LorMac Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hi all, I got my 4 ex-bats a week ago. They have settled in really well and I can't believe how much they've changed since they first arrived. One problem I have though is I don't know how to teach them to drink from their glug! I've ended up putting a dog water bowl down for them to ensure they do have access to water but they keep standing in it etc so I'd prefer them to use the lovely red glug! Any tips?! Thanks, Laura and her hens Samantha, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucknette Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hi Laura You could put something in it to catch their attention, something like a garlic clove maybe. I have all sorts of containers everywhere for them. A bucket, a glug, a plant tray and one of the chicken water feeders and I have seen them drink from them all. So I think they will eventually drink from your glug as they are clever little girlies But having said that if its one of the big nipple feeders I havent a clue as mine leaked and I gave up with it. I was worried I would come home and find they had had no water. Best Wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*mummy_hen* Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Not sure as ours just kind of 'found it'. We did however have a big dish of water down right by it, so they found that and the glug was just kind of in their eyeline. I did have my glug on the floor for a little while and once i was happy they knew where it was and what it was for, i then lifted it up and hung it on the pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Not necessarily helpful I know, but I took the path of least resistance with my ex-batts Depending on how strongly you feel, you may want to give up the unequal struggle too. I have had my hens nearly four weeks now and they have never even looked at their superglug, and do not recognise the grub as containing food either. I bought them a couple of ordinary gravity feeders and drinkers and they are perfectly happy with those, and they can be placed around the yard so all the hens can get to them rather than them being monopolised by the boss-hen. They also have the advantage of being portable, so I can put them on the lawn while the little monsters are marauding in the garden. Destroying the universe can be thirsty work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 My 11 year old daughter taught our chickens to use the Superglug by using a stick to tap the nipples causing water to drip out, eventually curiosity over what she was doing overtook any worries the chooks had about why she was poking in their run with a stick, and they worked it out from there. Woth a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Lou Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 My 11 year old daughter taught our chickens to use the Superglug by using a stick to tap the nipples causing water to drip out, eventually curiosity over what she was doing overtook any worries the chooks had about why she was poking in their run with a stick, and they worked it out from there. Woth a go! I did exactly the same thing with my girls.. tokk about an hour on their first morning and have worked it out ever since.. the only trouble now is that two of them have worked out it has an open top so jump and perch there to drink out of top instead of nipples bit annoying as now gets so dirty and it is already very high so cannot move any higher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Yep Eglu, we have a couple who like to jump up and drink from the top; also some who like to drink directly from garden hose when we are filling it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Mine love to catch any drops that spill over when I'm topping up the Glug. You could try spilling small quantities of water so that it dribbles down the side of the Glug. I would remove other sources of water and then tempt them to drink the dribbles. You should do this frequently, at least every hour I would think. Get them to associate the Glug with water and they should start using it properly. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorMac Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks for all the advice. I did take the path of least resistance the day after we got the girls - I went to scats and bought a gravity feeder and drinker but I have left the grub and super glug up just in case. Having had the girls for two weeks now I was pleased to see two of them drinking from the super glug (I did take to tapping on the 'nipples' so they saw the water come out) and eating from the grub! They therefore currently have two feeders and drinkers but I might try and phase the bog standard ones out so they only use the fancy ones! I'm very impressed by how clever they are! They are brilliant now - two weeks on and they know me now and follow me around the garden! They are also hilarous with the hose - they are obsessed with it and go crazy every time I put it on - that's why I wondered whether they had enough to drink but now I see that they just love water! I would recommend ex-bats to everyone - they are so sweet and I've had 28 eggs in 14 days - impressive! Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha thank you all for your words of wisdom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
