Homemade Automatic Chicken Water Containers

Chickens are an interesting addition to almost any landscape. Not only can they provide you with a one egg per chicken most of the year, they are good at keeping down bugs in your yard, eating pests off your vegetable plants and providing your garden with fertilizer. Raising your own poultry assures you of where your chicken and eggs are coming from and what went into them. Chickens eat most kitchen scraps and so are aid in your composting regimen.

Things You'll Need

  • Plastic plant base or round oil pan, 20 inches in diameter
  • Five-gallon bucket
  • Drill
  • One-inch saw big
  • Mason jar,1 pint or 1 quart
  • Rock
  • Screwdriver
  • Saucer, bowl or small plate
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Instructions

    • 1

      Drill two holes, approximately one inch in diameter, opposite each other near the top of a five-gallon bucket. If you're able to lift and turn over a full bucket, fill with water now. If not, fill with water at the end.

    • 2

      Snap the lid on the top of the bucket. This creates the seal. Turn the bucket over into plant base or oil pan. If you didn't fill the bucket before turning over, drill another hole (about two inches in diameter) into the bottom of the bucket (this is now the top). Fill the bucket with water through the hole and seal with a piece of duct tape. Your chickens can now drink out of it.

    • 3

      Clean out a one-pint or one-quart Mason jar, depending on how many baby chicks you have. Use a screwdriver to nick the jar mouth at spots opposite each other so that there is a small opening on either side. Do it fairly hard, but not hard enough to crack the jar.

    • 4

      Fill the jar with water and select a saucer or bowl larger than the jar mouth and shallow enough for chicks to reach into. Place the saucer or bowl on top of the jar and over so the jar is now upside down and saucer is flat on the ground. Place a rock on top to keep the waterer stable. This waterer is for very small chicks. Once they get bigger, the waterer can get clogged more quickly with bedding, so transition them to the larger waterer as soon as they can reach in.