by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm
When raising chickens it’s always important to have a “back up” plan. Just when you think everyone in the flock is happy, content and healthy, nature has a way of surprising us. Chickens can become ill or suffer injuries. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to have a quarantine set up close at hand.
Before we had a quarantine set up, if there was an emergency with our flock, I found myself scrounging to find “something” that would work. I was already stressed because our chicken was injured or ill, and trying to throw something together, find extra water dishes, food bowls etc. didn’t help matters.
When preparing for a quarantine area, you don’t have to have the thing set up all the time, but having some items in place, something easy to assemble, knowing where items are, and having a spot in mind to set a cage can put your mind at ease. You’ll thank yourself if an emergency arises in your flock that you took the extra steps before something happened.
What you’ll need:
A cage: Dog crates, rabbit cages, or even a homemade box made from a wooden frame and chicken wire with a door can work well. Many times these things can be found free or very inexpensively at garage sales or Craigslist. Be sure to disinfect a used cage before placing animals inside.
A clean waterer and food dish: It’s best to have a food and water dish that’s designed to fit on the outside of the cage. This maximizes the space inside the cage for the chicken. It also minimizes spills and keeps the food and water cleaner. It also makes feeding and watering easy for me. I don’t have to struggle with fitting the food and water through the small door, and I don’t have to worry about the chicken escaping. For a waterer option I like the Solway Bottle Holder Cage Trough. It fits almost any bottle and is very easy to install. I love it so much that I’m going to send 2 lucky winners a Water Trough for their own Quarantine Set Up! (see below for details) For more information on the Solway Bottle Holder Cage Trough and another chance at a give away, visit the Iron Oak Farm blog!
Clean Bedding: I always have extra bedding material on hand for emergency clean ups. If I’m using a wire bottom cage, I like to place straw on the bottom to make the floor more comfortable on the bird’s feet.
Egg box– This isn’t a necessity, a hen will eventually pick a corner to lay an egg, but it might make her more comfortable and keep the eggs a bit cleaner. An old dish pan with a broken patio stone in the bottom works well. The stone stops the chicken from tipping the box over when stepping inside. I fill the top with straw or pine chips to make an inviting area.
An area to place the cage: It needs to be away from your other chickens, and sheltered from predators and weather. It also makes feeding and watering easier if the cage is elevated on a table so you don’t have to crawl in to reach things. (We placed this cage on the lawn outside for better photographs. Normally it would be in the barn.)
Disinfectant spray: Like bleach to sanitize after use.
A Tarp: to protect surfaces under the cage especially in the car if the animal needs to be transported to a vet etc.
The quarantine area doesn’t need to be set up at all times, expecting an emergency. Many crates fold down to conserve space, and can be easily assembled when the time is needed. Items can be kept together in a box and stored in the garage or a shed.
Keep Quarantine items separate and only for quarantine use. After an animal uses the equipment, sanitize with a bleach solution and warm water. If contamination is an issue, remove soiled bedding and burn or bag up and throw away. Sanitize all waterers, food dishes and the cage itself. I do this by spraying the cage and items with bleach, letting the bleach sit for a while then rinse with warm water and let dry in the sun. Throw away any items that can’t be sanitized and replace with new ones.
While emergencies are top on the list of reasons to have a quarantine set up, the need to separate a chicken from the rest of your flock doesn’t have to usher up images of hazmat suits and the plague, there are many reasons to have an area that one or more members of your flock can stay away from the rest of the birds for a spell.
Reasons to Quarantine/Separate:
Injury– Chickens are drawn to the color red. Many times chickens will peck an injury making it worse.
Illness– if a chicken seems lethargic, drooping wings, irregular stool, swelling, coughing sneezing, change in comb color or anything else out-of-the-ordinary, it’s a good idea to separate that bird as fast as possible from the rest of your flock. It may not be contagious, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Quarantine allows you to focus on that bird alone, administer medications if necessary, and observe symptoms.
New Birds– Whenever you purchase/adopt a new bird, it’s always a good idea to quarantine that bird for at least 2 weeks. Even chickens that appear to be healthy can be carrying disease that your flock might not have an immunity for. Watch the bird for signs of illness, check for mites, and it’s not a bad idea to wash the feet of the new bird. If weather permits, a full bath is a good idea as well. (For more on bathing chickens check out my post Chicken Bath 101) Quarantining a new bird will also give you time to get to know this new member of the flock. The specialized attention and separate feeding will give you time to learn about this new chicken.
