nipple waterers: do they work? Can older hens be trained to use them?

Date sort Score sort
billmac

billmac

Songster
10 Years
Apr 10, 2009
104
1
119
Fount waterers are a pain. Almost impossible to keep clean. Do nipple waterers work with an exisiting flock? Any caveats?
 
Curiosity will cause them to peck at the nipples at first. Once one or two of them have figured out that it is water, the whole flock will catch on pretty quick.

I suspend a food grade five gallon bucket off the ground. The lid keeps the chickens from flying into the water. Expect some water to be beneath the nipples. If that is a caveat, that would be the only one I would think of. Make sure you don't let the water stand too long. I don't know how big your flock is, but they enjoy a cool drink more than a warm one. The food grade bucket should keep most contaminants (BPA and the like) out of the water. The lid will keep the "other kind of contaminant" out.

HTH
 
I lucked out with mine.

Put a water bottle spout (from a rodent water bottle), attached it to a 2 liter bottle of water, my girls got curious, and started drinking from it immediately.

I'm hoping my Chunky Chicken shows the new babies how to do it when I integrate them.
 
billmac said:
Fount waterers are a pain. Almost impossible to keep clean. Do nipple waterers work with an exisiting flock? Any caveats?
Click to expand...
Horizontal nipples don't leak like vertical nipples do. Adult birds will teach themselves to use it within a day....sometimes instantly if they are thirsty. My coops are dry and no icky water to dump out or automatic cup drinkers to clean out. I've put horizontal nipple drinkers in the coops of clients and watched as their adult birds started drinking from it right away even though they had never seen one before. I've never had a chicken fail to learn how to use them. They are in my quail coops, too. I switch all of my babies to this type of drinker when they are 7-10 days old, even the quail.
 
What about in the winter? Right now my fount waterers sit on a heater to keep from freezing.
 
billmac said:
What about in the winter?  Right now my fount waterers sit on a heater to keep from freezing.
Click to expand...


If you use horizontal nipples, this product will keep the water and nipples from freezing:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-All-...F8&qid=1396575722&sr=8-6&keywords=250w+deicer

If you use vertical nipples, you need something warmer, such as an "unbreakable" aquarium tank heater.

Either item to be placed in the bottom of your nipple bucket.

At least that has been my experience, tested down to -9F.
 
pdirt said:
If you use horizontal nipples, this product will keep the water and nipples from freezing:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-All-...F8&qid=1396575722&sr=8-6&keywords=250w+deicer

If you use vertical nipples, you need something warmer, such as an "unbreakable" aquarium tank heater.

Either item to be placed in the bottom of your nipple bucket.

At least that has been my experience, tested down to -9F.
Click to expand...

As a fishkeeper and the victim of a few failed heaters, may I recommend getting a heater that is submersible? As far as the hobby of fishkeeping has come, all heaters can't be submersed under water.

I would recommend a heater for a small fish tank. They are metal, don't have a tendency to overheat or fail, and are reasonably priced.
 
Can anyone give me a link to a place I can get the horizontal nipples?
 

Similar threads

D
Nipples
Replies
9
Views
1K
DaveMK
D
ForFlocksSake
Simple waterer vs nipples/cups other contraptions.
Replies
4
Views
1K
saysfaa
saysfaa
ChicksofHeaven
    • Like
Heated waterer/ can you teach old chickens new tricks?
Replies
9
Views
1K
Leatherworker
Leatherworker
ForFlocksSake
    • Like
Nipple training young Chicks
Replies
3
Views
982
blackdog043
blackdog043
ForFlocksSake
Waterer dilema
2
Replies
10
Views
2K
Penpal
P

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom