➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[sdm111]

Man my fowlz love soaked oats. I feed it to them mixed with feed about half and half and they love it. Just in the dead of summer. It gets pretty hot here

 

[ShrekDawg]

I feed fermented feed and this time of year I put out 3 two gallon waterers and they last almost a week. Longer if snow on the ground. They get moisture from the feed.... 4dz + chickens and 2 dz turkeys. I bring them in if it's going below 25... The nipples don't freeze until then, if they are in the coops

Oh wow that’s a ton of birds!! And so little water to go through! although I think mine drink less water when I have the nipples. I have noticed they don’t seem to go through as much as the open waterer. I have thought about trying fermented feed but it seemed like a lot of work and I’ve read so many different things on how to do it “right”, it was kinda confusing ha I have my waterer outside but the food inside currently.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Summer would work, but they freeze up quicker in the winter.. no electricity close to the coops

I don’t have electricity in the cops themselves but they are close to the house so I have an extension cord running from the garage to the coop to power the heated water bowl. I was initially worried about the cups freezing in the winter but I switch to a heated bowl in winter anyway so wouldn’t be an issue for me I don’t think. I can see how it would be if you don’t have electricity out there though.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Man my fowlz love soaked oats. I feed it to them mixed with feed about half and half and they love it. Just in the dead of summer. It gets pretty hot here

That sounds awesome! Might have to try that sometime. I was thinking of cooking up some eggs for the girls. We have a bunch of older eggs and they’re laying so much I really don’t need the older ones.

 

[CindyinSD]

Thanks! That’s good to know!!

And yeah, that makes a lot of sense, although I usually switch to a heated dog bowl for winter anyway so it wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

I have thought about buying a deicer for the bucket so I could use the nipples year round but I was paranoid it would melt or start a fire or something.

Plus I have a perfectly fine heated bowl so don’t really wanna buy something else right now haha

Although I do need to come up with something different for the chicks. Maybe buy another heated bowl for them.

But it’s almost spring now anyway so won’t need it pretty soon.

I’d just wait at this point. It’s not that long for you. I use a bucket deicer, but if it isn’t submerged and the temperature is freezing or below, it will burn out very quickly. So if you let the water get low or the bucket gets tipped over, it’ll stop working and you have to buy another one. You really have to keep an eye on the submersible deicers.

 

[FortCluck]

Summer would work, but they freeze up quicker in the winter.. no electricity close to the coops

Mine haven't froze yet I think it's because of the bucket we use and the chickens stop using it around 6 pm so theres nothing to freeze

 

[FortCluck]

Man my fowlz love soaked oats. I feed it to them mixed with feed about half and half and they love it. Just in the dead of summer. It gets pretty hot here

I tried fermented feed and my chickens hated me I add oats to their feed though. Sometimes I'll do added herbs and such.

 

[CindyinSD]

I don’t have electricity in the cops themselves but they are close to the house so I have an extension cord running from the garage to the coop to power the heated water bowl. I was initially worried about the cups freezing in the winter but I switch to a heated bowl in winter anyway so wouldn’t be an issue for me I don’t think. I can see how it would be if you don’t have electricity out there though.

I’ve used all of them: vertical & horizontal nipples and cups. They all work fine. The cups are easily broken and the vertical nipples drip if not perfectly straight. The horizontal nipples are hard or impossible for tiny birds to press but fine for juvenile chickens or larger. Waterfowl need a bucket or similar to submerge their bills and flush out their nares. To be honest, in most cases I prefer a plain old bucket.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I’d just wait at this point. It’s not that long for you. I use a bucket deicer, but if it isn’t submerged and the temperature is freezing or below, it will burn out very quickly. So if you let the water get low or the bucket gets tipped over, it’ll stop working and you have to buy another one. You really have to keep an eye on the submersible deicers.

Yeah, I think I’m just gonna wait. Our winters have been soooooo mild lately. I used to love it but now I honestly wish we got snow and cold

I usually don’t let it get super low so I don’t think it would be an issue for me but idk if I like the nipples that much.

I’ve used all of them: vertical & horizontal nipples and cups. They all work fine. The cups are easily broken and the vertical nipples drip if not perfectly straight. The horizontal nipples are hard or impossible for tiny birds to press but fine for juvenile chickens or larger. Waterfowl need a bucket or similar to submerge their bills and flush out their nares. To be honest, in most cases I prefer a plain old bucket.

Thanks for the info! Very helpful! I don’t really like the vertical ones cause they’d have to be hung and I don’t really have a place to do it plus I heard they leak. I only have chickens so I don’t have to worry about other species thankfully and all mine are big enough to push the nipples now I think. Though I’m intrigued by the plain bucket. Do you just fill it to the top and have it low enough for them to drink from the top or cut holes in it or? Have you ever seen the big 55 gallon drums with different height nipples for all species and/or steps for the super small ones? I always thought that was pretty cool.

 

[CindyinSD]

Oh wow that’s a ton of birds!! And so little water to go through! although I think mine drink less water when I have the nipples. I have noticed they don’t seem to go through as much as the open waterer. I have thought about trying fermented feed but it seemed like a lot of work and I’ve read so many different things on how to do it “right”, it was kinda confusing ha I have my waterer outside but the food inside currently.

Mine love fermented feed. It’s easy—just soak the feed. It will eventually start to ferment and smell like rising bread dough. How long that takes depends on the temperature, but they like the soaked feed, fermented or not. If you leave a bit of the last batch in the bucket, it’ll ferment much faster.

Disadvantages: you have to soak it, it will freeze in the cold, it’s heavier to carry out
Advantages: adds probiotics, they waste much less, it is hydrating, they like it better (if accustomed to it), you feel like you’ve gone the extra mile for your birds