If you’re selling a chicken, it’s not a bad idea to separate the chicken that is for sale. The buyer will appreciate being able to meet the chicken for sale without having to chase it all over the yard.
Traveling– A quick put-together-cage is very handy when traveling with birds. Whether it’s an emergency trip to the vet, or if you get an opportunity to pick up a new member of your flock, laying a tarp down in the back of your car and having a quick travel cage makes life easier.
Broody– If you have a hen that is particularly broody and you’d like to break that streak, sometimes separating her from her old surroundings can force that desire from her.
Pecking Order– If you have a chicken that is being bullied by a member of the flock, instinctively you’d want to remove the victim. I’ve found that removing the bully sometimes works better. (unless the chicken is injured) Every time a chicken is removed from the flock for an extended amount of time, that chicken needs to re-establish pecking order when it is re-introduced. So if a chicken is already being picked on, removing it can sometimes make pecking order that much more violent when it re-unites with the flock. If you remove the bully, the bully often looses its rank among the flock and then it’s that chicken’s burden to re-establish itself. I’ve seen this work successfully many times.
Administering special feed or medicines– Isolating a chicken with special needs makes things less stressful for both you and the chicken. Depending on how tame your flock is, chasing and catching a chicken each day to change a bandage, or give medication can be bad for everyone involved.
Show Ready– A separation cage can help keep chickens clean after a bath before a show. Some shows also advise that chickens be quarantined before a show for health purposes.
Separating for breeding or to collect certain eggs– Cages can also be helpful if you need to separate a hen to sterilize the breeding lines. After being with a rooster a hen can lay fertilized eggs for up to two weeks. If you want clean lines, you can separate a hen until she is no longer laying fertilized eggs. Then, introduce her to the rooster that you choose. Again the cage can also be helpful in collecting fertilized eggs from the desired rooster. This way there is no doubt as to which hen is laying which eggs.
Some things NOT to use a separation cage for:
I don’t recommend using your quarantine cage as a double for a brooder box. Especially if you have an existing adult flock. Chicks are especially prone to disease so I wouldn’t want babies in a cage that might have held chickens that were ill, no matter the level of sanitation. Also, if an existing member of your flock becomes ill while the chicks are in the cage, then you won’t have a place to put that chicken.
A few things to keep in mind:
Chickens forget easily and removing a bird for too long will result in that bird needing to be re-established in pecking order. Sometimes this is necessary. If the bird doesn’t however pose a direct threat to the health of your other chickens, it’s a good idea to place the cage in an area where the other chickens can see, smell and interact to a certain degree with the removed bird. This will help with re-introduction.
153 Comments
Where were the winners announced? 🙂
What an awesome innovation. My chickens would love this efficient waterer. But most importantly, my son would love this waterer because it would make his job a lot easier!
This is a great idea and I love your page this would help me out a ton since I have so many chickens it becomes hard to water them all and make sure it is full. With this I would be able to fill fast and easy.
This would be perfect for my broody breaker! No more spilled water or shavings in the water.
I think this is a fantastic product, I have 8 chicks 2 and a half weeks old, so they are starting to jump on everything and poop is getting in their water, this would be of great benefit to myself and the chicks as it would keep their water clean and be easier for me to change it
What a great idea – no dirty water bowls.
Would work great for me because I ha e a bully in my flock that I have to put in a seperate cage for a bit and she loves walking in the water bowl I presently have in there. Look amazing .
I am always looking for an even better way to tend to our sick chickens, and this seems like a really good option. Thanks for making me aware of it, and for the chance to enter.
my daughter has just started raising chickens on her small farm in West Virginia. They don’t have much money and are doing things on a shoestring budget. I’m sure she and her chickens both could use this waterer to separate some of the hens and keep things ‘orderly’.
I enjoy your site and have learned a lot about raising ‘community chickens’ too.
I just started raising chickens and I’m happy to have a place where i can learn ideals, products and how to’s on raising chickens
I use to raise chicken about 40 years-ago. I’m starting to raise chickens a gain because of the crazy price for eggs. This site is helping learn new things on raising chickens
I’m thinking about starting to raise chickens because of the price of eggs anymore and this site is really helping me get started
I have not started raising chickens , but this site is a great place to learn new ideals
I’m new at raising chickens and this site is a great place to learn new ideals.
