Will this feeder and drinker work?

[MigraineMan]

We used scraps of plywood to raise the food and water initially. Helped keep the scratchings out. Had to upgrade to red bricks in short order. The soda bottle waterer will work initially, but you'll need to increase capacity at some point in the future. If you mount a 1L bottle, expect the chicks to knock it over trying to roost on top (mine did that with the 1Qt versions.)

 

[lazy gardener]

Those will be fine, size wise, until you find that they are not holding enough. I like to hang mine. It helps keep the chicks from fouling the water (pun intended) and helps prevent them from filling the ports with shavings. If you use chain, it's super easy to keep raising the feeders every couple of days to accommodate the chick's growth. You want to keep the feeders level with the chick's backs when they are standing. If you have a couple of smaller chicks, you can then place a brick in front of the feeder to give them a little "step stool". I progressed my chicks from the round feeder to a gutter feeder, and also use a chip and dip bowl to hold fermented feed. (looks like a sombrero with the top punched in.) My chicks will be progressing to a 3 gal. waterer very soon b/c the 1 gal seems to not last a full day.

 

[Fairview01]

Not running out of water is more important than not running out of feed. If you only want to buy one I would purchase the same version waterer but in the gallon size.
Also remember new chicks are clumsy and will fall asleep standing up and just plop fall down wherever they are including into the waterer and drown. Put enough marbles in the ring so if they take a head first into the ring they won't kill themselves.

 

[MigraineMan]

Agreed. Even though the water wasn't deep, we put glass nuggets in the water dish for the first few weeks. The nuggets were left over from an art project. Any old glass marble will do (easier to keep clean than rocks.)

We didn't expect the chicks to stop, wobble, and face-plant ... but they did pretty regularly.

 

[HokiFarmer]

What size drinker and what type of feeder do you guys recommended? I want to be able to use it when they get older as well (8 weeks). I'm starting them off in a 1.5 meter by 800 cm plywood rectangle and then when they get 3-4 weeks old I'll move them to a much bigger place. I want both the feeder and drinker to be helpful with both brooders and not take up too much room in the first but still hold a good amount. Keep in mind I'm getting 4-5 chicks. Will 1.5 litre last them during the day. If not, a 2.25? If it fell it would probably kill them, so I would have to tie it to the side. But then If I tied it to side not all holes will be accessible. And I'm scared they might squash each other into the wall going for the one close to the wall. Also can chicks use chicken nippples on the side of a bucket? Are the hole ones better or worse?

Thanks so much for answering all my questions.

 

[HokiFarmer]

Agreed. Even though the water wasn't deep, we put glass nuggets in the water dish for the first few weeks. The nuggets were left over from an art project. Any old glass marble will do (easier to keep clean than rocks.)

We didn't expect the chicks to stop, wobble, and face-plant ... but they did pretty regularly.View attachment 629990

Yep I was told to do that, I might have a few lying around the place.

Thanks

 

[HokiFarmer]

Not running out of water is more important than not running out of feed. If you only want to buy one I would purchase the same version waterer but in the gallon size.
Also remember new chicks are clumsy and will fall asleep standing up and just plop fall down wherever they are including into the waterer and drown. Put enough marbles in the ring so if they take a head first into the ring they won't kill themselves.

Thanks for all the info.

 

[MigraineMan]

We had six Black Australorps in one brooder, and six Red Sex Links in another. They were segregated due to 2 weeks difference in age. Each had the food and water in the above photo. We used 1 qt. bottles. By the time the older ones were 8 weeks, they would completely consume the 1 qt of water in a day. A 1.5L waterer should handle 4-5 chicks all day through 6 weeks of age.

We had our feeder in the corner, and didn't have an issue with the chicks getting trapped. They would occasionally knock the feeder over, but not until it was mostly empty. You can use a piece of wire coat hanger to make a hook screwed to the side of the brooder, or fashion a U-clip from a coat hanger just to make it more difficult to tip the feeder.

The nipple waterers tend to drip. We waited until the birds were outside to transition them to that. The nipple waterer is used out in the run, and the inverted-bucket waterer (we upgraded to the 2-gallon one) lives in the coop. All 12 birds are merged together now at 12/10 weeks. Per day, they consume about 3/4 gallon from the interior waterer and 1L from the outside one. (Sorry for the mixed units, but I fill the nipple waterer from a 1L bottle as a measure.)

 

[PD-Riverman]

Yep I was told to do that, I might have a few lying around the place.

Thanks

Nothing wrong with being safe. I have never use rocks/marbles, etc in the waterers, but in the little over 10,000 chicks I have hatched and brooded in a little over 3 years--I have never had one to drown. I do use the smaller ones for quail or really small bantam chicks.
As far as waterers, in the brooders I keep them on this type(I do have 2 quart jars to screw on them and also some of the 1 gal waterers that looks similiar)until I put them on the ground then they get 3 to 4" tall cooking pans I have picked up for nothing, then on to 3 to 5 gallon auto-fill buckets as they get bigger.