The Chicken Waterer

I bid on this chicken waterer last week at an auction.

I see them every once in a while and think they are

not only interesting but easy to repurpose in a decorative

way.  Well, I have a collection of glass eggs, so that

seemed like the perfect combination.  

I think the chickens would approve! 

This city girl has learned a lot about country life by

working at and attending auctions.  My first learning

came from a friend talking about 'nesting boxes' and

I thought she was talking about what I had at home...

pretty floral hat boxes that are graduated in size and

can nest inside each other!  Well, no, she meant the

little cubicles in the hen house where chickens actually

have nests and lay their eggs!

The second one was about the white eggs in the photo.

I was working an auction and spied these beautiful 

white glass eggs among the auction items.

I'd never seen any before...obviously old, hand-blown

and so pretty!  I had to have them!

I was amazed when it came time to bid on them that

nobody else wanted them!  The old farmers didn't seem

impressed at all and I got them for the opening bid of

$2.50.  Turns out that they aren't really decorative at all,

but are standard useful farm equipment!  They are egg

decoys, slipped into each hen's nest as the real eggs

are gathered.  They fool the hen into thinking her eggs

are still there and she won't be upset that someone

took away her eggs.  She will sit on the decoys and even

lay more eggs.  Who knew?  

And the third thing was the chicken waterer.

Funny how all of these things have to do with chickens!

The jar is filled with water, the galvanized tray screwed on 

and when you turn it upside down, the trough fills with 

water and the chickens can gather around and drink.  

I've seen several over the years but liked this one because 

it was small and the glass had that pretty embossed detail.

Isn't that fun?

Cluck cluck!

♥