Thanks for the great tips. Really like the waterer.
Clean water is essential for growth and health.
I have one that sits on the ground. It gets dirty from them stepping in it. This one would be way better. No mess.
thanks so much for the useful information on the quarantine sit up. i especially like the idea for watering. if i won, i would certainly use it. thanks for your post. lee
These waterer’s would be ideal for us as we are planning early next year to set up a separate pen for babies and this will help with containing them and make it so easy to change and clean!!
This would work great for my isolation cage!
this looks like a great idea!!
Really good tips and nice prize!
I’m so tired of trying to keep their hanging 2 gallon red and white plastic waterer clean. This Solway bottle holder seems effortless.
I like the idea of using this type of watering system because it keeps the water up off the ground, making it cleaner since it does not get all the mess it the water that chickens can make around thier waterers and feeders leading to healthier chickens.
thanks for the great tips… i need to look into those for our regular waterers!
Would be easier on my back. Stooping lower burns real bad. Last surgery pulled apart and every little thing helps. I often kennel poultry for transport or the occasional quarantine.
I would use this for my new babies! 🙂
I would love to win this waterer! Right now, I have a stainless steel dog bowl that I use to water the chickens. I have to clean it out every day, and it doesn’t really hold that much water. The chickens are always kicking dirt into it.
you always have some really good tips. Thanks!
This would keep me from cleaning my chickens water container twice aday. It is like they walk in the water right after cleaning every time.
Great idea
Wow! Great article and great watering system! I would love to have one as I need a way to quarantine from our small flock of necessary. Would also use it in a portable system in case we had to get out if the dam above us broke.
I am organizing a quarantined pen for my chick’s. Would love to win one of these. Quality information on here that really helps!!!
This is such great informations! And what a great giveaway too. Thank so much.
Looks like a good idea
Very good ideas and well-written, thanks.
Hope I win a waterer because I like to be prepared and that is the one piece of a quarantine setup I lack.
Great article, thank you,
Roxanne Daigle @ gardenmom82002@yahoo.com would love this watering device. It would help me with my new chicks when I get them. I am waiting until everything is set up just right before buying them.
My girl’s would really enjoy this cage watering trough! I have a large hanging watering can in the coop right now, & I would love to replace it with this product to save more room in the coop! I am always interested in anything that helps my hens have fresh water on a constant basis! It looks wonderful! My girl’s would “Thank-you” for a chance to use it!
Love this waterer. I could recycle bottles and it would be super helpful when getting in different poultry at different times of year. Eliminates any contamination between turkeys and chickens without the use of bleach/h2o2 to clean the “water bottle tank” (excepting for the trough, of course). Would really appreciate this Solway Bottle Holder Cage Watering Trough for my little farm!!!!
I think my hen ladies toes are crossed hoping to win this sweepstake. Hahaha.
Love this waterer. Can recycle bottles and would be super helpful when getting in different poultry at different times of year. Eliminates any contamination between turkeys and chickens without the use of bleach/h2o2 to clean the “water bottle tank” (excepting for the trough, of course). Would really appreciate this Solway Bottle Holder Cage Watering Trough for my little farm!!!! Solway Bottle Holder Cage Watering Trough
I think my hen ladies toes are crossed hoping to win this sweepstake. Hahaha.
We use show cages for quarantine. With the cages not being that big a water trough like Solways would help with space restrictions tremendously. Thanks for the ability to win a product like this.
This waterer looks like it would make it a lot easier to take note of water levels and keep the water fresh for the chickens.
I am new to chickens but are really getting into them. Hatched out 10 of 20 fertilized eggs and they are now near 4 weeks old. They are drinking more water than I can keep available to them. These waterers might be an answer if I can use a couple of 2 liter soft drink bottles. They do drink near half a gallon a day. New to this site as well. Interesting. Checking out the rest of it. Thanks!
What a great idea! Cannot wait to order some for our farm. Simple and inexpensive.
I like what I see, I wonder how it would work with baby chicks?
thank you for the info!
Earhart, one of my Golden Wyandotte chickens injured her leg recently (had to be splinted with a split piece of garden hose). While the split helped her hobble around (before the splint, she would just sit motionless and wasn’t eating), she was still being severely picked on by her sisters. So, in order for her to recuperate, I had to quarantine her. She would love to have the Solway water bottle so she could have more room and no more spilled water in her sick bay (a 3’x4′ moveable pen). She will never be able to rejoin the flock due to her permanent disability. Maybe I should have bought chicken insurance? Lol. Poor Earhart will never fly again but she’s still a happy girl and would be even happier with the new spill proof water bottle.
