what to put their snacks in

[ahappybrood]

I have 5 month old girls...5 RIR and 6 Barred Rocks. I bring them out fruits and veggies and yogurt and oatmeal on occasion. We have had a lot of rain here in MA and the run is absolutely disgusting. Maybe its just the human in me but I cant help but be grossed out by putting their food on the ground. I have tried many different dishes but they just knock em over and end up putting the food in the mud/poop.
Does anyone have any suggestions for this problem. We are trying to think of some material to put in to keep the run dry or submerging a pump at the end of it as it seems to retain a lot of water due to the low wall we buried to prevent predators from coming in.
We are pretty grossed out by it though it doesnt seem to bother them : )
Also any idea when they will start laying? Is it 6 months or 7?

 

[possumqueen]

Did you bury a wall or wire? Wire would let the water out. If you put in a wall you may have built your girls a pond!

A couple of things you might try: dig up the wall and put in wire (serious labor) or dig along the wall and put down gravel with dirt on top (called a French drain, also lots of labor) or build up the dirt in the run so that the girls are higher than the water that needs to drain off.

As for treats: You can tie greens together by the stems and hang them up for the chickens to pull at. You can cut a cabbage in half and hang it up so they can pick at the bottom of it. Half a pumkin (or watermelon in summer) makes a great bowl for treats, and the pumpkin itself is a tasty treat, too.

I've seen a lot of feeders on BYC made of PVC pipe. It hangs on the wall, and everything stays dry.

Nothing will stop them from spilling stuff on the ground and then picking through it, and yes, indeedy, it IS gross!

But we're talking about the same chickens that have traditionally sorted through all kinds of manure for leftover grain and stuff! What can I say?

 

[elmo]

I bought a bunch of these dishes (scroll down to "world's best bird dishes (heh)":

http://www.pippinsroost.com/nesting.htm

I use the bigger ones for my chickens, the little ones for my parrots.

 

[wildorchid053]

we use a weighted dog bowl it won't flip over and is dishwasher safe

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Try glass or ceramic casserole or baking dishes bought cheap at the thrift store. Another benefit is the musical sound of their beaks going ping!ping!ping!ping! when they hit the bottom of the dish.

 

[mandelyn]

I use a heavy dog bowl, I think it's ceramic or something... easy to clean, too heavy to flip, low sides so the baby can get in there (or sit on the side), and the color contrasts with most fruit/veggie colors so they're sure to see it. They didn't care for the no-flip dog bowl, the slanted sides kept them from being able to stand on it, and it doesn't hold as much as the ceramic one that has straight sides but is too heavy to flip.

Must be durable too, I found it buried in the ground, and it must have been there since the last time dogs were kept in the old run, and that was over 10 years ago. LOL

 

[ahappybrood]

Thank you all for all the wonderful suggestions. I am sure they are going to help me in a big way!!
As for the watery run...yes I guess we built them a pond. I am certainly not going to dig up the wall but I may eventually try the French drain.....with winter coming and an inch of rain expected on Saturday I decided to just put a pallet in the end where the most water seems to pool. I did this as a temporary fix until we have drier weather next week.
Thanks a whole bunch!

 

[cnj-tx50]

I bought cheap-o cookie sheets at Walmart and raised them upon bricks. We have had alot of rain here as well - 4 inches in 8 hours yesterday - and things have been standing in water.