Keeping your chickens well feed and supplied with plenty of fresh water is essential to their health. By having proper containers for both, you avoid wasting food which therefore saves you money. You want to feed your chickens, not half the neighbourhood pests.
There are many types of chicken feeders available on the market today. Generally they will hold several days of feed and then dispense this slowly to your chickens.
Make sure the chicken feeders that you do choose are easy to clean, and be mindful of your location as well. Untreated wooden feeders may rot in wet climates and galvanized steel can become very hot in other climates. Some feeders are plastic and these generally work very well and are easy to clean, although they may need to be replaced more frequently than galvanized steel feeders as they are not as robust.
Whatever the type of feeder is that you choose it must hold at least a day’s worth of chicken food and be bigger enough to provide food for all your chickens. You don’t want any missing out! Chickens are a social bunch and they generally like to eat together, so make sure it is big enough for them to do this.
Chicken feeders should be designed so that chickens cannot get in to them and scratch all the food out. Additionally, they should not have edges on them that would encourage the chickens to perch on them. You don’t want chickens falling into their food, nor do you want them tipping the feeder over.
Like selecting your chicken feeder, you should also ensure the chickens’ water dishes or containers do not easily break or crack and provide plenty of fresh water for your chickens. It is very important to keep your water containers clean otherwise the chickens could get sick from contaminated, dirty water.
If you have quite a big brood of chickens, then you may opt for an automatic nipple system. This hooks up to your household water supply and has a little valve which drips water when touched. Despite what some people think, chickens do have little brains and can figure out how to do this quite quickly!
Nonetheless, regardless of the type of feeding and watering containers that you use for your chickens, these need to be checked every day to ensure they are full and functioning properly. Even automatic systems that hold food or water for several days could become frozen knocked over by chickens, their predators or even the family dog.
Keep these tips in mind for your chickens food and water, when you are planning on building a chicken coop or buying a chicken coop.
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