chicken nipples: how many?

[Amastacia]

we are planning on setting up a bigger waterer for our hens and plan to use chicken nipples. i don't know much about using them and have a few questions.

first, how many do we need to set up? we currently only have 8 hens, but plan on having upwards of 30 in the future.

also, are there styles or brands that are better than others? or sources that have good quality and good prices?

and is there anything else i need to know before setting them up?

thanks.

 

[shellyjimrye]

Hi there! From what I have read and from experience, 8-10 chickens per nipple seems to be adequate. You want to make sure where you mount them the chickens can naturally stand under them and reach them. Too low can cause alot of dripping onto the ground and waste as well as get your bedding damp. There are generally two kinds, a push in type or a screw in. Either work but it would be what your preference is. I like the screw in type as long as you dont over screw and strip them which can lead to leakage. I know you can get them from alot of different places, many speak of Ebay and sites like that. I personally got mine from Amazon. For whatever container that you are using, make sure that there is an air intake on the top of the container so that as the chickens drink the air comes in to avoid an airlock situation.

 

[Amastacia]

now that i think we are actually ready to get the waterer set up, i wanted to see if anyone else had any thoughts (not that i'm doubting you, shellyjimrye, i just like to have more than one opinion). looking on amazon at them, it looks like Oasis Poultry recommend only 3 birds per nipple. that difference makes me want more input please.

thanks.

 

[chfite]

I have two nipples for 9 chickens. Nipples are cheap, so putting in as many as you like won't hurt. The right height and adequate spacing between so that they can drink without getting in each other's way are considerations.

I recommend installing a drain at the end of the piping, in case you need to drain the system.

Chris

 

[LoneOak]

For the very best water nipples available, at least those of us that use them think so, visit Rich386's add here in the buy-sell-trade forum. His add is titled HORIZONTAL POULTRY WATERING NIPPLES 5 Pack FREE shipping, just click the title. If you spend $13 with him you will get all the nipples you need to set up your system how ever you want to and you will have just the right amount of nipples for the birds you have. Read all the post on his add and you will see several different setups, mine is one of them. The horizontal nipples are the neatest thing going these days and work great. They are real easy to install and you would really have to guff it up to have a leak, they have tapered threads that really bite into plastic buckets, Pvc pipe, Black Poly pipe and most anything you can find to deliver water.

Rich also sells his nipples on ebay but you might as well order them directly from here. Check them out before you buy anything and if you plan your system well you will be happy with them for many years to come.

LoneOak

 

[Rich386]

we are planning on setting up a bigger waterer for our hens and plan to use chicken nipples. i don't know much about using them and have a few questions.

first, how many do we need to set up? we currently only have 8 hens, but plan on having upwards of 30 in the future.

also, are there styles or brands that are better than others? or sources that have good quality and good prices?

and is there anything else i need to know before setting them up?

thanks.

You need one nipple for 6 to 8 birds. My guess is the guy that said 3 birds for each nipple probably sells them. If you are going to build a system plan ahead build it once. Do you want it to auto fill? Do you want or have room for a pail or should you put it in pipe? Keep in mind that one or two extra nipples will not break the bank, This is not really for you because you already have plans for more. A lot of us get chickens and the plan is 4 or 5 next thing you know you have 20. You can find vertical nipples any where they are cheap. If you read the post from users the biggest complaint is leaks. Horizontal Nipples don't. Horizontal nipples are spring loaded and have a rubber O ring seal. I hope this helps.

 

[Murphy212]

I have 11 chickens and last month set up the Oasis Fountainhead (from Amazon). It has 3 nipples which is working perfectly for my 11. I used a five gallon bucket set on a shelf attached to the coop. I ran the line with a short water hose from the faucet on the bucket to the PVC pipe and hung the PVC pipe with the nipples under the edge of the coop. It did not take but a few minutes for them to get the hang of it. They hung out and helped me install it and I just clicked the nipples with my fingers for about 5 minutes. Being the "curious cats" that they are, as soon as I walked away from the coop, they were all over it checking it out. I left their old waterer in the run for a couple of days to make sure that everyone was getting enough water, then removed it. You can monitor the level of water in the bucket to see if it is going down or not. With this new set up, I only have to fill the bucket about every 5 days. I check each day when I am out there to make sure the nipples are still flowing and there is water in the bucket. I put a piece of folded screen door screen on top of the bucket and then the lid of the bucket just rests on the top. That way I did not seal the bucket and have to worry about creating a vacuum or worry about mosquitoes breeding in it.
One of the best things I did was to eliminate that daily/twice daily water refilling and cleaning!
Highly recommend the nipple watering system whichever one you use.
Murphy

 

[Amastacia]

well, it ended up being cheaper to buy 25 than 10, so i don't think i will have too few. my coop was designed for no more than 30 birds.