jmagill
Songster
I have used the cups. I have several sitting in the spare parts chicken bin. I get no dirt with the chicken nipples. I always had dirt in the cups especially when raising chicks and the chick dust is flying.or when the adults are dust bathing.
Freezing is a big problem for the cups. You can not stop the water in the cup from freezing. As soon as it freezes there is no water flow.
They only work in heated coops if you have temps of freezing and below constantly during the winter. If you use the nipples in a pipe then you get close to the same problem. However if you use a bucket, you can put a heater in it and freezing is almost eliminated. 30 below and a smaller heater does mean you will have some freezing. That however is a very small portion of the window for most.
I live at 6500 feet in the Wyoming mountains. No heat in the coop. I am a pretty good test case for watering chickens in extreme conditions. I have tried them all from heated bases to cups and nipples. Nipples are by far the best option for clean water throughout the year.
Freezing is a big problem for the cups. You can not stop the water in the cup from freezing. As soon as it freezes there is no water flow.
They only work in heated coops if you have temps of freezing and below constantly during the winter. If you use the nipples in a pipe then you get close to the same problem. However if you use a bucket, you can put a heater in it and freezing is almost eliminated. 30 below and a smaller heater does mean you will have some freezing. That however is a very small portion of the window for most.
I live at 6500 feet in the Wyoming mountains. No heat in the coop. I am a pretty good test case for watering chickens in extreme conditions. I have tried them all from heated bases to cups and nipples. Nipples are by far the best option for clean water throughout the year.