I have a new bantam that is living in the house with me in quarantine until I can try and introduce her to the big girls outside. I like the idea of keeping as much space in the cage as possible. She laid her first egg 2 days ago so now I know Charlie is a she and about how old she is. She did do some crowing a couple weeks ago just like one of my girls outside. Rescue quail Sophie knocks over her waterer about once a week.
Great tips
Very good article.Thanks
You can never have too many waterers. This one looks interesting.
Looks really clean! My biggest problem with my current waterer is how dirty it gets.
We can definitely use this because it is a great way to handle large amount of chickens
I have 3 hens and 1 rooster. They would love a new water.
We are starting out with six reds. We are learning so much from you site. This watered would be easier to keep fresh water for them. Thank you.
I usually have to put a small dish of water in with my quarantined girl and that just does NOT work. Chickens are very messy. This would solve that problem in a BIG way!
I bought one of these waterers, could use a second one. Will use for my ER cage. Great idea.
I’ve tried – honest I have! Time after time, I’ve vowed no more chickens – but to no avail! I reckon that the Good Lord will give me another twenty or so years, and I’ll still be raising a small urban chicken flock,. If you pity me; then you”ll know how much I really do need this waterer!
i would love one of these waterers. My hens are always broody ,so I separate them from the rest of the flock.They sit on dummy eggs in dog travel crates. These waterers would make it so much easier.thank you for the information about quarantine.
It would be good to quarantine my chickens for when one get Ebola to keep it from spreaden.
We have a quarantine set up on our back porch. Thanks to living down hill in a valley come spring and fall our chickens all get terrible sinus infections. It took me years while I was in high school to figure out what was wrong with our swollen eyed little feathery snot balls. Until graduation when I began interning with a bird vet who taught me the first signs and most common chicken illnesses. But like I said with damp conditions once one bird gets sick then you can expect another 6 to follow. Even with that new chicken coop they love staying out on rainy cold days. 😛 Silly chickens. So with so many needing the crud knocked out a water bottle they couldn’t easily spill would be ideal for putting their medication in. It would save myself and the chickies a lot of stress if I’m not having to hold them down all the time and squirt it down their throats.
Molly N xnylna@yahoo.com
What a great product. I am new to keeping chickens and right off the bat, the older one picked one of the pullets until her head was raw. I was so scared and my daughter was in tears. I had no where to separate the injured chicken but the lady I got them from was nice enough to care for it while she healed. This will be to set up my separate quarters in case it happens again. It will also be nice as a waterer on the far side of the chicken’s space.
I am the Duck and poultry rescue person with Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Fl. Every surrendered bird, or found. Or rescued after someone released it at a park gets a separate quarantine cage. Never enough clean water dispensers. Every bird is changed 3 times a day. Would be great to win one. Donations would be great also.Maryrescues@ymail.com.
I think this water bottle would be perfect for our girl she is always tipping over her water or it gets dirty.
Thanks for the tips. I have one bully hen (Miss Bitch) that I would like to retrain. These ideas will definitely help – and the waterer for the cage will make it a lot easier.
looks wonderful! would love to win!
Cool idea. Looks like a good time saver
This waterer would be SO great for The Chicky Girls; no more picking leaves out of the water… easy to add vitamins/electrolytes… easy to keep clean and… no legs to break on a plastic base causing the water to tip & spill!! 🙂
Very nice waterer. I just started raising chickens this year. I have a medium dog kennel to use as a quarantine cage in case one of them gets sick, but I hadn’t thought of how I would keep a waterer in it without it getting knocked over or taking up too much room! Thank you for this article.
Good advice; would love to win the waterer.
This products looks great and very usefull. Can’t wait to try it. Fresh water that has not been sitting out all day is a plus.
I love this idea and think the watering trough that uses 2 liter bottles would work best for my girls.
Would be something I would like to try using.
Good tips! I could certainly use that waterer. I’ve got an injured chicken in a cage right now who is really messy, and I’m changing out the water several times as day as it gets dirty within an hour of changing it. It would be ideal for our separated broody hens as well, especially in the summer when the temperatures soar, using partially frozen water bottles.
