Wet Chicks

[sune42]

This is about to make me crazy. In the past 3 days my chicks have dumped over the water thing 5 times. Once one of my buffs was soaked, but most of the time they all stay dry. It's just very irritating and I am not sure how to fix it. I have the water thing on a big tupperware that puts it at their back height and I did that because it kept the bedding pretty much out of the water. Any suggestions aside from some rum and coke?

 

[Break an Egg]

I'll join you for some rum and coke.

I know what you mean, I had to put my waterer on a scalloped cement border thing that broke. I had it on a ceramic bowl turned upside down, but I'm using sand in the brooder and my 4 chicks are throwing the sand to cover the waterer. There will be no water, because it runs out into the sand. To be honest, it is making everything stinky. I am waiting for it to warm up today so I can take these guys out and clean the brooder.
Try getting a wood block and putting it on that.

 

[smallcitychick]

Hmmm, that is interesting....have you observed how they're actually tipping it over? (Like, are they pushing it off the tupperware thing, or are they trying to roost on the edge of it?) Lots of suggestions...just trying to brain storm and see if anything will help. What's your brooder made out of? If there were a way to make it a hanging waterer that might help them not be able to push it off? Is the tupperware base big enough that they're jumping up to stand on top of it to drink? If so you might want to try something smaller than the base of your waterer so they aren't able to stand up on it. You might want to try putting something heavy on top of it so it can't be knocked over so easily, but you would need to be around and watch very carefully that if they did get it tipped over that the heavy object didn't crush any little chickie (that would be sad ) Maybe you could try filling the waterer less than half full? It would be less 'top heavy', plus if it did spill it would be less water spilling.

 

[Marie1234]

I like the rum and coke idea...
We keep ours wired down with a coat hanger because we've lost chicks when the mason jar type fell on them. We wire the base to a brick then when it is time to fill up we have to lift out the whole thing and scrub it and it is a little cumbersome but it doesn't flip and stays above the level of the shavings.

 

[lizzy06019]

When our chicks got big enough to possibly tip their little plastic bottle over, we bough a 1 gallon plastic waterer which has a very wide base. We put a few old pieces of blue stone from the construction of our patio/walkway underneath the waterer so the chicks couldn't throw shavings into the water. With this set-up, we didn't have any problems with them knocking it over.

I also like the idea of possibly hanging it from somewhere. This would definitely ensure no one's going to knock it over.

Hope you find something that works! Good luck

 

[TheRanch]

Captain Morgan and diet for me!! lol...

I don't know how many chicks you have but you could always get a few rabbit style water bottles and use them. I have been switching my little ones over to that and it stays soooo much dryer!!! Just a thought.

Another idea is to buy the quail bases, there is very little gap so they can not fall in and it is to narrow for all but the tiniest scraps of shavings to get into. (of course if you put a piece of cardboard down and put the waterer on it - it it harder for them to scratch the shavings onto it! ) Let us know what you come up with. I love reading everyone's ideas!!!!

 

[iajewel]

I have never had that problem. I use a pie tin they don't really have to stand on to drink from. They do walk in it.. but never spill it.

 

[trilyn]

How about using another kind of waterer entirely? Just a thought and if you are interested, check out my byc page for an easy do it yourself project! Good luck to all you newbies out there!!

 

[bigstack]

When mine got old enough to run around and try to fly they began knocking my waterer over ALOT!!! Finally after trying everything I could think of, I placed it on a big stone (solid base) and Ran a piece of string up to a rafter. The weight of the waterer sitting on the stone and the string holding tension on the top kept everything in place. Until they got big enough to really give it a good wallup! LOL Even hanging they just bumped into it and would try to roost on it and it would spill! Thank goodness they were old enough and the weather was nice enough.... Out they went!!!

Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[sune42]

Quote:
No, I have not seen them do it. The tupperware is upside down and the waterer is sitting on the bottom side of the tupperware. The base is a bit smaller than the base of the waterer so they are not standing on it.