Drinkers -what's wrong with just a plastic bowl?

Just be careful with those chiropractors Chris, I know from when I injured my back 10 years ago they can be very good in the short to medium term but they will have you coming back till doomsday if they can, telling you that your back still isn't right. I stopped going when they insisted on continuing to 'manipulate' my back when I felt perfectly good and would leave in worse shape than I went in.
 
Well Dinosaw, I had a bad back for years. The final straw came when I picked up a tool box and spent 3 days on my back unable to move. X-rays revealed a childhood injury. After treatment it was a 'miracle'. That was 14 years ago and this is the first real problem in 4 years. At no time have they suggested a repeat visit -just see how it goes. At the moment I am trying to use my legs more and think harder. We are going to get one of the horse poo pickers (dustpan on a long handle) to see if that will work for me in the enclosure, as my wife can't keep doing it on her own.
 
The bowl type drinker I have had the problem of dirt in the water. Bell type drinkers also have same problem unless they are suspended in such a way that the lip coincide with the bird's back. But then, not all type of bell drinkers can be suspended.
 
I bought one of these to leave in the caravan for the cats Chris. The idea is that you fill it upside down and then fit it onto the tray, but I don't see why you could cut a hole in the top so you could avoid lifting and upending it.

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Products/CA0872/van-ness-auto-waterer
 
My experience with chiropractors has been excellent, but I did my due diligence before I chose one. A friend had a great deal of experience and told me the goods ones will first get your problem fixed and then give you a set of exercises to keep things straight, I keep up with the exercise and all is good after over 20 years.
 
At the moment the bowls are doing fine. They need to be kept full to avoid them being knocked over though and for some reason the water seems to get dirtier -it's as if someone is paddling in the bowl even though they are raised up on logs. I'll stick with it as they were only €2 each.

No-one is going near my back now until I have had X-rays to establish if there is any damage.
 
This might not be any use in your situation but I looked at the drinking system often advertised on the banners at the bottom of this site. It seemed a good idea, its a system of teats connected by plastic containers, so no dirt gets in. Can't remember its name but I'll try to find it again.
 
I thought Margaid's suggestion was quite good, but then realised that if you cut a hole in the top, the drinker would just empty all over the floor (or your feet)! I guess that nipple drinkers or multiple smaller (& thus lighter) plastic drinkers is the answer.
 
We are doing rather well with small washing bowls at the moment. The chickens like them and I fill them with a watering can through the run mesh. We'll be getting more and now have rather a lot of very nice drinkers spare. We bought three very nice new ones of the bell type as well.
 
Chrismahon a good chiropractor will take x-rays before they touch you and if they see a ruptured disc or the like will send you to a doctor.
 
I don't see why the drinker would empty Icemaiden as in the one I have there is a valve in the bottom which actually makes it a bit awkward to fill. I don't think it creates a vacuum but I may be mistaken.

Healthcare doesn't quite work like that this side of the pond Nitram, Chiropractic treatment in my experience is not available under our NHS and we tend not to have a high level of private health insurance. Chris is in France though so things may be different there.

How is the back Chris?
 
Less painful Margaid, thank you for asking. But I have lost a lot of mobility. I have an appointment when I return in May for an X-ray and some treatment. Problem here is there are no chiropractors that speak English and my French isn't good enough. System here is the same as the UK -you have to pay yourself, even with private health insurance because Chiropractors are not recognised as health care.
 
Still got the house then? The farm isn't sold either although I don't live there now - I'm at Craven Arms.

Hopefully the mobility will come back as you start to move - everything will have tightened up to protect the damaged area from more harm.
 
Just to update this post. We have moved on from plastic washing-up bowls for two reasons. We have a sparrow problem and are wasting a lot of water cleaning them out. Also the sunlight resistance is poor, they are after all meant to be used inside the house, and one has disintegrated. This is potentially serious if one splits while we are out and the chickens are left without water- we haven't room for two in the runs.

So we have moved onto plant pot trays which are very strong and have considerable UV resistance. We had to take care which we bought because some have moulded features inside making them hard to clean and some are on the thin side, so won't last as long. We cleared out all the suppliers within a half hour drive from here and now have 20 in sizes varying from 400mm diameter to 300mm diameter. We might return to the bowls in Summer when they are drinking a lot but need to make sure they remain shaded.

Mobility is considerably improved Margaid. It will never be as it was but is sufficient as long as I avoid lifting at bad angles or too much bending when poo picking. I didn't bother with the MRI scan which the chiro wanted to confirm their diagnosis -it was £200! But their opinion is a ruptured disk split towards the inside, which is apparently unusual as they usually split out backwards, and explains why I could only get comfortable sleeping face down.
 
Wow Chris thats a lot of drinkers to fill up every day!.We bought a tripod drinker when we first moved in here, it seemed like a good idea with having 9 chickens in one run, they are quite expensive and I have to say I'm not impressed at all with them. They go green very quickly and and are a bugger to clean out even with a bottle brush, whats more the lid has cracked which means it won't hold a vacuum any more and the water just runs out, apparently this is a recurring fault on them. As a result I have gone back to traditional drinkers suspended from the beams of the runs. What I do think would work quite well would be one of these watertight plastic cattle feeders (which we use for the the alpaca supplements) hooked over the bottom rung of a hurdle, they hold quite a bit of water, are smooth and so easy to clean and very tough, once again expensive though.
http://www.rkagricultural.co.uk/hook-over-plastic-feed-trough.html
 
Yes they are expensive Dinosaw and being black would potentially get very hot here. We bought the trays at €3-4 each. Yes, we've been consuming a lot of water with the bowls, although to be honest they don't get deliberately cleaned every day. We stopped that when we thought about it in the context of the filth they take in from a puddle. We now clean them when they have sparrow poo in, which at the moment might be every day anyway. Each run/enclosure has two drinkers and we have 9 coops occupied, plus several trays scattered around so the ones ranging in the enclosure walkways don't have to go far for water. Vacuum drinkers are always difficult to keep clean and here they go green very quickly. They are a good idea if space is limited and you have a lot of birds and they generally don't get knocked over.
 
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