Safe drinking containers

[rosemarythyme]

It might be denser foam but chickens love to destroy foam, so I wouldn't use it.

I chose my waterer solely based on function. It honestly looks ugly as heck to me (blue and red, doesn't match the coop!) but works as intended.

 

[K0k0shka]

Thanks everybody! I'm now looking into how to waterproof wood in a way that's safe for chickens to drink out of. I want to hollow out a real log and use that as a waterer. So I'm looking up bird-safe sealants... I will not have an ugly waterer outside and that's it!

 

[K0k0shka]

I ended up fitting a plastic flower pot into one of the fake stump planters to turn it into a waterer. I closed the pot holes with duct tape for now I have silicone sealant arriving in a couple of days. Will use that to seal the holes with long term, and to paint on the inside of the other container to make it drink safe. It’s a non-standard size/shape and I can’t find anything to fit inside of it.

The chicks had this one all day today and so far they haven’t pecked at the foam... Let’s hope they leave it alone.

Isn’t this so much nicer?

 

[Sams Backyard Flock]

Awesome design. looking forward to seeing how it continues to work.

 

[K0k0shka]

Update: it’s been 4 days and the chicks haven’t pecked at the foam yet. They love their new drinker and prefer it greatly over the nipple drinker in the coop (who can blame them - open drinkers are so much easier). It’s too small though, so I got the second one set up. I painted the entire inside with silicone, so it should be safe to drink from. I gave it 2 days to cure. It has no smell now. I just set it up in the run and the chicks approve! And it looks so nice!

 

[Sams Backyard Flock]

Update: it’s been 4 days and the chicks haven’t pecked at the foam yet. They love their new drinker and prefer it greatly over the nipple drinker in the coop (who can blame them - open drinkers are so much easier). It’s too small though, so I got the second one set up. I painted the entire inside with silicone, so it should be safe to drink from. I gave it 2 days to cure. It has no smell now. I just set it up in the run and the chicks approve! And it looks so nice!

View attachment 2199024View attachment 2199026
very nice. And so natural looking

 

[K0k0shka]

Thanks! I wanted the whole run to look natural and foresty. I stained the wooden run frame dark like tree bark, the dust bath is made out of logs, there’s a log climbing structure, live shrubbery and faux ivy all along the back wall. An ugly plastic waterer would’ve messed up the look But these two are perfect.

 

[K0k0shka]

Just wanted to post an update in case anybody else wants to do this and is wondering how it turned out. It's been 8 months now and nobody has pecked at the foam containers yet! The silicone lining I painted on the inside of the waterer is holding up, too - no damage. The chickens are doing great, healthy and normal. I found a third natural-looking container (ceramic, not foam) for the eggshells. And I use the small round one with the flower pot in it for grit. The long one with the silicone coating is for water. They are all working out great, no problems whatsoever, and they look so much nicer than the ugly standard plastic/metal containers!

 

[K0k0shka]

Another update. My flock has grown, and so has their water intake, so my pretty log waterer had to be retired I can’t justify shelling out $50 for the next size up, so I got a different planter - a simple plastic bowl, but still keeping with the aesthetic. It’s much larger and lasts them a very long time. I used the same food-grade silicone to plug the drainage holes. The bowl is in a corner and in a shallow hole in the ground for stability, so it hasn’t tipped over yet. The edges are very thin and I’m guessing uncomfortable to step on, so the chickens keep their feet off the bowl. I haven’t seen them step or poop inside at all (I’ve had it for a couple of months now). So I’m very happy with it, and it looks so nice!