taken aback. We are doing our best to create a home for her, have flipped our lives amid COVID and caregiving to try and create a home for her, learning where we can, digging and building what we can.

Sounds like your intentions are good and you are reaching out for help. If you decide to keep your chicken, I would encourage you to get a few more. As @David61 stated, chickens are considered a flock animal and it is recommended to have more than one for their well being. Small chicks around here cost about $3.00 each, but it depends on the breed. You might want to check out some local Farm/Fleet type stores to see what is available for your location. Depending on where you live, you might want to check into local regulations about raising chickens in your backyard.

As for the waterer, in the short term, you could put the pan on top of some bricks to get it up off the ground. My waterer is about 5 inches off the floor, just high enough to be almost the level of their backs, and still high enough that very little debris gets kicked into the water. Also, I would put a heavy rock or maybe a half brick in the pan so it does not get knocked off the platform.

If you plan on getting more chickens, then I would encourage you to get a good chicken waterer. They will keep the water cleaner and you will not have to fill them nearly as often.

Hope to hear more about your chicken(s) in the near future. Everyone loves pics, if possible. Keep us posted.

 

[New to Chicken]

Sounds like your intentions are good and you are reaching out for help. If you decide to keep your chicken, I would encourage you to get a few more. As @David61 stated, chickens are considered a flock animal and it is recommended to have more than one for their well being. Small chicks around here cost about $3.00 each, but it depends on the breed. You might want to check out some local Farm/Fleet type stores to see what is available for your location. Depending on where you live, you might want to check into local regulations about raising chickens in your backyard.

As for the waterer, in the short term, you could put the pan on top of some bricks to get it up off the ground. My waterer is about 5 inches off the floor, just high enough to be almost the level of their backs, and still high enough that very little debris gets kicked into the water. Also, I would put a heavy rock or maybe a half brick in the pan so it does not get knocked off the platform.

If you plan on getting more chickens, then I would encourage you to get a good chicken waterer. They will keep the water cleaner and you will not have to fill them nearly as often.

Hope to hear more about your chicken(s) in the near future. Everyone loves pics, if possible. Keep us posted.

Thank you for this counsel. We are staying in frequent (weekly was recommended) communication with our local feed store to get an appropriate chicken. We can easily get chicks, but I was told that I should not put different ages together. If you have a different perspective, I would welcome hearing that. We understand from our conversations that added hens should be equally docile or our current girl will get pecked. Right now our priority has been to get our long term bird lodgings completely set so that they can dwell safely. Her current situation is safe, just smaller than what we need for the longrun. We are putting her permanent place in the sideyard (about 15x 25). But I learned it's important that it never get flooded, so we are digging and creating drainage currently (I'm not super handy or strong so I'm having to ask lots of people for advice and help!) The coop will be in the enclosed space for them to roost and dwell at night. The coop has nesting boxes, but that's not our primary focus. We want it to be large, because we cannot let them roam our backyard...we found a decapitated bunny and squirrel in just the last few weeks and I hear owls in our trees every night. We have many hawks in our area...that is why we were so desperate to catch her. We know she would have been a coyote meal for sure.