DIY Glass Chicken & Poultry Waterer

The Glass Natural Chicken Keeping Waterer

By Sue -

I’m not a fan of plastic for a variety of health reasons, so I've been trying to come up with an all-glass waterer that is easy to fill, use, clean, and has a nice flat bottom so that it can sit on a water heating base in the winter if necessary. When fellow Natural Chicken Keeping Forum member MLOwenposted her plastic chicken waterer on the forum a "light bulb" went on for me, and I realized that I could make one from glass pretty easily.

So why don't I just use a glass bowl?
This waterer will be my indoor, year-round waterer for the coop. In the summer I put Pyrex pans outside with water in various places so they can drink and stand in them if they want. But I always keep a main waterer in the hen house year-round.

For the year-round waterer, (whether used indoors or out) I don't want to have a large, open bowl getting dirt and shavings kicked into it. And because I live in a cold climate, I don't want any possibility of them stepping in the water in the winter and getting frost bite. I only want a small opening for them to drink from.

You might ask why I wouldn't just use my "vintage" glass waterers that work with an upside down canning jar since they are both glass and have a restricted area to drink from. 

 
I have several reasons:

1. They have to be turned upside down just like the plastic base, canning jar waterers that you can get everywhere.. I hate having to turn waterers upside down. Additionally, the glass vintage kind doesn't allow the jar to be screwed in place so you have to pick up the base and jar together when you want to empty, clean and refill. I'd like to just be able to pick it up and set it down like normal without dumping water all over....and maybe wash out the dish part without having to dump out the whole waterer.

The Vintage Jar Waterer:

2. The base is not flat on the bottom so it doesn't make good contact with a heater base. It only has a relatively thin rim that it sits on. It was enough to keep the water open in the dish, but the water in the jar would begin to freeze from the top down.

See how the base has a rim (not a great photo)

3. I wanted to be able to make a waterer that would hold more than a quart if I wanted to.

So why do they make them upside down anyway?
Because you have to have an air-tight seal or the water will just pour right out the bottom and spill everywhere.

So...on to:
The All-Glass Natural Chicken Keeping Glass Waterer

- I used a canning jar and a glass bowl (Anchor Glass). The canning jar shown here is 1/2 gallon capacity and I found the perfect size glass bowl after some searching around.

-I set the jar into the bowl and made a mark on the glass at the height of the bowl top. The Hole needs to be drilled below the bowl height, of course, as the water depth in the bowl will rise to the top of the height of the hole.

- Purchased a a 1/2" glass and tile drill bit. (Tried using a smaller bit first, but found that 1/2" worked very well for water flow.)

- Then, very carefully drilled a hole at the right height. This is the tricky part as drilling glass can be a little unstable. I tried 2 different kinds of bits and liked the one shown best. I wore goggles, long sleeves and gloves just in case there was a shatter. I also practiced on a different jar the first time. Not one mishap!

I was very careful to wash out the jar and re-wash out the jar, as well as testing the edge of the drilled hole to be sure no glass shards or sharp edges were left to harm the chickens.

 -Now I needed an AIR TIGHT LID. Canning jar flat lids will make an air-tight seal when screwed down tight. (These are easily replaceable when needed...available everywhere!) I put one inside one of the plastic lids designed for canning jars to make the seal. However, you can use a regular metal ring rather than the plastic. I used the plastic ones because I happened to have one and because I know that the metal ones can rust and deteriorate and become hard to remove over time. The plastic and the flat lid will not come in contact with the water.

 

-When I fill the canning jar, I simply put my thumb flat over the hole. You could use a cork if desired, but the thumb method seems to work just fine. After it is filled, keeping the thumb over the hole, screw the flat down tight using either the plastic lid or metal ring. You can now either lay the canning jar down flat on its back with the hole up and remove your thumb from the hole as the water won't spill out, or just keep your thumb over the hole while carrying it out to put in the bowl.

-To put it in the bowl, put your thumb over the hole, put the jar over the bowl, remove thumb and set the jar into the bowl. It won't dump much water at that point so you have plenty of time to get it settled down into the bowl while holding the jar from the top.

-It will fill right up to the top of the hole level and stop. Refilling as the birds drink just to the level of the hole as long as the seal is screwed down tight to make it air tight.

 
-When I need to clean the bowl or refill the jar, I can lift it right up (upright) and tilt it back with the hole up. I have laid it on the floor on its back or on top of any other surface as the canning jars have "flat sides" and won't roll away. Pick up the bowl, dump and rinse out, replace the bowl and put the jar back in if not adding more water. Or rinse out the jar, re-fill as above, and replace onto the bowl.

