I'd love to hear more from others who have used both systems and have a climate that freezes regularly. Some questions I have:
The horizontal ones are spring loaded. Do the springs wear out (and how long have you been using them)? Do you think the spring is strong enough to cause undue stress on the birds' neck over time? I read that they don't leak. My vertical ones also don't leak but the birds do let a fair amount of water drip as they are drinking. So do your birds leak/drip any water as they drink from horizontal nipples? It looks like they have a very tiny cup for the bird to drink from. I did not realize how much water my birds were dripping until it got to freezing weather here. I now have a mound of ice nearly a foot tall under the bucket and it's only mid December. It is very cold and dry here, 0-20F and 20% humidity, so they have been drinking quite a bit of water. have 12 birds using two nipples on one bucket. I might just find a lid or something to catch most of the ice that I can remove and defrost occasionally but am curious if the horizontal nipples might just be a better solution altogether.
Have any of you switched BACK to the vertical nipples after trying the horizontal ones and if so, why?
As for the neck stress on the birds, I'm sure any nipple system going to cause some small amount. It can't be natural for birds to have to crane their neck to use the vertical ones nor to have to depress the spring loaded thing on the horizontal ones. Just curious if anyone notices a difference in their birds between the two styles of nipples. I see pics of chicks using the horizontal ones so the spring can't be all that strong. FYI, I haven't noticed any issues or neck stress in our birds so far using the vertical nipples but we've only been using them for 7 months.
Thanks for everyone's two cents on the matter!
The horizontal ones are spring loaded. Do the springs wear out (and how long have you been using them)? Do you think the spring is strong enough to cause undue stress on the birds' neck over time? I read that they don't leak. My vertical ones also don't leak but the birds do let a fair amount of water drip as they are drinking. So do your birds leak/drip any water as they drink from horizontal nipples? It looks like they have a very tiny cup for the bird to drink from. I did not realize how much water my birds were dripping until it got to freezing weather here. I now have a mound of ice nearly a foot tall under the bucket and it's only mid December. It is very cold and dry here, 0-20F and 20% humidity, so they have been drinking quite a bit of water. have 12 birds using two nipples on one bucket. I might just find a lid or something to catch most of the ice that I can remove and defrost occasionally but am curious if the horizontal nipples might just be a better solution altogether.
Have any of you switched BACK to the vertical nipples after trying the horizontal ones and if so, why?
As for the neck stress on the birds, I'm sure any nipple system going to cause some small amount. It can't be natural for birds to have to crane their neck to use the vertical ones nor to have to depress the spring loaded thing on the horizontal ones. Just curious if anyone notices a difference in their birds between the two styles of nipples. I see pics of chicks using the horizontal ones so the spring can't be all that strong. FYI, I haven't noticed any issues or neck stress in our birds so far using the vertical nipples but we've only been using them for 7 months.
Thanks for everyone's two cents on the matter!
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