This would B ab eggselant idea… I am a NEW Chicken Mama… I’m learning about my new flock – Single Comb Brown Leghorns – . I have a Big 2 gal water container, BUT every time I go out it’s filled with hay and muddy… At the moment it is hanging…BUT it is still getting muddy. This Solway Bottle cage holder trough would B perfect… water no longer muddy, BUT fresh!
This would work nicely with our young chicks as they always seem to knock their water over and get debris in it. Good things.
Thanks for the tips.
I have two little chickens and they have a hard time getting to the hanging waterer that is in the chicken run. This would work beautifully for them, what a great idea.
While I am new to the “chicken community,” I am already in love with my beautiful feathered friends and the experts that are there to help me!
need this for our chickens, yay they’re 5 months old and already laying…small small eggs
I have raised chickens and other animals for many decades. This is a good article, but I will add a few extra things. First, since bleach is not at all environmentally friendly, I would not use it unless a chicken was really sick and likely had a communicable disease. Unless it is a new chicken or has been to a fair, etc,, I would assume that the illness is not contagious. Seventh Generation sells a housecleaning spray that kills almost 100% of bacteria botanically (and it cleans well too). Vinegar is very effective at killing germs. Just leaving the cage etc. outside for a day or two in the bright sunlight and/or letting it get cleaned in the rain helps. An injured chicken or one that is not very sick will get lonely by herself. If your coop is large enough you could put the cage in the coop so your injured bird can be with her friends. The cage needs to be protected from predators. Having it up on a table might help. Consider what dogs, raccoons etc are around before you leave your chicken outside or in a place they might have access to. Especially if it is cold outside consider putting the chicken in a heated garage, basement, laundry room, or bathroom. An enclosed airline crate is best for indoors, and it keeps out drafts and keeps bedding in. You can also put a tarp or plastic storage tub or dry kiddie pool under the cage to keep the bedding, etc from spreading. If the bird gets used to being in a heated area you will have to acclimate her to the outdoors. Rather than just taking her out to the coop and leaving her, let her visit for a few hours then bring her back in, increasing the time over a few days. Having her in a cage within the coop at first will let the other birds get used to her so they won’t pick on her. If the bird is a duck or other waterfowl it will need water that it can’t climb in or tip over. Otherwise you will have a huge mess. Having a drinking trough like the one in the giveaway would be great. You can also try putting a heavy water bowl outside the cage with a hole in the cage large enough for the duck to reach its head through to drink.
This waterer looks good and the quarantine tips are appreciated.
I’ve used a large rabbit cage, a fold up wire dog crate, a dog carrier (large size), even just a box if the chicken is sick enough not to care to escape! I’ve also got on hand feeders and heat lamp (red bulb) in case it’s during cold weather. I’ve also have on hand Vetrx (OTC) and some antibiotics that I have from my veternarian (with whom I have a close working relationship with). Dosing syringes for medication or liquid. Any sick or injured chicken comes inside with us in a back room, so I can keep a close eye on her. To re-introduce to flock, I just use a clean wire cage to set her up inside their coop. After a few days, just open the door at night and all is good usually. I love those waterers! That would make things a whole lot easier on that point!!!! Good article!
Love this idea! I’d love to try it with my lovelies!
Message*just starting out.don’t have chickens yet.trying to get everything established.always glad for help and ideas.
My chickens would love the Solwsy watering trough. In fact they requested one yesterday. I would hate to disappoint my fine feathered friends. 🙂
I found the link, I love the solway watering trough.
Where do I buy these waterers?
Great waterer! I’ve got a crate folded up in the barn for my quarantine set up if/when needed but wasn’t sure how I would work the water. Now I know!! Thank you for some great information.
Our family has a fairly large flock because it’s our main source of income. However as our flock increased so did our needs to quarantine sick or injured birds as well as broody hens. Individual feeders and waters are always in high demand around here.
What a great product! So simple!
We would love to have the Solway Bottle Holder Cage Watering Trough! It would be perfect for our setup. We have some pullets caged up because the hawks are so bad here, and it is such a pain to have to go inside the cage to change the water every time. The door is pretty small, so it’s an effort just to get in. This watering trough would be so convenient. In fact, if it worked well, we might be in the market for more.
I have the quarantine cages but not external feeders or waterworks. These are great!
