Review: Five Gallon Chicken Watering System

Like salt in food, a mystery can make things more interesting. Then again, a mystery can also be really frustrating.

It started as a time-saving idea. Every day, we fill half-a-dozen, gallon-sized water jugs from a kitchen sink or residential hose. We fill a milk crate with the jugs, and we carry them out to give drinkable water to the chickens. While there is plenty of rainwater on site in the cisterns, this water is not for drinking. And so, for years, we have carried water for the chickens.

Then, we all agreed, it was time for a change. A larger container would allow us to carry water less frequently. Five gallons, we reasoned, should last at least a couple of days. What a bright and shiny plastic marvel it was, this five-gallon chicken watering system. How neat, how red, how modern, how sleek. How deceptive.

In the morning, it was almost empty.

We thought some animal was breaking into the chicken run at night and helping itself to free water. The evidence seemed to back this up, judging from the tunnels we found coming out from under the chicken coop. But what to do about it?

Time passed in the garden this week. Beans were planted. A new trellis system installed. And yet, the chicken water disappeared. We discovered living worms in the worm bin. We rejoiced. And yet, the chicken water disappeared. Like white noise in the background, the mystery hummed, unsolvable.

And then, a breakthrough. We discovered a leak. It seems this modern marvel must be positioned perfectly level. Otherwise, it waits until you have left it alone, and begins to leak out of the bowl. How malicious. It’s time for a new idea. To be continued.