It is not so long ago for people to remember when winter eggs were pretty much unheard of. People put by enough in summer to provide the family with enough to last through the winter; the same person will easily remember that a hen house as we think of them today was never dreamed of, any old building was good enough for hens. Likewise the principal care during the winter months consisted of pans of whole grains being placed in the sheds for them, not the well balanced nutritional layers feed given today. And they either had access to a stream of water (if they were lucky) or else try to get what drink they could from the snow lying around. It is in some ways surprising that the chickens survived a winter, let alone lay any eggs. When spring arrived and their instinct to breed and hatch chicks to continue the flock, eggs were selected from the flocks and the hens were started on their incubation trip, and thus the many colors of the flocks were continued from year to year.
The eggs which were not needed for the family consumption were usually sold for a bit of extra money for a few of life’s little luxuries which otherwise would not have been afforded. It encouraged them to make the winter quarters more comfortable and to give the hens better care and food during the winter, hoping and working for a continuance of the eggs which meant so much to their comfort and happiness; and when they had made the discovery that their chickens would respond, with proper buildings and care (a fact officially tested and written about in old poultry magazines and university agricultural extension reports), and that the winter eggs were the golden eggs then chicken keepers began to sit up and take notice, and to figure that it was fast becoming worthwhile and in a way more economical to look after their hens better. With less capital and lighter work more money could be made from these once neglected hens, than could be gotten from the same amount of time and money invested in other livestock such as cattle. Improvements such as more nutritious food, better housing and a constant supply of fresh clean water became the norm.
How To Make A Chicken Waterer
This is a cheap and easy way to make a chicken waterer. Just follow the steps below.
Here’s what you are going to need :
1) A bucket
2) Airtight container
3) Drill machine
The bucket should be bigger than the water container. Now you have to drill some holes in the container, to the lid side. The position of the holes are going to be the depth of the water.
The next step is to cut the bucket. You have to cut it above the height of the holes made in the water container.
Now when the water container is filled and turned upside down so it stands in the base you just made from the bucket, the water will fill the bowl until it gets to the height of the holes you drilled. As it goes down when the chickens are drinking it will automatically top itself up to the level again. Put the water container in the cut bucket, with the lid side at the bottom, and now your chicken waterer is ready.
You can see this in the video below :