Best chicken waterers?

HappyClucker7

Bantam Queen
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Apr 28, 2016
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Can anyone give me some recommendations for a new waterer for my chickens? I've always just been using the standard red and white waterer from TSC, but they keep breaking. Is there a waterer that is more durable but still easy to use?
Thanks!
 
I have really cold winters, so I think that might be why they keep breaking.
I've tried bowls, but they get dirty really quickly. I need something that I can hang up, or at least raise off the ground enough so that dirt doesn't get kicked into it constantly.
 
I just saw this video. I might try this system. My only concern is that the cups might freeze in the winter. What do you think? Should I use this system in the summer, and then something else in the winter?

 
I have really cold winters, so I think that might be why they keep breaking.
I've tried bowls, but they get dirty really quickly. I need something that I can hang up, or at least raise off the ground enough so that dirt doesn't get kicked into it constantly.

How quickly do they break? Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to just keep a spare on the shelf, especially if it is a style you find convenient, instead of trying something unfamiliar and maybe more expensive.

For really cold weather, bowls might be better: the narrow trough on the waterer freezes quickly, while a larger bowl stays thawed longer. Rubber bowls also let you dump out ice without breakign the bowl.

A trick for cold weather (that you may have already discovered): have two waterers. Fill one and take it out to the chickens, bring the other inside to thaw. I've broken a number of water containers trying to get the ice out quickly while thawing with warm or hot water. They last much better if I can just sit them in a warm room and walk away :)

Similar waterers made of metal do exist.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-5-gal-double-wall-drinker
https://www.amazon.com/Miller-5-Gallon-Galvanized-Poultry-Fountain/dp/B000OL89S0
(Two places that have pictures of the metal kind.)
The metal ones don't screw together like the plastic ones; instead, you lift the big dome off the top to refill them.
Because of this, you cannot hang them by the top. But you can put them on top of something.
Metal can get dented.
Certain things should not be added to a metal waterer (vinegar, for example.) Plain water is fine.

You could also choose to use one kind of waterer in the summer, and a different kind in the winter.
 
I've heard that the "cup" isn't as good as the plain "nipple" water. I do have both a nipple water, and regular water. Neither have been thru a Colorado winter yet.

Okay, I'll look into that. The only reason I picked the cup over the nipple is because I just know that my chickens will be the few that are too dumb to figure it out. :rolleyes:

How quickly do they break? Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to just keep a spare on the shelf, especially if it is a style you find convenient, instead of trying something unfamiliar and maybe more expensive.

For really cold weather, bowls might be better: the narrow trough on the waterer freezes quickly, while a larger bowl stays thawed longer. Rubber bowls also let you dump out ice without breakign the bowl.

A trick for cold weather (that you may have already discovered): have two waterers. Fill one and take it out to the chickens, bring the other inside to thaw. I've broken a number of water containers trying to get the ice out quickly while thawing with warm or hot water. They last much better if I can just sit them in a warm room and walk away :)

Similar waterers made of metal do exist.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-5-gal-double-wall-drinker
https://www.amazon.com/Miller-5-Gallon-Galvanized-Poultry-Fountain/dp/B000OL89S0
(Two places that have pictures of the metal kind.)
The metal ones don't screw together like the plastic ones; instead, you lift the big dome off the top to refill them.
Because of this, you cannot hang them by the top. But you can put them on top of something.
Metal can get dented.
Certain things should not be added to a metal waterer (vinegar, for example.) Plain water is fine.

You could also choose to use one kind of waterer in the summer, and a different kind in the winter.

I usually have to replace them after a year. The cold winters just seem to be too rough on them.
Maybe I could use a rubber bowl in the winter, and then something else in the summer? That definitely would make it easier to get the ice out.
 

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