Think Automatic Waterer This Summer

Although we all know the importance of making fresh water available to our chickens throughout the day, as summer approaches we should stick post it notes all over our homes with “don’t forget to water the chickens” written on them. It really is no more work than it was during the winter, spring or fall but we’re given fewer chances to be forgetful in the summer unless we want a yard full of rotisserie chicken. I guess that’s why so many people are interested in purchasing automatic waterers versus traditional. That’s why I am so surprised of the narrow selection really available out there for the average backyard poultry flock. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good choices available but just not many of them. By far the two best selling (and for good reason) automatic waterers are the bell style waterer and a heavy duty plastic automatic trough waterer. The bell style waterer hangs and is fed by ¼” plastic tubing and the trough must be connected to pvc pipe or a special adapter can be added to allow it to fit onto a garden hose. We have found the bell style waterer to be the easier of the two to keep clean since it stays off the ground and is virtually impossible for the chickens to roost on. The trough however is excellent for a small grown flock and is designed fairly well to prevent roosting. My toughest challenge however with any auto waterer is getting water to it. I don’t have running water at my coop because it’s a mobile chicken coop but during the summer especially when I’m on vacation, I don’t mind having a hose run across the yard. There is no doubt in my mind a broader selection of automatic waterers should be available in the near future and each should demonstrate how they would effectively work in the specific scenario for which they were designed. We will do our best in the near future to provide more pictures and videos of auto waterers in real life situations. Stay cool my friends.