My chicks poop in their water and food. What to do?

[rod5591]

I am new to chickens. I just retired and now I am raising 22 chicks: 4 Rhode Island Reds 4 Plymouth black bars, 6 Delawares and 8 Rhode Island Red/ Plymouth black bar hybrids. They are two weeks old. I am in Tennessee and it is too cold for the chicks to go outside.

I have the chicks divided into two plastic tubs. 8 chicks in the smaller tub and 14 chicks in the larger tub. Each tub has a plastic waterer and feeder. See photos

The chicks poop in their feed and water all the time. Is this dangerous for their health? I sure grosses me out. I change out the water once or twice a day. For the feed, I remove the poop and wood shavings once a day and refill with fresh food (chick starter feed from the Farmers Co-op).

Is there a better way? Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[RodNTN]

Those bins look too small for the growing chicks, moving them to something bigger would help a lot. Don't let the chicks drink water that has floating poop in it, I would elevate the waterers on a couple of bricks (or anything that gets the job done).

 

[lissalischicks]

I think they are pooping in the water and feed because there isn't enough room. They have no place to go away from the feed or water and jump around or play. I always suggest boxes and keep adding boxes together as they get bigger but only because it worked for me.

Just a general question that came to mind that maybe someone can answer. If you keep them separate and when it come times to put them together outside, will they do ok or will they need to be introduced to each other before combing them????

 

[HenHouse4Life]

X2... those bins are way too small for the number of chicks. In a small space like that they don't have a lot of choices on where to poop, although chickens in general will go anywhere. I would suggest a larger brood box for both. If water continues to pose a problem for you this would be a good time to introduce a hanging nipple waterer . In a confined area you may also begin to notice unwanted behavior. Adult chickens and chicks alike need space.
Good luck with your new flock!!

 

[SueT]

You can make your own nipple waterers for chicks out of small bottles. The water stays 100% clean. When they are moved to a bigger area, you can use larger containers/buckets. Nipples are inexpensive, easy to install, (you need a drill and right size bit) and available at most feed stores.

 

[SueT]

Not only do the nipple waterers solve the dirty water issue, they are hanging and thus free up more floor space in the brooder.

 

[rod5591]

Thanks for the feedback, I think that I can get another tub to give the clicks some more room. We live outside the city limits and there are no restrictions regarding roosters. We are having our 3/4 acre lot fenced into 3 sections and we have two chicken coops--see pic--but the coops are only big enough for 5 chickens each--and I have 22. My general plan was to place the Delewares in one coop and if one of the 6 chicks is a rooster, then keep the rooster. This coop would go in one of the 3 fenced sections. The Delawares can breed. The other 16 chicks would go into the second coop, which would be kept in fenced section #2. Problem--coop is not big enough! I am going to let all the chickens out into the yard to freerange. I am wondering if I bought too many chickens and if I need to buy or build another coop. I am planning to keep the chickens for household use, eggs and meat. I wonder if 22 chickens is too many?

 

[Ms Biddy]

As they get bigger, being crowded can lead to other problems like picking and aggression. But yes, dirty water is frustrating and needs to be cleaned constantly to prevent illness. Nipple waterers are an excellent solution. My only mistake with them was using the horizontal style with small chicks that couldn't press the nipples forceful enough. That style is better for bigger birds and the vertical ones are excellent for little chicks. I'll never go back to regular water dishes.

 

[aggiemae]

Agree that crowning is part of the problem. Put your feeders on a brick to raise it up a bit. Chicks scratch the bedding into the water and just poop where they happen to be standing, eating the poop and drinking the nasty water won't hurt them but, for you, this is the start of getting into the life time habit of regularly checking and attending to their environment. Unless They have a mama, I would check my chicks at least 4 times a day.

BTW, I have never seen a pre made coop/run like those pictured that can actually house 5 grown hens humanity. Especially if you plan on breeding them.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I would build a coop honestly. I'm certainly not trying to burst your bubble and/or your excitement for your flock...but speaking from experience, and 3 coops later....a walk-in coop for that amount of birds is so much simpler. Easier for feeding, cleaning and simply just enjoying your flock. A lot of the prefab coops are built for beauty only. They can be poorly designed, too small (even for the recommended allowed birds), and you will most likely find yourself making repairs or adding to the coop you just paid a lot of your hard earned money for.
In building your own coop, yes, you will most likely still spend a lot of money depending on how extreme you want to get...but you can make it YOUR way. Ideally you should have 10 sq ft per bird.
I just hate to see anyone excited for starting out in the chicken world end up not enjoying it as much because they didn't have the resources or info or advice they needed.
That's why we're here!!!!
I wish you the very best of luck and please feel free to ask away with any questions you may have!!!