A few different food and water questions

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Danny188

Danny188

Songster
Jul 22, 2019
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Iowa
I have a few questions we just bought some poultry nipples and put them on a 5 gallon bucket then i took away their other water and left them with that one they all pecked at them and an hour later i put the other waterer in and they all started drinking like they didn't have water for the past hour. Do they just need to learn how to get the water into their mouths or what. Also is 16% crumble good or does it need to be lower or higher. Also can i feed my chickens corn if i do a 1/4 corn ratio 3/4 feed?
 
Danny188 said:
I have a few questions we just bought some poultry nipples and put them on a 5 gallon bucket then i took away their other water and left them with that one they all pecked at them and an hour later i put the other waterer in and they all started drinking like they didn't have water for the past hour. Do they just need to learn how to get the water into their mouths or what. Also is 16% crumble good or does it need to be lower or higher. Also can i feed my chickens corn if i do a 1/4 corn ratio 3/4 feed?
Click to expand...
Are the nipples horizontal or vertical? It does take time for them to figure out how to get enough to drink. During the crazy heat, I always offer both my horizontal nipple waterer as well as a pan with a block of ice that melts throughout the day for them to wade in and sip. I just dump it and "refill" daily.

I would go higher on the protein. Many chicken keepers, myself included, offer an All Flock or Flock Raiser type complete feed with 18 - 20% protein year round. You can also use chick starter with the same protein range. The birds stay on that for life. At around 16 weeks, you put out a separate dish of oyster shell for the layers. Too low protein content in the diet causes many health and behavioral issues.

Do NOT mix additional corn in with the feed. All it will do is dilute the nutritional content of their diet. Chickens do not need extra corn, bread, pasta, etc. It really is best to just stick to a complete feed. People get their birds into trouble with all the treats.
 
DobieLover said:
Are the nipples horizontal or vertical? It does take time for them to figure out how to get enough to drink. During the crazy heat, I always offer both my horizontal nipple waterer as well as a pan with a block of ice that melts throughout the day for them to wade in and sip. I just dump it and "refill" daily.

I would go higher on the protein. Many chicken keepers, myself included, offer an All Flock or Flock Raiser type complete feed with 18 - 20% protein year round. You can also use chick starter with the same protein range. The birds stay on that for life. At around 16 weeks, you put out a separate dish of oyster shell for the layers. Too low protein content in the diet causes many health and behavioral issues.

Do NOT mix additional corn in with the feed. All it will do is dilute the nutritional content of their diet. Chickens do not need extra corn, bread, pasta, etc. It really is best to just stick to a complete feed. People get their birds into trouble with all the treats.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks for the help my nipples are vertical and i was just wondering about the corn so thank you for the help with that. So the % of crumble if fine i just need 18 to 20% protine ok thanks.
 
I would leave both waters in until you notice the nipple bucket is being used a lot .I'm using nipples and cups on a 7 gallon water system and they also drink from a 50 gallon filtered pond. My mixed flock drink 3 gallons a day from the waterer.
It took days to switch them off the waterer I used in the broader.
But I sit with my flock almost every day for hours. So once I saw everyone using cups or nipples I removed the other one..
I'm also using all flock food. I have oyster shell ready for when they start to lay... Only 8 more weeks :he
 
I had a vertical nipple waterer in my brooder, and I use one in my run, so they already know how to use it. However, I have been leaving big pans and bowls of water all over the place since it's been stupid hot here, and I notice they prefer those to the fancy shmancy waterer they have in the run.
:barnie
Honestly, I may just switch to those. Chickens... am I right?

And I feed my girls grower at 20% protein. I gave a Brahma that is still growing (they continue to grow for up to 2 years) and a few younger birds of varying ages. The grower takes care of them all. And since they free range for part of every day, they eat a lot of grass and things, too. The higher protein makes up for that just a bit. Bonus: my birds have nice, shiny feathers!

(Edited for typos)
 
Last edited:
Aunt Angus said:
I had a vertical nipple waterer in my brooder, and I use one in my run, so they already know how to use it. However, I have been leaving big pans and bowls of water all over the place since it's been stupid hot here, and I notice they prefer those to the fancy shmancy waterer they have in the run.
:barnie
Honestly, I may just switch to those. Chickens... am I right?

And I feed my girls grower at 20% protein. I gave a Nrahma that is still growing (they continue to grow for up to 2 years) and a few younger birds of varying ages. The grower takes care of them all. And since they free range for part of every day, they eat a lot of grass andthings, too. The higher protein makes up for that just a bit. Bonus: my birds have nice, shiny feathers!
Click to expand...
We are almost neighbors.
We call 85 hot...
 

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