As a newbie chicken owner, I’m still experimenting with the best type of water container for our three hens. Everything I’ve read about chickens emphasizes the importance of assuring access to clean water. Although I rarely see our hens drinking, they obviously do so quite often, because their bowl empties quickly.
There are all sorts of waterers on the market, but I’ve been trying homegrown solutions, at least for the time being.
It's been an education.
My first foray involved placing a ceramic dog bowl full of water next to a bowl containing chicken feed. Big mistake. Chickens, who are quite nimble, will walk over (and into) most anything, including their water bowl if it provides easy access to their chow.
The result was an instantaneous transformation of clean water into muddy water, thanks to the inadvertent washing of chicken feet.
I then tried elevating the bowl by placing it on a small, inverted wooden box. This raised the bowl about 3 inches off the ground. Which, it turns out, is completely inconsequential to any self-respecting chicken, who can easily clamber into a bowl at that height without a moment’s hesitation.
My latest innovation involves placing the bowl on an inverted wicker basket in the pen. This elevates the bowl about eight inches. It’s still not chicken proof at that height; they are birds, after all. One of our feathered gymnasts hopped into the bowl en route to somewhere else almost as soon as I set it up. But such visits seem to be few and far between now; the water stays cleaner, longer.
Chickens are beautiful. And entertaining. And quirky. And productive. (We’re getting two to three eggs per day from our trio.) But when it comes to table manners, their behavior leaves something to be desired. Well, make that a lot to be desired, actually.
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