Chickens can be inherently messy if you confine them in a small coop. New chicken keepers often feel doubt whether they should hang the chicken waterer or keep it on the floor. You should consider two aspects: delivering continuous water access and minimizing water spilling.
Should I hang my chicken waterer? Hanging chicken waterers is necessary to prevent water spillage, & wastewater and keep the water clean for a prolonged time. But if your chicken coop is too small or has a hard-type floor, it is not mandatory to hang a water container.
Should I Hang My Chicken Waterer?
Hanging the chicken waterer prevents chooks from ruining the water. It will disallow the chickens from kicking bedding into the water.
Let’s learn the advantage of hanging chicken water containers off the ground.
01. Prevention Of Water Spillage
Chickens have a nature of scratching unnecessarily.
Keeping the waterer hanged or raised will prevent flocks from spilling the water.
Otherwise, you would have to change the bedding more frequently.
If you don’t change the bedding on time, the bedding will have too much moisture.
It will result in noticeable amounts of ammonia and harbor harmful microorganisms.
Chickens will face other various health problems such as foot pad lesions, skin blisters, irritated respiratory tract, etc.
02. Keeping The Water Clean And Fresh
When you place the water container on the floor, chickens may add dirt and debris inside the waterer. It will make the water dirty and unhealthy.
You will have to refill the water more frequently after removing the dirt.
If you don’t get off the dirt regularly, birds will become sick by consuming poor-quality water.
The water should not be contaminated or contain any toxins or rotting organic matter.
It will otherwise cause various health problems, such as Thrush, Algae poisoning, Botulism, etc.
03. Continuous Supply Of Clean Water
An adult chicken drinks approximately .5 liters of water daily.
Their consumption will become double during the hotter days and brooding period.
In some cases, chooks may poop on the waterer while sitting on the top of the waterer.
If the water container has an open-style design, they may add droppings while sitting on their rooster.
Chickens are less likely to drink water if it has manure. If you don’t monitor the waterer regularly, they may stay thirsty for several days.
They will quickly become dehydrated. Besides, it will cause various health problems such as poor egg laying, forced molt, etc.
Where Do You Put A Chicken Waterer?
Chickens drink water at least once every six hours. Hence, you want to ensure a continuous supply of water.
It is more important during the summer months to cool their body temperature.
A mature chicken will need around 500 milliliters of fresh water per day. It is generally double that of regular periods.
Select a spot where chickens most hang out. It can be inside or outside.
However, setting up a waterer outside the chicken coop is a good rule of thumb. Flocks don’t prefer to visit the coop just to drink water in the middle of the day.
Add a water container on each side if you have a huge backyard or running area. This will help them drink water quickly from their nearby area.
But keeping one or two waterers is important inside the coop. It will disallow them to come out at night.
What To Consider When Hanging A Chicken Waterer?
After considering some important aspects, it is important to hang a chicken waterer correctly.
The following are crucial factors you should not overlook when hanging a chicken waterer.
01. Type Of Waterer
Chicken waterers are available in various types.
The ideal height for hanging a chicken water container will vary depending on its design, function, size, and type.
For example, keeping a hanging waterer at approximately a flock-shoulder height is a good rule of thumb.
But, you need to hang nipple or cup-based chicken waterers at head height.
Flocks are prone to make water in trough water containers. It is always better to keep the height as high as possible.
However, you should always keep the height within the smallest bird’s range.
02. Stability
When it comes to hanging a chicken waterer, ensuring secure stability is important.
Flocks may often sit on top of the water container.
If the waterer can’t take the load, it may fall and spill water all over the coop’s floor.
Besides, chicken owners may struggle to hang a water container if the coop size is too small.
Set up the chicken coop properly to prevent it from falling accidentally.
03. Accessibility
Another important thing is to consider proper accessibility.
Apart from the chickens, chicken keepers must be able to refill the water effortlessly.
If you set up the waterer in a hard-to-reach area, you may not always feel like refilling the water.
Your feathered friends may stay thirsty if you forget to refill water on time.
04. Chicken Waterer’s Size
Whether you can hang a chicken waterer or not depends on its size.
If it is too large and heavy, hanging it in an elevated location will be tricky.
You will need to secure the installation position.
Besides, a helping hand is a must to hang it properly.
05. Perfect Placement
When hanging a chicken waterer in a particular location, ensure direct sunlight doesn’t reach the water container.
Otherwise, the water will become too hot, especially during the hotter months.
Besides, it will result in algae growth. Chickens may become sick from consuming toxins substances.
Another important thing is maintaining another distance from the chicken feeder.
Avoid keeping water and food containers close to each other to prevent wet feed, waste feed, and messy feeding.
How High Do You Hang A Chicken Waterer?
It is a good rule of thumb to hang the chicken waterer at the height of the chickens’ back.
You can keep the waterer position an inch or two higher than their backs.
Flocks just need to stretch their necks a little bit to reach the waterer. It won’t hurt them and keeps the waterer safe from being messy.
The ideal height for a chicken waterer can be anywhere between 6 inches to 12 inches above the ground.
In some cases, it can be up to 14 inches if you are raising only heavy-breed chooks.
But do you have bantam, regular-sized, and heavy-breed chickens?
If so, hang the waterer at a comfortable height to let small birds drink water easily. Alternatively, install a separate waterer for bantam-sized chickens.
Should You Adjust The Waterer Height Gradually?
If you are raising smaller chickens, it is important to adjust the height of the chicken waterer over time.
As they grow, their accessibility increases too. Avoid keeping the waterer height too close or too far.
The following table shows how the height of a nipple chicken waterer should be adjusted over time as chickens become older.
| Chickens Age | Ideal Height Level | Approximate Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 days old | At eye-level | 4 inches above the ground |
| 5-28 days old | Top of the head | 7-13 inches above the ground |
| 29+ days old | Slightly above the head | 18-24 inches above the ground |
When Don’t You Need To Hang A Chicken Waterer?
It is not always necessary to hang a chicken waterer.
The following are some situations when you might not need to hang a chicken waterer:
01. Small-Sized Coop
You may not need to hang the waterer if you have a small coop with just a few chickens.
A small waterer placed on the ground may be sufficient for your chickens.
02. Solid Floor
If your chickens have a run with a solid floor, such as concrete or gravel, you may not need to hang the waterer.
A waterer placed on the ground can work well in this situation.
03. An Automatic Waterer
Have you installed an automatic waterer? You may not need to hang the waterer.
These waterers are usually installed at ground level and provide a continuous water supply for your chickens.
04. Wide Base Waterers
Does your chicken waterer have a wide base?
This type of flock water container is stable and less likely to tip over.
In this case, you may not need to hang the waterer.
Summing UP
Are you still wondering about this question: Should I hang my chicken waterer? In most cases, keeping the water pot elevated off to the ground is a good practice.
It lets you keep the chicken floor dry, especially if your birds are too naughty and messy. Make sure to track your flock’s movements and regularly refill the water container.
Another important thing is adjusting the height gradually if you raise small chickens. Make sure the height is not too high. Otherwise, smaller chooks will struggle to drink water.
