Waterer

[Fishburne]

That's awesome! We are researching the best way to water our ladies through the summer months and needed something to sit outside the coop (anything that holds enough is too big to fit inside). We were also thinking of using a cooler instead of a bucket and adding ice to it every couple of days. Do you think that would work?

Great idea with the cooler and the ice. I'm not an expert on the water temperature preferences of chickens, but that seems like a great way to keep their water cool on hot days. For me, I enjoy pretty mild temps both summer and winter (I'm in California), so it's not a big concern to keep their water cold. Nor do I need to make any special arrangements for freezing water during the winter, but your cooler idea would probably help with that too.

 

[epinkstn]

Great idea with the cooler and the ice. I'm not an expert on the water temperature preferences of chickens, but that seems like a great way to keep their water cool on hot days. For me, I enjoy pretty mild temps both summer and winter (I'm in California), so it's not a big concern to keep their water cold. Nor do I need to make any special arrangements for freezing water during the winter, but your cooler idea would probably help with that too.

I figured it would help when the temp is hovering around 100F and in the winter when we have a freeze. Now just have to get the hubby on board

 

[Fishburne]

Great idea with the level sight gauge!

I'm looking to do the same thing but not sure what to use for parts on the bucket itself.
What did you use to go from bucket to the 1 1/2" PVC to seal it up? Got a closeup picture of it?
Also, how high should the water nipples be from the floor?
Thanks

Hi Cutlass,
I finally got around to taking a couple close ups of the junction between the pipe and the bucket. The inner shot isn't that great because I couldn't get all that close thanks to the water in the bucket. The second one should give you a better idea of what I did.

 

[Fishburne]

Here's a shot of the sight gauge at work now that the water level has dropped a little bit.

 

[CutlassL29]

Thanks for the pics Fishburne. I just bought a fitting that will work similar to what you used and I have leftover rubber roof material to use for gaskets. I may even use some silicone with the rubber to be on the safe side. I love the sight gauge idea but I'll do that down the road a bit.
I'm planning to stage the 5 gallon bucket to catch rain water from the roof of the coop. Now all I need is the time to do all this stuff along with the million other projects that need to get done!

 

[mmmeyer]

I catch the rain water. but I make sure I have screens over the opening to keep it litter and bug free.

 

[annab1130]

I built a waterer this weekend that I wanted to share. The basis of the idea came from this youtube clip:

I used a larger diameter piping (1 1/2"), simply because I had some left over from another project, and also installed a simple sight gauge on the side so I can keep an eye on the water level without opening the water container. I used a "Gamma lid" on the bucket to make it secure and easy to refill. Surprisingly the Gamma lid was cheaper at my local Home Depot than I could find it online. However, at $7.25 it was still the single most expensive element of the project, which cost about $25. The sight gauge was a bit overkill and would have cut about $9 off of my total, but I think it will be worth it in the long run to not have to check the bucket regularly.

I really like this idea. I wanted my husband to see it. @c9flybyu

 

[Kip has chicks]

Does your chickens have any difficulty drinking from this. I just ordered the nipples off of eBay. I'm new to chickens. I'm just not sure what they prefer.

 

[Daisy 102]

Most chickens prefer open waterers depending on size. How old are yours ?

 

[Kip has chicks]

I'm getting them on Saturday! Well only be a week or two at most.