Did you know chickens can live without food?
Well, they can for a day or so. But the one thing they must always have is water. This is what I have read on the many sites about how to raise chickens.
I began my adventure 3 years ago when I got my first 3 hens. I had a decent amount of space and time to look after them so I decided to make the commitment. I researched how to build a pen that would keep out predators from above, below and all the sides. I designed a "self-cleaning" chicken coop and made it look like one of the huts from Gilligan's Island. I even named the chickens Ginger, Maryann and Mrs Howell!
Now here I am with 7 chickens and 1 rooster named Uri Geller. I've learned a lot about chickens. A lot more than I ever expected. But the one thing I just can't figure out is how to make sure they always have water. I started out using 2 inch deep trays like from plant pots, but they kept getting knocked over or filled with dirt.
Then I started adding water to their food so that at least they were getting water at feeding times. They actually really liked that so now I soak their food overnight every day. I found out that this quick fermenting process actually makes the food easier for them to digest and gives them pro-biotics. This is especially good if you add a little apple cider vinegar to the water (1 tbsp per gallon). Sometimes I will add a bit of blackstrap molasses (2 tbsp per gallon) to give them a boost in iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. So I have improved their food nutrition but they still don't have enough water to drink freely.
Next I tried 1 of those store bought waterers that have the big dome fitted on a self filling tray. Those hold lots of water so the chickens shouldn't run out too quickly, but if they aren't on a level surface the self filler doesn't work and they get empty and I still have to put water in them.
My next idea was to hang the waterer so that it could naturally find its level. This has proven to be just as bad as having it on the ground. Although there is less dirt in it, the water still doesn't come out by itself and I still have to top it up at feeding time. I feel bad for the poor chickens because I can hear their stomachs gurgling when they drink the water and I know they were getting dehydrated.
So this is where I am at now. How do you other farmers out there make sure your chickens always have water? I am very interested to solve this problem.
Thanks for your help!
Hi you could level the ground with a shovel just under your drinker (I used to use them but found open trays better) that will help. I use 2 plastic troughs about 6 inches deep - I put them up on bricks so they don't kick too much dirt in to them - but I change the water every day anyway. The chickens drink 50% of their body weight every day so it really is important to have it there even if it gets dirt in it :) Hope this helps
Thank you for this idea! I have some old rain gutter I can use for a trough and some cement blocks. That should make it high enough to keep the dirt out. Also much as I try ti keep the ground level under there, that's where they do their dust baths so it is always getting dug up and uneven. Cement blocks will prevent that too.
Yes that would work well! Just make sure it's heavy enough that if they stand on it it wont tip over as sometimes they fly up on to the side - you could maybe prop it somehow so that it won't tip. Good luck :)