                        (Picture is a clickable link to Sue's Forum profile. Joining is free!)

 

Much thanks to mlowen for the inspiration!

Note from Sue:

Regular followers have heard me talking about using glass forever on The Natural Chicken Keeping Forum- and about all the "evils" of plastic. I get especially concerned about the xenoestrogens in plastics and other manufactured products, siding on our houses, paints, pesticides in our foods and in the environment, etc. etc., etc.

There are so many people that are having estrogen-related issues due to overload in our modern times that I like to avoid plastics as much as possible. I surely don't want to add more estrogens to my food supply! (After all, healthy food is one of the main reasons I have the chickens!) See some links at the bottom of this post if you're interested in reading more about it.

Animal health and longevity are also at risk from these same factors...

A few Plastic/Estrogen related informational links:

-Here's a link with a quick list of items from which we get estrogens. http://endojourney.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/a-list-of-xenoestrogens/

- Article: The Terrible Truth About Plastics...http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/07/31/the-terrible-truth-about-plastic-you-never-knew.aspx

-Plastics Affecting Children's Health http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/10/now-they-want-you-to-microwave-your-toddlers-food-in-plastic-bowls.aspx

Much, much more out there on xenoestrogens and estrogens. Google "estrogens in the environment" for more info...how they effect cancer, development in boys, etc.

- Sue -

*

Mix Your Own Chicken Feed - Some Information

Note: We recommend Fermenting all feeds, but it is not necessary if you do not wish to ferment.

Average Protein levels in Commercial Feeds: 

• Chick Starter:    18% -24%
• Starter/Grower: 18% -20%
• Layer:               16% -18%

Sue Says -

Because I get my feed at a local feed mill made fresh, they require me to get a minimum of 300 lbs.  I hear that's good because some require 1000 lbs or even a ton!  Because of the minimum, I have to share with another chicken keeper who's close by and I have to do SOME things a little different than I'd do if it were just for myself only.  So...that's background you need to know to understand some of the "whys" to this formula.

Here is my recipe, but remember a couple of things:

• This is a generic "all flock" w/lower calcium and only about 16% protein.  Since I have to order 300 lbs at a time, I make it useable for all.  If I were making smaller batches, I may make them more specific to the different needs (see my note below on Harvey Ussery.)

• I Free-feed CalCarb (Calcium supplement), and grit is available at all times in addition to the feed.
  
  

• This feed is "coarse ground" and the fish meal and Fertrel is quite powdery.  This is what I ferment BUT...before I was fermenting I would often mix it with raw whey, raw milk, or a bit of lard to make it a consistency that they would eat it all.  If I were making my own feed by purchasing all the single ingredients, there are parts of it I likely wouldn't grind the small grains at all.

• To round out my flock’s diet, I feed other items as well.  Sprouts, meat when appropriate, the compost, etc., so they get a wider variety than just this simple recipe covers.  Any whole grains I buy are typically sprouted vs. the ground feed that gets fermented.  (I keep black oil sunflower seends (BOSS) by the 50 lb bag and other grains on occasion like spelt, barley, wheat...all organic except for the BOSS which is very costly for organic.  The BOSS is UNTREATED.  You have to watch your source for BOSS as it is often treated with an anti-fungal to keep mold from growing during storage.) In the winter they get various greens like kale as well.

• They also get to "range" during the warm months where they also get lots of green grass, bugs, and anything else they can find. They also have access to the compost pile that they forage through!

Harvey Ussery's website has several charts/recipes/formulas for feed based on different needs (starter, grower, layer, etc.)  The sample formulations can be found HERE. 

That link is PART 3 of his article on making feeds.  Look at the other 2 for more info on how he makes them. He also has a whole section on feeding the flock that has very interesting ideas.  The links are near the bottom of THIS PAGE.  

Compared to his formulas, mine is very simple(!)  

I could have them mix it exactly like Harvey does and they would.  Ussery does state that barley or oats shouldn't be more than 15% of TOTAL feed but I haven't read any reason for that.  I like to know why he said that; I didn't find an explanation.

Right now my BASIC "All Flock" Feed consists of:

40% Organic Corn
45% Organic Peas
3.6% Organic Alfalfa Pellets
3.6% Organic Fish Meal

5% Organic Fertrel Nutribalancer
2.2% Cal Carb #20 (Free-fed separately.)

