Waterer Suggestions

[New to Chicken]

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 View attachment 2474975

Thank you Lucy! Hanging may be the way to go. We tried a wired container to the side of the cage last night for now, but this may be better for our longtime solution. I may have a couple different type waterers in her final space.

 

[New to Chicken]

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.

View attachment 2475000

That's so encouraging to know. Thank you for your helpful sharing of your experiences!

 

[rosemarythyme]

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.

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!)

Because you have a Polish, it would be ideal to get smaller docile birds such as another Polish or Silkies. However you don't need to start with an adult, chicks are always an option provided you plan ahead as far as appropriate size housing, and have an integration plan. If you decide on doing chicks I'd wait until spring because it's easier to brood and integrate when warmer.

Good to know you're addressing drainage concerns now, instead of trying to do it later when it's likely to be far more of a hassle.

 

[New to Chicken]

Because you have a Polish, it would be ideal to get smaller docile birds such as another Polish or Silkies. However you don't need to start with an adult, chicks are always an option provided you plan ahead as far as appropriate size housing, and have an integration plan. If you decide on doing chicks I'd wait until spring because it's easier to brood and integrate when warmer.

Good to know you're addressing drainage concerns now, instead of trying to do it later when it's likely to be far more of a hassle.

Thank you again for your shared expertise....we are hoping for a silkie or polish, so it's nice to get reconfirmation that we are on the right track. Sometimes we get conflicting advice! We will keep checking for pullets and if it gets to late Feb, we will transition to chick finding. Fortunately, we live in Southern California, so if we did have to go with chicks, our weather would warm more quickly, hopefully lessening the time our Silver Polish would be alone. For right now, while we await, we sit and spend as much time with her and when we can't be with her, we are playing music so she can be accustomed to human sounds....she seems to like Bach and Vivaldi!

 

[gtaus]

We can easily get chicks, but I was told that I should not put different ages together.

Yes, you would have to raise the chicks separately for a few months until they are big enough not to get beat up by an adult chicken. Chickens don't know age, they just go by size.

But I learned it's important that it never get flooded, so we are digging and creating drainage currently

Chickens will relatively quickly scratch and eat all the grass out, down to the dirt, of any stationary chicken run you build. If the chicken run floods, then you end up with mud and dirty chickens. Drainage is one option, another option is to build up the chicken run ground higher. After my chickens ate all the grass out of their chicken run, I just dumped in a load of wood chips. That keeps the chickens up off the dirt/mud, looks nice, and smells great. If you have access to free wood chips, that may be an option to consider.

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.

I have 2X4 welded wire fencing for my chicken run, which keeps out the daytime predators I would worry about. I have bird netting on top of the run to keep away eagles and hawks. So far, that has worked well - and I live on a lake with Bald Eagles and hawks overhead all the time. I lock my chickens up in their Fort Knox coop at night, and that has kept them safe from nighttime predators.

If you don't lock up your chickens at night, most people will tell you that you will need 1/2 inch hardware cloth - everywhere - to keep your birds safe. That gets to be expensive.

Sounds like you are well on your way to making a good home for your chicken(s). Although I enjoyed building my coop and run, I am happy these days just to enjoy the chickens and not have to put so much work into the project. Best wishes.

 

[cfluff]

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 View attachment 2474975

I got 2 of this type from our local farm store they come in different sizes and also feet that keep them slightly off the ground thereby avoiding dirt getting kicked in. You could also put a brick under to elevate it a bit if yours didn't come with feet. Glad you gave her a home!.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Don't be afraid to get chicks. I usually have a few different age groups going and if you get docile breeds it makes integration easier. I have a five month old boss pullet with a one year old Australorp and have been slowly integrating 10-12 week olds of three other breeds. Do some research about setting up a brooder if you decide to do chicks or just be careful where you source an older bird from and go for it. Nobody learns all about how to do it from the internet-everyone here has had to learn a lot just by doing it because everyone's situation is different but we all learned and continue to do so You're doing great!

 

[catballou]

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 View attachment 2474975

I like those but they run out so fast fast. The bigger ones are too hard to open for me and too heavy to pick up.
Maybe it's time to get out of chickens

 

[catballou]

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!

Keep it raised up so it can't get debris scratched into it. Food too.
They are normally scratching and pecking and make a mess if it's not high enough.