Best waterer?

[SpaghettiJo]

Recently, I've discovered that my chickens are not drinking out of their waterer that has the cups attached to it. I have tried showing them several times how to use it and they will successfully drink out of it while I'm sitting there, but then I'll come to check on them later and they will be trying to get water by just pecking at the red cup, not hitting the trigger. Lately, I have been filling up their old tray waterer, and they drink out of that fine, but it gets dirty so fast! We have been researching what kind of nipples are best and what chickens will actually drink out of. Please tell me what you use and how long it took for your chickens to figure it out. Thank you!

 

[Pork Pie]

I use a variety, from vertical nipples to a plastic basin. They prefer the plastic basin. It's always pretty warm where I live, so nipples alone don't do the job to my satisfaction.

 

[Birdinhand]

I've tried several different waterer designs and recently decided to try a see through hanging bucket vertical nipple waterer. I'm pretty much ready to throw away or give away every other waterer I have. the hens picked up how to use it right away. it's so nice to not have to clean out the waterer regularly. it's healthier for them, cleaner, less maintenance and appears to be a more efficient use of water, which means refilling less frequently. It's so much better it kind of seams like there's no point in buying anything else.

 

[SpaghettiJo]

I use a variety, from vertical nipples to a plastic basin. They prefer the plastic basin. It's always pretty warm where I live, so nipples alone don't do the job to my satisfaction.

I've tried several different waterer designs and recently decided to try a see through hanging bucket vertical nipple waterer. I'm pretty much ready to throw away or give away every other waterer I have. the hens picked up how to use it right away. it's so nice to not have to clean out the waterer regularly. it's healthier for them, cleaner, less maintenance and appears to be a more efficient use of water, which means refilling less frequently. It's so much better it kind of seams like there's no point in buying anything else.

Thank you guys for your input!!

Has anyone used the horizontal waterers? And how do you like them?

 

[Pork Pie]

Thank you guys for your input!!

Has anyone used the horizontal waterers? And how do you like them?

Got some that I will try next week. Apparently they are less prone to leaking (not that I've had an issue with the vertical ones)

 

[Patinas]

Has anyone used the horizontal waterers? And how do you like them?

I tried a horizontal waterer on my chicks when they were about 5-8 weeks old and while most of them caught on and were using it, some just couldn't grasp it. I would take out the regular waterer for the day and then watch them. I could see which ones weren't drinking out of it even when I would help them. Late in the day when I put the basin waterer back in, the ones that couldn't use the nipples would be gulping water. After a week of trying, I gave up on the horizontal nipple waterer.

I haven't tried it again now that they are much older but I'm sure they could handle it now.

 

[SpaghettiJo]

I tried a horizontal waterer on my chicks when they were about 5-8 weeks old and while most of them caught on and were using it, some just couldn't grasp it. I would take out the regular waterer for the day and then watch them. I could see which ones weren't drinking out of it even when I would help them. Late in the day when I put the basin waterer back in, the ones that couldn't use the nipples would be gulping water. After a week of trying, I gave up on the horizontal nipple waterer.

I haven't tried it again now that they are much older but I'm sure they could handle it now.

Thank you for your input! I'm thinking I'll order some horizontal and vertical to test which ones they like better.

Also, has anyone tried the Brite Tap?

 

[Birdinhand]

Ok, so I've put some more time into this as I've started another round of meat birds. it appears that there are subtle differences in the designs of the various nipples, even from one brand vertical nipple to another. I spent some time asking around at a local farm store, Keep It Simple Farm and they seem to have done some homework. I bought their bucket waterer and one from another store and compared them. I really have to nail down the watering with my cornish cross, they go through a ton of water and spilling, leaking and dirt have been a problem in the past with open waterers. Both waterers work the same way but one seems to have a superior nipple that results in a bare minimum of water being dripped on the ground. This is important to me as keeping things dry is key to keeping flies down and keeping the overall smell and mess down. With one brand, the chicks end up flicking a lot of water around. I have no idea why, so I switched that waterer to the hens and bought another. The brand that consistently seems to work the best so far for me is the http://www.atwoods.com/poultry-feeders-watering/cheery-chicks-chicken-kooler-35-gallon.htm. there are several things I like about it. it has a plug in the top that allows easy filling without taking down the waterer and removing the big lid... it can be easily filled in place with a hose, so less hassle. the bucket itself is made of translucent material that allows easy monitoring of the water level without allowing algae growth, presumably by being UV resistant and it is BPA free.

One of the store employees, when I mentioned my experience with how much better it works, said the maker of this waterer was the original designer of the nipple waterer and since he didn't actually invent the nipple, he couldn't really patent it so there are a lot of nock offs filling the market that use cheaper parts. I don't know how true this is but he said that when buying this waterer, you are actually supporting the guy who first put the parts together. The web site is still under construction, so there is no more information about the details of this waterer other than what is found in the link above. The price on line is roughly 30% less than what I paid at the store, but then again, I feel good about supporting brick and mortar, especially when it comes to getting good info.

 

[jthornton]

I got some nipples from Amazon and built a stand for the bucket. It seemed to work ok to me but I'm very new to chickens.

JT

 

[member 373180]

I use cups and horizontal and vertical nipples. I start chicks with a mason jar dish waterer.

The cups are great because they're fed by the water line so no need to fill and change. They get shut down in winter, though. Chickens seem to like them, including babies at 3-4 weeks old.

I like the horizontal nipples best, I put them in a 3gal bucket. They do not leak, or freeze, and are compatible with a tank heater for winter. Chickens like them and babies can use them at around 3-4 weeks old. You do need to fill them manually frequently for the first while till they figure it out. Only a couple need to learn it, the others will copy. These are also great to put in a 500ml bottle for the broody buster or other small space.

Vertical nipples are great for small babies, I remove the dish waterer and put them on vertical nipples when they're about a week old. Easy for the babies to activate and figure out. They do leak a lot, though, so I move on to horizontals asap. Verticals will also freeze and don't work with a tank heater.