[Sheila D]

I am new to chicken keeping.  Whatever recepticle I put their water in, they always manage to fill it will mud within minutes.  I tried the usual plastic water tower, dirty in less than 2 minutes.  I now use a large heavy dog bowl raised on two bricks.  That lasts for about 15 minutes, they then climb on it  and generally kick mud into it.  Can anyone suggest the best way to provide my chooks with clean water?

Also, in the mornings there is always a wet brown patch by the door of the 'bedroom'.  None of them otherwise appears to have diarrhea, so why is this happening?  Any ideas?

[sally10]

Hi,

I'm also new to the hen world !!!
My drinker always gets a bit of mud sawdust etc, I have mine raised on bricks so its harder for them to scrat dirt etc in, the other idea would be to hang it from a secure hook from the roof of the hen house.

[Pretty Chick]

Hi Sheila  .

We use galvanised drinkers raised on a couple of bricks which stay clean for days  .

[looe-looe-belle]

  do you think the wet brown patch is from a fox??!!

[Sassy]

I use the usual plastic green and white water containers and hang it inside the run. It stays much cleaner

[jhub]

'superglugs' from Omelet are designed to prevent this problem-   attach to the weldmesh panel (have a peek at their website)

[Snoop]

I have two - a large shallow one they can paddle in and a heavy but smaller terracotta bowl with a rounded bottom that tends to tip a bit if they try and stand on one side. Didn't take them long to learn that the shallow bowl is more fun for standing in!

Having seen the stuff they eat, I don't think they mind a bit of mud, actually!

[Craig69]

Don't think a bit of dirt in the water will hurt them concidering they water they will find if completely free-range.
In saying that i do clean their drinker if i see it getting too dirty & change their water every day some times twice if it's really hot.
I'm too soft i think!!!!

[NormandyMary]

I tried everything, now believe it or not, I use a large washing up bowl. I can tell in an instant when its running low, and if its especially dirty. Its been the most successful thing Ive done with chooks. I fill it up with the hose every night, and sometimes top it up in the hot weather so its fresh.

[evie2]

Hello Sheila and welcome to the forum.  We use a tower for water raised on 2 bricks

[8doubles]

I`ve got a shelf tray out of an old fridge door hung on the fence at crop height, it still gets dirt in it where they drink with muddy beaks and it washes off.