Sturdy Automatic Chook Water Bowl (Chicken Waterer)

Remix of ‘Chicken waterer using PET bottle’ by kkwsiu adding a sturdier base and elevated water level.

Our delightful and hilarious rescue chook Harriet has anarchistic tendencies when it comes to her love of knocking/tipping/pushing things over (just to see what happens :p). So the intended outcome of this remix is an easy to print, anarchistic-chicken-proof auto water bowl solution.

I’ve added a convex outer wall to increase the footprint of the base for more stabilisation, and raised the height of the water outlets/air inlets so the water level sits a little higher, adding more base weight and making it easier to drink from. As of 30/01/2023 I've raised the height of the outlets/inlets further to make the water level 20mm, and added an additional version with an even higher water level of 28mm to make it easier for birds with larger beaks who need a deeper reservoir to drink easily. I've also increased the wall thickness of the bottle mount for added strength and resilience when repeatedly screwing the bottle in/out over time.

Harriet seems to love it, she's been using it for a week now and hasn’t managed to knock it over once, which makes it a clear winner over every other water solution we’ve tried for her.

The thread works with any of the standard retail PET soft drink or water bottles, and also with a number of similarly sized glass bottles. I’m using a 500ml glass apple cider vinegar bottle which works beautifully, keeps the water cooler than plastic bottles and doesn’t leach photo-degrading chemicals into the water in sunlight and heat. The glass also adds weight making it harder to tip over.

Super easy print just sitting flat on its base with no supports.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you print this for your chooks or other birds/pets, please remember to use certified food safe filament. I used 3D Fillies PLA+ which is Australian Standards Food Safe. Due to PLA’s susceptibility to UV damage, the water bowl needs to be kept in a shady spot to maintain structural integrity. PLA and PETG are the most common types of filament that have food safe variants. To be marketed as food safe, colour pigments and manufacturing processes must not contribute any toxins that could contaminate food or liquids for consumption. ABS, as a rule, is NOT food safe as it contains styrene. Some brands claim to have produced a specific ABS variant safe for contact with food according to ‘current health regulations’ but it's not something I would personally choose to use to hold water for an animal.