Water cups

[Tika75]

Where did you get yours?

 

[flyin-lowe]

My local TSC had them in stock, just under $7.00 for two.

 

[BCJC1982]

How old are your chickens. my adult hens and rooster have no problem with them. I had the same concerns as you so I stayed out there and watched them drink out of it when there wasn't much water in the cup and they came up and threw some water around when they shook their heads. I think they are getting more water this way then they do with the nipples. The only problem I have seen is with my 8 week old chicks their heads are much smaller so when they reach to the bottom they don't always trigger the mechanism that releases more water. If you see any water in there at all then they are getting plenty. I have had the chickens out in the yard for a couple hours and the cup would be dry when I let them back in but they go right to it and get a drink.

 

[mrscrabtree92]

How old are your chickens. my adult hens and rooster have no problem with them. I had the same concerns as you so I stayed out there and watched them drink out of it when there wasn't much water in the cup and they came up and threw some water around when they shook their heads. I think they are getting more water this way then they do with the nipples. The only problem I have seen is with my 8 week old chicks their heads are much smaller so when they reach to the bottom they don't always trigger the mechanism that releases more water. If you see any water in there at all then they are getting plenty. I have had the chickens out in the yard for a couple hours and the cup would be dry when I let them back in but they go right to it and get a drink.

they are about 7 weeks old. definitely seems their beaks/head are too small right now, the biggest one seems to sometimes move it and gets water out but our other 2 try to avoid the yellow spring sorry for the late post just now seeing it thanks for the help

 

[Hbohm74]

I read that the water cups only work with adult chickens, as baby chicks don't have the pecking strength to push down the yellow lever. My 3 week old chicks are using vertical nipple waterers now, but I will be transitioning them to cup waterers. I think the cup waterers won't drip as much water, and it seems a more natural way for chickens to drink than the nipple waterers.

 

[Howard E]

No, if you fill them up then once the chickens find them they will drink the water down to the bottom. Once the level get low enough they will hit the yellow release and more water will fill in. Mine figured it out instantly. Hopefully yours do the same.

X2

Mine did exactly the same. Fill the cup once, they find it and drink from it, draining the cup. To get to the last drop at the bottom, they will eventually nudge the yellow lever. They get another drop.....and another and so it goes.

BTW, I have buckets setup with one of these and one horizontal nipple. The birds prefer the cups 100% to nothing. When they have access to both, the only time one uses the horizontal nipple is when there is a crowd standing around the cup.

On the other hand, I have found that when it is cold enough to freeze up the water, these cups freeze up pretty fast. So the birds then switch to the nipple and yes, the know how to use both. That was before I put the bucket heater in. Waiting for a cold spell to see what happens to the cups when the bucket has a heater in it but my guess is it will still freeze up. The horizontal nipples don't seem to have that problem.

 

[wingdwolf56]

I had to keep pressing the yellow tab for a day until they figured it out. It took 2 days before they all got it. Now I have a problem trying to keep the cups from freezing. I put a submersible heater in the container but the cups still freeze. I bought a trough style heated waterer but the girls dirty the water within an hour's time. I prefer the cup waterer to any other and would like to find a way to keep the cups from freezing.

 

[flyin-lowe]

They do freeze up easily. I ended up buying a heated dog bowl I am going to use when temps get to freezing levels. I think I am also going to buy a second set of cup and make another jug for them. On the days that it stays above freezing during the day but freezes over the night I plan to just switch them out each day. Once it gets cold enough to stay freezing round the clock I am going to switch to the heated dog bowl.

 

[Howard E]

As per my post #16 up above, temps dropped down to +15F this morning. Unheated bucket with cup and horizontal nipple was frozen, No water. Bucket with bird bath heater in it had a frozen cup, but the horizontal nipple was still working fine. All birds were using it. Not their preference, but it was working and far and away cleaner (and dryer) than an inverted reservoir type water sitting on a heater, or a heated dog dish.

BTW, one old school method was to let them eat snow, which is what I have seen wild birds do. But for that you have to have snow, which we don't. We are still dry.

 

[wingdwolf56]

I have an inverted reservoir type with a heated base. I hung it to try and keep it cleaner. I also had to put a "roof" over it as the girls would sit on the bar I hung it from and crap in it. Regardless,i t still gets very dirty and it froze solid at 25F. The water in the cup waterer didn't freeze, but the cups did. I'm thinking about putting the cup waterer inside the coop. The coop is 6x10x8fthigh. I keep the coop at 34 degrees. I am, however, concerned about moisture from the waterer causing problems. Any thoughts? I'm also considering making a nipple waterer and hope the girls can figure it out.