drinkers

[raine]

Hi all- me again! I'd just like to know whta kind of drinker/feeders everyone uses? I got the red and white economy plasstic jobbies and the hens keep knocking the top off the feeder. Also the water one seems to get blocked up a bit (it's one where you turn it upside down etc). What do others find is the best (Just remember, I'm on a budget folks!)

[lynda66]

i have the red and white water ones, but they are on top of 4 bricks, (2 layers), cos they kept filling it with shavings, mine have theirs in the house, it works ok with that, they have a big roses tin for dry food, and a glass casserole dish for their mash, but i put them up on bricks too, cos otherwise they just fill em up while digging.

seems to work ok, and 6 of em feed at once.

[Suechooks]

I use a plastic cylinderfeeder with green bottom which doesn't get knocked over as its screwed with a spring to allow food to come down gradually and it can be hung up - I know the red one as i too had one and abandoned it. There is also a green plastic drinker which has legs or can be suspended so less likely to get gunjed up. Both around a tenner I think for medium sized one. Make sure you get one big enough for them to get their beaks into. The smaller ones are usually chick ones. You could use a bucket for water - I seem to remember others using one so must be ok.

[frias]

I've got the large green and white feeder and water containers. The food one is good as the girls can't get their feet in so easily so pellets don't get wasted all over the ground. The water one not so good as water still gets grubby even when it's hung up. I also have bunny bottles with apple cider vinegar in the water. I think Maureen uses a bucket for water and I would think it's probably better than the drinker I spent my money on. I use old metal bog bowls for porridge and the girls know what's coming as soon as they see them.

[MaureenHall]

I've got a long trough type feeder for the pellets, 2 large tupperware containers for the porridgy stuff and an orange bucket from B&Q for their water. 13 of them cope with that lot very well

[digthatchick]

Mine are galvanised steel, they were quite dear but will last for ever. Try these at £12 odd well worth the money, 1/2 GALLON GALVANISED GLASS POULTRY DRINKER on eBay, also, Poultry Hatching Incubation, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 13-Mar-09 00:20:27 GMT)

[frias]

I've got a long trough type feeder for the pellets, 2 large tupperware containers for the porridgy stuff and an orange bucket from B&Q for their water. 13 of them cope with that lot very well

I thought you used a bucket for water. I only wish I had thought of it before forking out for a drinker.

[Snadger]

Mine have a washing up dish and an old belsen sink sunk into the ground.

One tip which has worked for me is to put the water out of direct sunlight, under cover. That way it doesn't get algae forming on the inside !

[matthew2riches]

I have a few plastic feeders (from Ascott) and a galvanised steel drinker (that'll last my lifetime).

I normally just throw the food on the floor now because that's all they do anyway.

[shirlthegirl43]

I gave up on the red and white drinker too - it just isn't big enough now we are up to 5 hens. I had an empty 25 litre (I think) plastic cooking oil container (we used to run our diesel car on cooking oil when it was cheaper), which we washed out and cut a hole in the side. It now holds a good quantity of water and the hens can drink 3 at a time.

Their pellets go in a wooden trough that Aranthos made (must get him to make another one only bigger) and mash goes in a couple of old seed trays.

[janeyo]

I have a ceramic dog bowl that says 'dog' on it for the food and it goes under a shelter. They knocked the plastic feeder over sooo many times I got fed up.
They have a plastic upside downy drinker and I give it a wash every few days and re-fill and they haven't knocked t over yet. I fond it I stand the food / drinkers on slabs or bricks they get far less dirt and mud in them. And a shelter definitely helps.

[poppy_lillysmum]

Mine kept on knocking over their 3 drinkers over, and finally gave up with them, when i moved house, and there was an old cat litter tray left in the shed at the new house, so gave a good scrub and filled up, they loved it, all off them could get round it, which can be a pain, cause they stand on the edge of it and it can get a bit mucky, but for some reason, last week it got a hole in the bottom, so now thay have my weeding bowl.. they don't mind as long as is fresh water

[Hilary B]

When I first had chickens I made a plywood 'self filling trough' to a design I found in a book. Later I made up a round one that was for hanging up, similar basic shape to the 'jam-jar' drinkers, but with an open top, and the container was a 5 litre tin. Seemed to deter the rats having it hanging about 6 inches from the ground.....
When we went free-range, the food just got thrown on the ground.

[Twinkle]

I have the plastic "upside down" drinker too... hang it up so it doesn't get knocked over. The holes are pretty large so they don't block up much.

Galvanised metal hanging feeder for pellets, though the base falls off pretty easily if the hens knock into it, depositing large quantities of pellets onto the floor...grr... but am reluctant to buy a different one having spent 20 euro on that one...

[frias]

I bought a bucket for water today and the girls couldn't get their beaks in quick enough. If you had seen them drinking you would think they had been deprived of water for a week! The bucket is a lot easier to wash and fill than the green and white drinker, especially as I've got arthritis in my hands. Tipping the drinker over can be hit and miss how much water stays in.