Egg prices, having soared for the past few months, are finally starting to show signs of decreasing<\/a>. Their shelf prices shot up dramatically due to a variety of factors, but mostly from the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza<\/a> (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu. Since the outbreak began in 2022, egg supply in the U.S. has been seesawing aggressively, inspiring both farmers and other rural property owners to embrace a new side hustle, backyard chickens<\/a>, as a way to ensure a steady supply of eggs straight from the source.<\/p>\n Backyard chickens are not something new, of course; in fact, it used to be the norm for American families. Yet with the expansion of the modern day supermarket, eggs became a staple at the store and the desire to keep backyard chickens waned.<\/p>\n Today, the HPAI epidemic has revealed how unstable the egg production supply can be, and many people are looking to take control back into their own hands by raising their own egg-laying hens \u2014 albeit on a far smaller scale than typical poultry operations.<\/p>\n For many of these people though, the learning curve of how to raise chickens can be steep. With dozens and dozens of available breeds<\/a>, seemingly endless designs for chicken coops<\/a>, and so many other factors, it can be overwhelming for the beginner backyard chicken owner to get started.<\/p>\n Still, chickens are fairly easy keepers, and there are a variety of tools and products that can further streamline their care. One such product that has boomed in the past two years is The Chicken Fountain<\/a>, an autonomous chicken waterer. The company, based out in Cornelius, North Carolina, was started in 2012 by Laura and Frank Cardaropoli, who kept backyard chickens themselves and ran into the issue of constantly having to change out the water fountains for their chickens.<\/p>\n The Cardaropolis had bought a small farm back in 2008 and kept a small herd of livestock that included chickens and goats. When they wanted to go on vacation in 2011, Laura Cardaropoli asked her mother to house-sit and watch over the animals.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother said, \u2018Listen, I\u2019ll deal with your dogs, I\u2019ll deal with the farm cats, the goats are easy, but the waterers for the chickens \u2026 I\u2019m not doing it. It\u2019s so gross, it\u2019s all the time, all day.\u2019\u2026 So, we had to get a separate chicken sitter,\u201d said Cardaropoli.<\/p>\n After recognizing what a nuisance that chore was, her husband decided to work on a solution for it. Over the next eight months, he designed and developed an automatic watering system that could be connected to their hose line, and winterized it to keep it going during the chillier months.<\/p>\n The Chicken Fountain uses PVC piping and multiple drippers that can hydrate a small flock of birds. It attaches to the side of a chicken coop and functions with water pressures between 1 PSI and 120 PSI.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere we lived was a street of 7- to 10-acre small farms. My next door neighbor wanted one, then our other neighbors saw it and wanted it too. \u2026 It just organically grew,\u201d said Cardaropoli.<\/p>\n Business was good, but in 2018 the two of them decided to focus on their family and put their business on pause. It wasn\u2019t until late 2023 that the business underwent a revamp, through a connection with First Turn Innovations<\/a>, a business incubator in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody came to me and wanted to revive [the business],\u201d said Cardaropoli. \u201cNow we\u2019ve got investors and we\u2019re taking it to the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n The next step entails a major scale up of the product, and while Cardaropoli is still currently making the product herself, she has contracted with a manufacturing facility that, starting this summer, will be able to assemble and distribute in 2,000-order increments.<\/p>\n The company has also hired its first employee, Lyndsey Baker, who started in summer 2024 as their social media director.<\/p>\n The Chicken Fountain has a patent pending on the design of a unique valve, which will be implemented in the new model launching this summer.<\/p>\n![\"ChickenFountain_Features\"](\"https:\/\/www.agdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ChickenFountain_Features.jpg\")
![\"ChickenFountain-HensDrinking\"](\"https:\/\/www.agdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ChickenFountain-HensDrinking.jpg\")