Arizona Chickens

[jubilation]

Thanks for so for the advice regarding the wall. Going to home depot today to wander the aisles and see what I come up with it!

Need some more advice. I've got an irrigation guy coming to deal with my garden and put a hose and valves and stuff in that half of the yard. He's willing to rig up whatever I need for an automatic watering system for the chickens, I just need to buy the parts and tell him what I want.

Soooo, what do I want? I have six chickens. Do I get the hose that comes down into a cup or the nipple thingy? What do you guys have and love? Gallo? Mary? Bueller?

Thank you!

Chickens don't really like getting water from a nipple.

 

[Timskins]

Chickens don't really like getting water from a nipple.

Says who? Sure seems like they are pretty popular.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:

Nipple suppliers don't generally indicate the brand of the nipples, but if you look at the blue links above you'll see a source for high quality nipples.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Here is something I first posted nearly four years ago about my early experiences with nipples and my concern that the chickens weren't getting enough water:

Quote:
Now that the wild birds stay out of the coop, I think I'll also look into those cup waterers.

 

[mom-to-5]

Chickens don't really like getting water from a nipple.

I will disagree. Perhaps it depends on the chicken but mine have a nipple watering system and a water dish...they all go to the nipples first, telling me that is their preference.

 

[Demosthine]

Did you use 100% mesquite flour? If so, you need to mix it up. Here is the recipe I use. It is from Pearl, who runs the mesquite milling workshop in Cascabel along with her husband Daniel. We took pods out there to mill and have enough to last a long time. I keep it in the freezer.
Make a base of dry ingredients. You can double or triple. Mix well and store in airtight container:

 
1 cup mesquite flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (I use Redmond's since it is aluminum-free)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt.

When ready to make pancakes:
Mix together:
1 egg
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup buttermilk, sour milk or fresh milk made sour with a tablespoon of vinegar added

Add 1 cup of the dry mix to the liquids and whisk together until just moistened. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be tougher.
Add more milk to thin as needed. Cook on hot griddle and enjoy with your favorite syrup or toppings.

I just need to say thank you again for the mesquite pancakes. I figured out this morning that the medium setting of my electric skillet is perfect for making them. I add a teaspoon of vanilla and it just completely sets off the flavor. Amazing, amazing pancakes! I have to collect a lot this year so I can have a better supply all year.

 

[Demosthine]

Another thing to think about with hydration is the type of feed they are receiving. A chicken receiving moist, fermented feed will need far less water than one fed dry. Those who forage well should also need far less because the plants and bugs are full of moisture.

 

[desertmarcy]

Nipple suppliers don't generally indicate the brand of the nipples, but if you look at the blue links above you'll see a source for high quality nipples.

Do you know if the uniseals are available locally? I have been using silicone to seal mine. That has been working okay. I also use toilet tank floats in my reservoirs. They seem to be sturdier and easier to adjust than cooler floats. However they can fail as well, usually fail in terms of overflowing from some grit that gets in. So a caution is in order. Anybody setting up a reservoir, do NOT use a thinner plastic tub, such as a Rubbermaid tub. I used one and it cracked. Guessing it got stressed when the float stuck and filled it to the top, overflowing. It was not meant to hold that much weight.
The other thing about the reservoirs is, if they are not high enough above the nipples, pressure will not be great enough and not enough water will flow to the birds. Reverse, if too high, too much pressure.

 

[desertmarcy]

I just need to say thank you again for the mesquite pancakes. I figured out this morning that the medium setting of my electric skillet is perfect for making them. I add a teaspoon of vanilla and it just completely sets off the flavor. Amazing, amazing pancakes! I have to collect a lot this year so I can have a better supply all year.

You are welcome. However the recipe credit goes to Pearl Mast. She and her husband David have been running a mesquite milling workshop/local foods potluck every year out at the community center in Cascabel. I will have to try adding vanilla--that sounds awesome! Mesquite flour is best stored in the freezer.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
I don't know if they are available locally. If anyplace would have them it would be the ACE Hardware on E. 22nd. ACE carries them in other parts of the country. I always ordered them online when I was ordering other things. A local source would be great. Even with the shipping costs they are probably cheaper than a bulkhead, vastly easier to install, re-usable and never leak. I'm a big fan of them. I use them everyplace I have to connect a pvc pipe to something else so they're very handy with my aquaponics plumbing. That's interesting about the toilet float, I've wondered about them. I have cooler floats in two places and they are indeed somewhat difficult to get the adjustment just right. Excellent points about the tubs and pressure.