Water dish issues with my new chicks!

[Chickitha]

Hello! I’m a *very* new chicken owner [like- my first 4 chicks EVER are just 3 weeks old kinda new!] and for their brooder I purchased a nice water dish- the kind that you fill a reservoir with water & screw it onto a base with a watering trough that goes all the way around so it stays filled [make sense?!] Anywhoo- my issue is that no matter where I set the water dish in their brooder or even if I set the dish on something to make it a little higher off the ground, within FIVE MINUTES of cleaning & refilling it my chicks have kicked up mountains of pine shavings, strawberry tops, poop, and you-name-it into the fresh water! I even tried just laying down soft shelf liner & nixing the pine shavings for a day to see if that’d help, but it didn’t! I’m seriously changing their water 2-3 times a day & the whole purpose for this rather pricey watering dish was so that I DIDN’T have to constantly change the water! So my question is- does anyone have experience with such dishes & has found a way to reduce this problem? Or does anyone have a watering method that they prefer that doesn’t get so dirty so fast? I swear I’m not lazy- I really don’t mind changing their water out, but I feel like the only way for them to have constant access to non-poopy FRESH water is for me to wash & refill their water dish every 30 minutes & that’s just not possible! Sorry for the long post! I always have lots to say! And thanks for imparting some of your chicken wisdom on this newbie!!

 

[chickengirl778]

I have a system like this one that works great! All you need to do is get the poultry nipples off of Amazon and then install them in a bucket, or you can buy the bucket with them, but that's usually more expensive! No way they're getting shavings in there! Just
be sure your chickens know how to use it - perhaps when they move out to the coop you can try this. To teach them to use it, just use your finger to wiggle the metal part back and forth so water comes out - they should get it within a few minutes. Plus, they like pecking shiny things, so that also helps!

 

[Trhaworth]

Yes! Poultry nipples for sure. The cheap one leak and break and I’ve found are a waste of money though.

 

[Zinjifrah]

I'm still waiting for my water nipples to arrive... and in the meanwhile, I took a six inch plant pot with a fixed base (empty, of course), turned that upside down, and put the water on top of it. They may have to stretch a little to get the water, but I haven't had any trouble with them not being able to drink. At three weeks old, they shouldn't have any trouble drinking out of it at all - my Serama chicks didn't by three weeks, and they're tiny.

 

[CJsCoop]

I’d raise it as high as you can with them still being able to get to it. I use bricks with chicks and concrete block (1 1/2 blocks high) with the big kids.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Don't worry, you aren't doing anything wrong. It's completely normal for chicks to kick bedding into the waterer, or to knock it over (repeatedly). It's what chicks do! They also like to poop on their food and scatter it all over the floor.

 

[blackdog043]

Set it up higher, but horizontal nipples (Amazon) will be a lifesaver for you, clean water 24/7, refill as needed. I have a one gallon pitcher for the brooder and 2 five gallon buckets for the big girls.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

We had this same problem with our chickens. Just had to clean out the waterer about twice a day. It gets better though the older they get. Just accept that they are pigs and not chickens lol