Why hanging?

[Sunnymommy]

Why are feeders/waterers hung? I see this in different threads but don't know why it is done that way. Is that only if you have the kind where the water button things they peck are on the bottom?
We are planning our coop and set up as our chicks get bigger.
Also trying to decide whether to make a water thing with the red buttons coming out the bottom or the sides (vertical ones or horizontal ones?. They have the vertical ones at the local store here but not the others. But with deep litter we don't want water dripping out which I see is sometimes a problem with those...

 

[KadeSilkies21]

The reason most people hang their waterers and feeders is so that the chickens cant get bedding in their water or scratch feed everywhere. I would recommend just a simple hanging waterer as they are usually clean and easy to fill. They do sell small water cups with a little nipple they peck at which shouldn't get water everywhere.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you are using DL on a soil floor, a bit of water won't hurt a thing. If you have a wood floor, I'd try to keep it dryer. An other reason to hang the feed is to discourage rodent activity, though I doubt that's much of a discouragement since the little beasts are good jumpers and also good climbers.

 

[Sunnymommy]

How do they not swing around?

 

[Folly's place]

The feeders will swing around a bit, and it's fine. Mary

 

[sfgwife]

We made the bottom of the bucket nipple waterers. The only time ours have ever leaked is recently. Our guys and gals finally got to move into their new palace and yard... it was just finished. The one we put outside is hangin on the side of a tree... and it leans against the tree just a tinny bit so it isn't completely free hangin (it leans on the tree just a bit). We don't have anything else to hang one on on the outside yet so side of the tree on a nail it is. So two of the nipples are canted and leak a small amount. And by small it might leak oneish cup a day total. But when hung so they hang freely they really don't leak unless some goober is standin under them and is hittin the nipple with body parts.

We did it because of keepin the waterers and feed dishes clean much much easier! And they don't scratch out feed like mad beasties when they are hung or poop in them, or be scratchin close to them and get whatever in the trays.... for us at least. They just grab a bite or ten and go. They don't root around in the feed dish like when it was on the ground. Same goes for water too.

If you do do a bucket and nipples or the cups... just make sure to make a largeish hole in the top of the waterer for ventilation... so the water will come out. Yes. We learned this the hard way lol! Such a simple thing to not think about doin is all. When they were wee chicks and we put up liter bottles with nipple waterer tops we didnt do it.... and a few days later we were wonderin why these silly chicks hadn't drank any of that water but were messin with the nipples like crazy and still drinkin tons out of the regular ground waterer we still had in there. It was because of suction amd not bein able to let the water get out. :/.

Also.... when you are fillin the bottom nipple buckets.... if you set them on a brick in the middle of the bottom they won't leak as you fill them... that is if you have take them to your water source like we do instead of leavin them hangin to fill. When the nipples are depressed they leak.. so sittin on the ground they leak.

When we moved the kids into their permanent home last week we did buy two of the galvanized bucket vacuum type waterers. They can hang as well. We have two pullets younger than the rest and they couldnt reach the nipple waterers just yet and we wanted the rabbits to have access to more water because it is so stinkin hot here right now (we thought the bunns might drink more if they didn't have to work as hard to get it... and it worked plus we can add frozen bottle into these to keep it cooler as well) so we got those and set them on bricks so they would be off the ground but not as high as our buckets for the bigger kids. And i have to say... i so do not like those things.... we go out to check on all the kids randomly durin the day (at least four times a day usually) and every time we go we need clean out the grubbies in the tray. I will be quite happy when the littles get just a tad bigger so we can hang these suckers up. Not sure how much we can raise them for the bunns though.

Anyhoo.... sorry for the book i wrote.. but these are reasons why we wanted to use and prefer the nipple waterers to "reg" floor drinkers.

 

[Sunnymommy]

Thanks for sharing!
I was also wondering about the mechanisms in the nipples (both bottom or side) or the cups freezing?

 

[paneubert]

Thanks for sharing!
I was also wondering about the mechanisms in the nipples (both bottom or side) or the cups freezing?

Cups freeze for sure. Vertical nipples freeze usually. Horizontal nipples can freeze, but only freeze at a lower temperature due to the way they are constructed. With vertical, there is usually water in the nipple, and it freezes. With horizontal, there is usually not water in the nipple, so less to freeze. People seem to have best success with horizontal combined with some sort of heater. Either a stock tank heater, or an aquarium heater.

 

[Sunnymommy]

I assume both a stock tank and aquarium heater would need to be plugged in?

 

[blackdog043]

Yes, they do need to be plugged in.