BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Super simple. Drill a 3/8" hole in the cap (make sure that the rubbery circular piece inside the top of the cap stays put, otherwise it'll leak) and insert the push-in style nipple. I think some nipple waterers need different hole sizes drilled so whatever you buy, check to see what it requires. Just plug in the black piece and shove the red piece through that and hang upside down. I poked a hole in the bottom of this bottle and use a caribeaner to hang it on the hardware cloth in the run for the chicks. I fill it with a funnel through the hole.

 

[DownwardDog]

Super simple. Drill a 3/8" hole in the cap (make sure that the rubbery circular piece inside the top of the cap stays put, otherwise it'll leak) and insert the push-in style nipple. I think some nipple waterers need different hole sizes drilled so whatever you buy, check to see what it requires. Just plug in the black piece and shove the red piece through that and hang upside down. I poked a hole in the bottom of this bottle and use a caribeaner to hang it on the hardware cloth in the run for the chicks. I fill it with a funnel through the hole.

Chickens REALLY drink from these things? Do you have to teach them?

 

[debid]

Chickens REALLY drink from these things? Do you have to teach them?

You hang it so the silver lever is just above their tiny heads and the shiny plus the red base is irresistible to them. They peck to explore it and find the water. Presto, dry litter and clean water.

I use a plastic ice cream pail in my brooder.

 

[krcchickens]

You hang it so the silver lever is just above their tiny heads and the shiny plus the red base is irresistible to them. They peck to explore it and find the water. Presto, dry litter and clean water.

I use a plastic ice cream pail in my brooder.

How many do you need for 12 chicks

 

[krcchickens]

How many do you need for 12 chicks

And you use the ice cream pail to hold the water?

 

[debid]

Right. I used a 5 quart ice cream pail with two nipples for ten chicks. I'm sure it was enough for three times that many chicks. There was a block of wood under one nipple for the smaller chicks so the bucket could be high enough for the biggest ones. That bucket then was re-used for the water I keep available in the run during the warmer months. So, this time I'm making a one-nipple bucket with this giant souvenir popcorn cup DH got at a football game for my little batch of four. It has a lid and sturdy handle. Lots of options, just choose the thickest plastic container you can find that is food safe. And remember, there has to be a tiny airhole above the water line or you'll create a vacuum and the water won't dispense properly.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Yes, chickens really drink from them. I have had typical trough waterers for my chickens since they were babies, but they make such a mess I finally bought what I needed to make my nipple waterers. I locked everyone in the run for 2 days with the new nipple waterers and as soon as a single chicken figured out how to use it (just from exploring it), they all figured it out within a few hours just by watching.

My baby chicks picked it up even faster and they use a nipple attached to the cap of a 2L bottle and hung upside down. Pics again, below.
Water bottle hung on the hardware cloth for Lucy and her chicks.

3 nipple waterer for 12 birds. A good number is 1 nipple per 4 birds, just to ensure everyone gets a shot at the waterer. I'm going to make another one of these for the other end of the run so I can be really certain they're drinking adequately, but egg production hasn't decreased (in fact, it's increased!) in the last week since we started using this system.

Just drilled 3 holes in the bottom of the bucket and shoved in the nipples. Totally and completely leak proof. I recommend the push-in style, not the threaded style.

2L bottle with cap made into waterer.

 

[IzatKaren]

From Dollar General, I purchased a "garden box" (it is plastic that you put in dirt and plants). I had a rabbit pen I purchased years ago, surrounded it around this, filled with shavings, etc. And now my little chickens are having a BALL running, trying out wings, playing. Really fun to watch them go from the small brooder to more room! They sure do grow quickly!

 

[patientgoldens]

If y

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dangerouschicken does that kind of feeder work better at keeping the litter out of it? My dang chickens get so much litter in theirs in like 10 minutes they can even see the feed any more. I have to clean it out a million times a day and end up waisting so much feed.


If you put the feeder on something like paper towels or a piece of cardboard it works wonderfully. And keeps the shavings out of the food.

 

[peacemaam]

I made a brooder from a old dresser.

AWESOME