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 -

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Poultry Cup Drinkers (Waterers) - Winter Update!

By Sue -

(See the original post aboutcup waterers here.)

I ABSOLUTLY LOVE my cup waterers!

Photo:  Cup waterers on bucket at back right.  Cute 7 week old baby Swedish Flower Hen in front!

There are many reasons why I love using cup waterers for my chickens.  You can read about some of them here. They don't get filled with litter and other debris and are absolutely the easiest waterer to keep clean.  They also allow the chickens to drink water in a position that is natural to them (as opposed to reaching up to drink water from a nipple device).  

Photo:  Even the babies learned to use the cup waterer by watching mom!  Broody-raised 5 week old Swedish Flower Hen.

In the previous post about cup waterers, there was a brief section entitled:  "Current Winter Use Assessment".  When that post was written I stated that we had not yet had sustained temperatures lower than mid-20s (F.).  After having gone through most of the winter, it's time for a new winter weather use assessment!

USING THE CUP WATERERS IN WINTER WEATHER

I really wanted to use these waters year-round.  Now if you add heat to keep your chicken housing above freezing during the winter you don't need to read further.  But for those of us who do not heat our chicken housing, any watering device that is left with the chickens will need to have added heat when the temperatures fall below freezing.

The cup waterers pose an additional challenge because the necks leading from the bucket have a small spring device that stays wet and will freeze in place, not allowing the chickens to trip the nipple to release the water.  Additionally, if water is left in the bottom of the cup, the nipple device can become frozen solid into that water as the heat is in the bucket - not in the cup!

I first experimented by using a bird bath heater in the bucket.  These bird bath heaters are a 250 watt device with a thermostat that turns on just above freezing and shuts off again at approximately 40° F. This heater worked very well to keep the water from freezing, but when the temperature dropped to the teens, the spring devices froze.  I tried moving the heater right up against the necks of the cups but this did not solve the problem. 

After some thought (and research into the safety factor) I found a heater that works much better than the birdbath heater.

A Submersible Fish Tank Heater

-The fish tank heater keeps the water warmer than a bird bath heater.

-It has a thermostat to set the water temperature manually.

-The one I'm using is 50 watt vs. the 250 watt bird bath heater.  (This was the largest that could fit in my bucket completely submerged as I'm only using a 2 Gal. bucket currently.  Larger and higher watts are available depending on the size of your water containers.)

-Can be purchased at your local pet store (or online if you prefer). 

-Can plug into a Thermocube which will turn it on when the air temperature is 35° F. and off at 45° F.  (Can be found locally at the hardware or home improvement store.  I got mine at Menards.)

 

Caution:  Fish tank heaters must be kept completely submerged under the water.

-It comes with snap on brackets for a suction cup.  I didn't use the suction cups since my bucket is too small to set the heater completely vertical.  To keep the heater completely under water, I attached a package of marbles as a weight onto the suction cup brackets and snapped them onto the heater.  The weight of the marbles keeps the heater from floating or moving about.

FINAL WINTER EVALUATION

I have continued to use my cup waterer throughout the entire winter.  Especially after beginning to use the fish tank heater, it has worked quite well in my circumstances.  As I had a broody with chicks that hatched at the end of December, I provided a "canning jar waterer" for the little ones as I did not intend to teach them how to use the cup waterer until they were a bit older and there was no concern about water not being available due to freezing.  (I have a heat source that keeps the canning jar waterers from freezing at all times.  We'll have a post showing that in the future!)

I absolutely LOVE these cup waterers, and the fish tank heater does work well at least down to the lower single digits.  However:

Even with the use of the fish tank heater, I would not recommend these waterers for use in unheated housing during winter temperatures below 20° F. except under the following circumstances:

Use only if you're available during the day to check on the waterers on a regular basis. 

I am able to check on my waterers several times a day to be sure they're not frozen.  While I only have to do that when the temperatures are below about 19° F., I would definitely not leave the chickens with this as their only water source if I were traveling or worked long hours during the winter. 

If you or someone in your family are available to check on the waterers periodically, whenever you go out during the day you can give them a quick check to be sure no water is standing in the cup and simply twist it to the upside down position to empty it.  You can also press the nipple to be sure it isn't frozen which will break off any ice that may have formed on the springs.  If any water has already frozen in the bottom of the cup, it's easy to just pop it out with your finger and get it running again.  Of course, all this requires your presence from time to time during the day! 

If desired, you could also bring the water bucket inside at night and take it outside in the morning when you feed if you don't want to run the heater throughout the night. (Remember - the chickens don't drink at night!)

A GREAT WATERER FOR SPRING, SUMMER, AND FALL

My conclusion?  It's my favorite waterer style that I've run across so far and I'd definitely recommend it for spring, summer, and fall.  You'll have to decide if you want to take the time and effort to use them during the winter! 

-  Sue 

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