So… if you think in terms of a 100 lb batch, it looks like this (you can divide for smaller poundage):

INGREDIENT	300 LB BATCH		100 LB BATCH
Corn	122		40.66666667
Peas	135		45
Alfalfa Pellets	10.8		3.6
Fish Meal	10.8		3.6
Cal Carb #20	6.6		2.2
TOTAL WEIGHT	285.2
Organic Fertrel Nutri-balancer	15		5
OVERALL TOTAL	300.2		100.0666667

Last time I got it, I reduced the peas a little and added some oats.  I think I'm going to go back to the formula above for next time.  I haven't started feeding from the batch that had oats yet.  I guess I'll see how they do on it.  For 300 lbs feed, it has 25 lb. organic oats / 110 lb. organic peas instead of what's listed above.

***

BlueMouse Says - 
Ok, so this mixed feed thing is a work in progress, I'm still reading everything I can get my hands on. Harvey Ussery's articles have been most helpful.... 

My current mix consists of:

1 part whole oats

1 part barley

1 part field peas

1 part scratch

1/2 part flax seed

This comes out to about 16% protein. I ferment the whole shebang, and then I top dress with kelp meal and ground eggshells. I think its low on animal protein, especially at this time of the year, so I give them a chunk of raw meat once or twice a week, and a half a can of mackerel once a week. this is reasonable because I have so few birds. 

 (Photo Courtesy of Justine Lewis of Les Farms)

I've been putting batches of fermented feed through my food processor for my young chicks. I process enough for that day and keep it in a sealed container on top of my fridge. I top dress the chick feed with kelp meal prior to serving. I also give a chunk of fodder and all my kitchen vegetable scraps every day, since there's still nothing green ANYWHERE where I live. I've been running hard stuff like broccoli stalks and carrot tops through the food processor and stirring into the fermented feed. Everything else I throw out for them to pick through. They especially love things liek squash guts and green pepper guts it seems. 

 

I would like to replace the scratch with something else, because I'm not so excited about the GMO (genetically modified organism) corn in it, but my options are limited. I asked for wheat at the local feed store and they looked at me like I'd grown two heads....  I'm going to try another less local feed store for my next round. 

***

Vicki Says - 

I feed more bagged feed in winter since most of the grains I use throughout the rest of the year are not available at the mill during the winter. Usually by late November the mill is running low. My feed mill does not refill any of the bins after November’s last harvest.  I try really hard not to purchase more than I can feed in a month as I think feeds attract to many rodents and I refuse to feed my hens mouse poop.

My recipe consists of:  

4 cups oat groats (Or steel cut oats if the mill is out) great for sprouting
4 cups BOSS (never out of stock and great for sprouting)
4 cups hard red wheat berries (run out in winter)
2 cups soft white wheat berries (never out)
2 cups kamut (grass seed and great for sprouting)
2 cups millet… they do not like it and it’s the last to go. I will substitute bird seed.
1 cup lentils (from grocery store when mill is out – good for sprouting)

1/2 cup sesame seeds... expensive and I do not buy in the store or replace
1 cup flax seeds – crushed or ground (available at grocery store when mill is out)
1/4 cup kelp /spinach (frozen in my freezer)

I have also added the alfalfa cubes

***

More information on feeding and mixing chicken feed:

Finding the Grains You Want for Your Chickens (Link)
Organic Chick Starter Feed Recipe (Link)
Calcium - Mixed Flocks vs Mixed Feeds (Link)

Harvy Ussery:

• Harvy Ussery charts and info on mixing feeds (Link)
• More links here

Formulating Poultry Rations With the Pearson Square

• http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/livestk/01618.html
• http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html

WSU research on protein needs of poultry (Link)

Additional Protein Info Chart:

FOOD SOURCE - PROTEIN BY WEIGHT

Dried fish flakes	76
Dried liver	76
Dried earthworms	76
Duckweed	50
Torula yeast	50
Brewers yeast	39
Soybeans (dry roasted)	37
Flaxseed	37
Alfalfa seed	35
Lean Beef	28
Earthworms	28
Fish	28
Wheat germ	25
Peas & Beans (dried)	24.5
Sesame seed	19.3
Soybeans (boiled)	17
Sunflower seeds	17
Wheat bran	16.6
Oats (whole)	14
Polish rice	12.8
Rye	12.5
Wheat	12.5
Barley	12.3
Oats	12
Corn	9
Millet	9
Milo	9
Brown rice	7.5

 

*