Hi! My name is Caitlyn Ralston and my email address is chickenluv99@yahoo.com. I would love to win this waterer because this would make it so much easier to waterer my new birds while they are in quarantine! I am also going to start selling hatching eggs from my Ameraucana and Maran chickens so this would be perfect for their separated pens. Thanks for the opportunity and the great information in this blog!
I Don’t have any chickens, but I have always dreamed of owning chickens. I feel I aught to stock up on supplies before actually getting chickens.
Love the creativity! & So much easier to replenish with cold water on hot central fl days!!
Appreciate ALL of your tips!
Thanx
I have a rooster that is a bully at times and he gets time out( seperated) at timed and that does help. I raise laying hens and sometimes the rooster gets too aggressive and I m constantly looking for s place to put her! I keep taking down pens and moving them for other needs.its always a search and hunt.so this is good information for me.I could use a waterer for making me a sick box! Thanks for the info!
we can always use this because it is a great way to water and with a large amount of chickens, we are often separating when sick or having babies.
this would be awesome for my flock! As you know this would keep them from doing their business in the water and keep me from having to clean their we’re every day.
What a neat idea to be able to use any size of bottles as waterers.
Would love something so clean and easy!
My isolation site is an old rabbit hutch. I love that it is elevated off the ground which makes it much easier on the back and knees when doing wound care or administering special food/medicine. I usually just use an old dog bowl for a water container so this water trough would be perfect for the hutch.
I’ve got gads of nipple waterers for my quarantine setup and also for my growout coops, and they always seem to leak water everywhere. There isn’t enough room to put a traditional waterer in a cage for quarantine, or in a smaller coop for little kids before they move up to the big house, and watering dishes are just so unclean and a pain to clean every hour of every day with the bedding they kick into them. This would be a great thing to try out and possibly buy more of!
Message*i could use one for my emerg cage when I win one
I can see using these for a number of animals in cages–a great
idea
My chickens seem to always scratch around the waterer and scratch grass and dirt into it which then either dirties the water or wicks it out of the bottom. I think your waterer might be the answer to out dilemma. Here in the South fresh water is essential for our flock’s health.
Great ideas in this article! We had trouble with a bully hen a few years back. Now we have a separation cage in case in happens again or in case we need to isolate an ill hen. The Solway Bottle Holder Cage Watering Trough would complete this set-up
It seems that this is a really good deal since my chicken seem to think that the waterer is something to perch on.
I could have used this for my latest babies when they were being introduced to the old girls!
Have not tried one of these yet, i use a kitty litter pan and a brick, would use one if i win it
Thank you for this valuable information. I will be getting two replacement birds soon for a grand total of seven hens. All I’m allowed. This info will help me integrate them safely.
One of these waterers would be great as I keep an extra large dog kennel as a “hospital ” for those chickens in need and then there would be no overturned water bowl!
Often people contact me when they cannot keep their chickens anymore. I have plenty of cages, but good waterers are scarce, here!
Looks like a great product.
My chickens like to hop into their water bowl as soon as it’s filled, so the muddy chicken-foot water needs to be changed multiple times/day. This would help keep them with clean water and stop them from constantly tipping the bowl over.
My husband wants chickens “someday.” Maybe if we win a watering system, he might build the coop. 🙂
I have had a couple hens gets injured and never have a setup ready for them to quarantine. I recently had to bring my Rhode Island Rooster (Roy) in the house and keep him in a closet at night (away from my kitties) in a big box when he was injured. The water bowl I used he stepped in a flipped over – making a mess and leaving him without until I checked on him. These water bottles are a great idea! I could set up a cage and next time something happens be ready and not worry about tipped water and my recovering chicken going without!
Oh my goodness, our five retired hens who are living out their senior years in peace and harmony, would very much enjoy this waterer!!
As new homeowners – and farmers! – I’m trying to help my husband as much as possible around the farm. This would be a great tool for offering our chickens fresh water!
I have a bunch of great girls that I must carry water for since there is no running water near their yard. They like to stand in there water pans and if it is muddy, their water get dirty. I change their water several times a day. This would help them with a crystal clear drink. I like all my ladies and I want them to have the best.
We could really use the Solway water trough! we have 12 hen’s and plan on more in the spring! fresh water is always a priority and the Solway trough would be a great asset to our little micro-farm!
This is a great gadget! Takes up no floor space and can’t spill!! Everyone needs one of these!
