Watering for differently abled?

[Ms Ellen]

My son loves feeding his chickens but I can tell he gets a little bit frustrated by the screw on water devices. He has no thumbs and while he can do most anything, holding on to those jars which are usually slippery (and have a pretty large diameter) to unscrew them is tough for him. He is not complaining and would be insulted if I mentioned it, but I can see what is happening. Does anyone know of a different system without a screw on jar? I don't have enough running water out there for an automatic system.

 

[crazyhen]

I quit using them. I use a dog bowl instead. If the chicks are small fill with marbles to prevent them drowning otherwise mine actually like it better. Next winter I am buying the heated version so their water will not freeze. The screw on ones leak to bad anyway. Jean

 

[ranchhand]

I gave up on them! For the large pen, I use a plastic dishpan, which gets dumped, scrubbed and refilled daily. For the small pen, 4 birds, I use an automatic dog waterer from Walmart. The top and bottom just snap together.

 

[Akane]

I just use a heated bucket and dropped a brick in so noone could drown in it. Needs cleaned out slightly more often from stuff falling in it but it's much easier to refill. Inside I use all hanging rabbit water bottles for the chicks.

 

[BeckyLa]

I use dish pans, old refrig pans, anything, really, that will hold water. And more than one in a pen of there are more than 6 birds in it. But, occasionally, I do use the one gallon plastic screw on waterer. The only way I can get it apart is to put it between my feet upside down, and use both hands to unscrew the red bottom part.

 

[Ms Ellen]

I thought they would tip over a regular water bowl trying to perch on it? Rabbit bottles work for chicks? Do you have to teach them to drink from them? I think that would be easier to undo and less messy. Right now we have 8 week olds in the brooder in the garage and the regular girls outside. The chicks can make quite a mess of the water containers. The older girls are not so bad about that.

 

[Akane]

I was raising some chickens in the house because they hatched late and was so tired of them flipping their water off. They were big enough no matter what I did they could knock it over. So I grabbed an extra bottle from my guinea pig cage, filled it up, stuck it on, went to get the camera, and by the time I walked back in the room they were all gathered around attacking the end. Same with the quail. Put the bottle in, turned around, and they were drinking from it. Now anytime I have chickens inside and for all my quail I just give them water bottles. The only ones that have had trouble are the baby buttons who are so small they can't push the ball on even the smallest hamster bottle. They still understand the concept though and try so I leave the bottle over a lid with water until I notice they are successfully drinking from it and not the lid.

 

[LynneP]

I agree about the dog bowl whether you use an electric one or not. I gave my poultry waterer/heater to the barn cats and they love it; I gave their heated dog bowl to the hens. Everyone's happy. To clean the dog bowl, either tip it or ladle it into a catch bucket. Wipe the bowl with a rag and refill with a water jug. Far easier in the coop. Held up through an extended Siberian express recently. Mine is 1.5 gallon and large enough for 12 hens and probably more. It has a guard made of wire on the cord to discourage pecking.biting.

Here, I have it set up with their former waterer. The moment it was provided the hens preferred the water bowl.

 

[Dawn419]

I use rabbit waterers for our extra roosters and they work great. Since chickens seem to like shiny things, ours took right to using them with no problem.

I'll be using them in the brooder, this coming spring, in hopes of less mess.

When my right wrist was in a cast last year, the rabbit waterers were much easier for me to fill than the other waterers I use.


Hope this helps!


Dawn

 

[Ms Ellen]

Thanks!