Vertical (gravity) vs. horizontal (spring loaded) watering nipples

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Got my horizontal nipples from allboutchickens.com this week (Susan is super nice to work with, I highly recommend them). I've been using vertical nipples but I want something that will allow me to set my buckets down on the ground if needed, and I've also heard they don't freeze as easily as the vertical nipples. I had a problem with that this year, even down here in Georgia.

I'll post pics once I've set it up. I'm going to be using a big transparent bucket so I can easily see the water level. I'm excited, this could be my perfect no-hassle waterer.
 
TheGeekySheep said:
Got my horizontal nipples from allboutchickens.com this week (Susan is super nice to work with, I highly recommend them). I've been using vertical nipples but I want something that will allow me to set my buckets down on the ground if needed, and I've also heard they don't freeze as easily as the vertical nipples. I had a problem with that this year, even down here in Georgia.

I'll post pics once I've set it up. I'm going to be using a big transparent bucket so I can easily see the water level. I'm excited, this could be my perfect no-hassle waterer.
Click to expand...
I'll be interested to see and hear how your birds do with them!
 
Leahs Mom said:
Now that it's cooled down some, I removed the old waterer and put out only the nipple waterer. We shall see how quickly they learn....
Click to expand...

I had to trip the nipple waterer so it dripped water while the chickens were watching, about 4 times... didn't take long and they figured it out... If they have never seen a nipple waterer, they may not figure it out... they will need help...
 
I did trip it in their presence several times. So far I've only seen 2 of them drink from it. But I'm not there to observe all day long.

I have seen at least one of them go over and look at it but never try it. She looks perplexed like she's trying to figure it out but every time I go over to trip it, she moves away. I think I'll have to sit out there and observe awhile and see if more of them are using it.
 
If a couple birds are doing it, you can be pretty sure the others are as well. They learn from each other.

Since it's cooler, it may take longer for them to get thirsty enough to figure it out. But, like you said, you might be missing it when you're not there.

What I did was I set up my phone to video right at the nipple waterer and left for a couple hours. When I reviewed the video, I could see that several of the birds were drinking from it.
 
I bought horizontal nipples and drilled them into a plastic bucket with handle, and hung it from a chain. It works perfectly. I tapped it a few times to show my chickens the water, and they caught right on. No messy water, and it never drips onto the ground.
 
Here's my new waterer! I panicked when I drilled the holes because I accidentally tilted the drill and made one of them wonky but I saved it with some silicone.

I saw one of my birds pecking at the nipple before I even got back in the house. :)

400
 

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