That’s probably the thing that gets the dirtiest around our coop–the water. No matter what we put it in, how high or how low, whether in the middle of the coop floor or toward the walls, the water will be dirty three minutes after we set the refilled waterer back down. Anything that would help keep the water cleaner would be much appreciated, and “FREE” would be awesome!
We are always bringing in new girls to the flock and some are younger and we use holding pens till they are ready to enter the flock. This water would be perfect for the girls in waiting and younger chicks. Love Chicken stuff!
this would help with the babies not drowning so easy from the water trough
This waterer would be very helpful!
I have eight beautiful hens. I put out three watering containers but they don’t empty them at the same rate so I usually end up just replacing one at a time. But it’s only the new one that the silly girls will all crowd in to get at. It seems like the Solway feeder would help eliminate that since it’s a serve one at a time type.
I have some chickens who always pick on my EE hen. I would like to have a place to put the mean one for a while.
I have 4 girls and didn’t think about needing to isolate them sometimes. I do have a dog crate but no way of providing water outside the cage. These look extremely nifty!
What a timely article. I have three hens in quarantine now. They have lice. They came from another flock and I don’t want to infect my ‘girls,’ I have to check the water several times a day. The waterer is suspended off the ground, but they manage to mess up the water or dump it! Frustration! This ingenious water will save the day!
Nice simple item, the way things ought to be.
I would love to be able to have multiple watering locations thoughout my hens’ pen. It would help avoid any pecking order issues and blocking of water to the lower girls by the higher up girls.
I am very interested to see how this product works for our chickens! I have lots of friends who have chickens, so we are always scouting for a good product that makes life a little easier and our feathered friends, a little happier! Very dry out here in west Texas, so water is at the top of our priorities. Thanks for this good article! Evelyn in Abilene, Tx.
I am constantly setting my babies water back up after they’ve had a “hayday” upsetting it. This would be very helpful!
I would like one of these!
This looks like a great idea….especially to keep the water clean and fresh! I need one of these for my 3 chickens!!
I have three breeds that need separation for tge spring. This cage waterer bottle would work for us when using cages for hens
This would indeed be helpful in my “hospital” tote. Hope I win:)
Hmm, I was thinking I needed to set up a quarantine, and I already have a large dog crate. This waterer would be a great addition
Always looking for new products to try.
My chickens are constantly turning over their water. This would be awesome to have for them, and so much more efficient than what I have now.
I recently added 6 new chicks to my flock( introduction went well) and they are the messiest little beasts ever, I’m always changing the water- really like that you can adjust the height. p.s. it’s a good idea to have a first aid kit prepared and close at hand.
I could use something like this right now ,I have a sick bird who constantly is knocking her water over.
Grace McCain
graceinapril@gmail.com
Water – fresh clean water – is so important to life! We hear on the news abuot humans living without good water sources and I COMPLETELY agree that needs to be helped!! But, I think it’s easy for most people to overlook the importance of providing animals with this fresh clean water as well! I would love to know that a few more chickens would be living a better life because of having this waterer! 🙂
In summer in Texas it seems you just can not have enough fresh water available.
My chickens love fresh water. These are great as the water stays fresh therefore my girls would always have fresh clean water! Plus when hot, I could replace and they would have cooler water more often!
I have been raising chickens for nearly 20 years. When I am having a rather stressful day I can go to the yard or barn and sit down and just watch the girls and their guy. I am always amazed at the “pecking” order as it changes, frequently changes. I can get lost just watching one group of 15 and another of about 13, they just calm me down, its amazing. Yes, seems like everyone loves fresh water. When I add a couple freshly squeezed garlic bulbs that waterer always gets cleaned out first 🙂 I am always on the outlook for new things that will help me help my girls.
Pretty please correct my typing on first msg. ty
I would truly love this, I have never seen this before and it would make my life a while bunch easier. It looks like something my chickens would like too.
Well, I only have 2 sweet girls and they constantly grab their water bowl and pull it over. I’ve put weights in it and secured it with wire but they are crafty. After Hubby or I fill it they run to it, grab it with their claws and turn it over; I assume it’s a game for them cause they are good girls in every other way. 🙂
I have a couple of broody bantams that surprise us with chicks at ‘any’ time of year. (Have 30 day old chicks now.) Every time they start to sit, one of the other hens ends up picked on by the flock for seemingly unrelated actions. I could really use the cage watering trough to assist in the separation and re-introduction of the hen(s) as they are ready.
Excellent thing! I need a buy one. Only US?
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