Is this rubber trough safe?

[Annalyse]

Last night I bought a small rubber trough. I'm guessing your use them with horses because there was a picture of one on the front. Well it smells like rubber, yes I know it sounds stupid but like a very strong smell and I don't know if it's safe to put chicken feed in nor water because I feel like it'll release toxins into it. Someone said not to wash it with soap or water because the soap will get into its pores but all I did was rinse it.

 

[Studabird]

I have been using one for duck feed for a couple months and it is fine but I got a plastic one for their water for the same reason I didn’t trust the smell and kinda oily feeling of it.

 

[Annalyse]

I have been using one for duck feed for a couple months and it is fine but I got a plastic one for their water for the same reason I didn’t trust the smell and kinda oily feeling of it.

Did the smell go away when you kept using the feed. I'm afraid that it's going to be really strong and they're not gonna like it because of that. We have the bowl in the kitchen an trust me we can smell it from the giving room when we brought it home lol

 

[Studabird]

It does go away once the feed has been in it for a while. My ducks never had a problem with it. They dove in as soon as their was feed in it.

 

[Annalyse]

It does go away once the feed has been in it for a while. My ducks never had a problem with it. They dove in as soon as their was feed in it.

haha thank you!!

 

[ADKcluckers]

They're very handy in the winter since you can easily remove ice and then refill with fresh water, and they don't get brittle and break apart in the real cold weather (two plastic ones did for us already and it has another -30 degrees to go before spring returns).

The smell will go away as the material stabilizes and finishes off-gassing the compounds that produce the smell, but if you want to speed the process then a tested and proven method that is easiest is to fill it with hot water and a handful of regular tea bags (not herbal tea, just plain black tea like Lipton's) and let it soak for a few days in the sun. Works in a tote with those rubber floor mats too, same for rubber boots or gloves. There are more "industrial" methods using commercial products but I avoid those.

 

[Annalyse]

They're very handy in the winter since you can easily remove ice and then refill with fresh water, and they don't get brittle and break apart in the real cold weather (two plastic ones did for us already and it has another -30 degrees to go before spring returns).

The smell will go away as the material stabilizes and finishes off-gassing the compounds that produce the smell, but if you want to speed the process then a tested and proven method that is easiest is to fill it with hot water and a handful of regular tea bags (not herbal tea, just plain black tea like Lipton's) and let it soak for a few days in the sun. Works in a tote with those rubber floor mats too, same for rubber boots or gloves. There are more "industrial" methods using commercial products but I avoid those.

Thank you. Were using it for feed because my chickens live to step in things and if they gave a bowl if water they'll step all over it and my rooster will purposefully flip it over lol. We have it outside on the step rightnow because the smell was worse in the house haha

 

[ADKcluckers]

Same problem here with flipping bowls, so my plan is to make a sort of frame out of spare boards that has holes in the center for the rubber bowls to sit in to make them hopefully flip-proof. Seems when it comes to chickens its a constant back and forth game. I make something, they find a way to still make a mess, so I make a new version, and they figure out a new way to mess with it. Quite entertaining at times, if a little maddening

The fact that they find endless ways to make a mess out of water and feed bowls but can't seem to learn to use the ramp up to their perches drives me nuts, but I suspect they only avoid the ramp when I'm watching so they can have a laugh afterward when they see me tinkering with the design.

 

[ackie]

I have some hand-me-down ones and they dont smell at all, so I suspect everyone else is right that it will wear off. I dont get a lot of ice here, but they are definitely easier to get ice out of than gravity waterers. I just crunch the top layer with my foot haha.

 

[Annalyse]

Same problem here with flipping bowls, so my plan is to make a sort of frame out of spare boards that has holes in the center for the rubber bowls to sit in to make them hopefully flip-proof. Seems when it comes to chickens its a constant back and forth game. I make something, they find a way to still make a mess, so I make a new version, and they figure out a new way to mess with it. Quite entertaining at times, if a little maddening

The fact that they find endless ways to make a mess out of water and feed bowls but can't seem to learn to use the ramp up to their perches drives me nuts, but I suspect they only avoid the ramp when I'm watching so they can have a laugh afterward when they see me tinkering with the design.

LOL sameeeee. My rooster had his foot in the food bowl and I was right there and I kept saying "Rooster no, take your foot out, nooo" and he looked at me and flipped it right there and then ran away because he scared himself.