Chicken Waterer design

borhaaa

In the Brooder
Jul 20, 2015
3
1
22
Walpole NH
Hey guys,
I'm a product designer by profession and a backyard chicken rancher on the side. And as someone who makes products for a living I can't tell you how much it pains me to spend $40+ on a new waterer only to have it break, leak, get covered in funk, crack, feeeze, and be a total pain to fill and or clean over and over again. I've owned at least 6 waterers over the last few years and none of them survived 4 seasons.

So, I wanted to get your advice on what product actually works well, or if you share my same disgruntled experience, what you would like in an ideal waterer so I can design one that solves all our needs. Happy to get some beta testers lined up. Anyway if you have any thoughts please lemme know.
 
Something that's easy to refill, easy to clean and doesnt leak. Worst thing is to fill a 3-5 gallon waterer thinking they have plenty of water to find out your chicken never had water the entire day.

I bought this one last fall before winter but found out imposssible to clean (no access to clean the reservoir)
IMG_4289.jpg
 
I don't have to deal with freezing weather, LOVE the Horizontal Water Nipples. Read about here, comparing the horizontal to vertical (leak complaints), found it on Amazon & easy install. I got some soft plastic containers, Hubby drilled the hole & screwed it in, no drips & I've been using for over a year now. I did have to drill a hole (vacuum) close to the rim & have a lid for it. I did have to raise it as they got taller but love it.

It's recommend for chicks 8wks & older but I've tried/monitored week olds & they did fine. Just showed them by tapping the "nipple", they figure to tap under it & water comes out....Just make sure there's a "vent" to release the vacuum, thought it stopped working & was disappointed but figure it out. No more shavings in the water & wet bedding. I have one for chicks & one for my girls (4). DSC02988.JPG DSC03371.JPG
 
Something that's easy to refill, easy to clean and doesnt leak. Worst thing is to fill a 3-5 gallon waterer thinking they have plenty of water to find out your chicken never had water the entire day.

I bought this one last fall before winter but found out imposssible to clean (no access to clean the reservoir)
View attachment 1140600
Thanks for sharing. Yah. Only $65 and you can't clean it. My current one is 3 gallons with a vacuum seal top (meaning o-ring). Unfortunately if you don't screw the top on tight enough it all leaks out. But if too tight the cap breaks or you can't get it off. And the inside of the container turns green. Pretty sure my water bottle would never do that.
 
I don't have to deal with freezing weather, LOVE the Horizontal Water Nipples. Read about here, comparing the horizontal to vertical (leak complaints), found it on Amazon & easy install. I got some soft plastic containers, Hubby drilled the hole & screwed it in, no drips & I've been using for over a year now. I did have to drill a hole (vacuum) close to the rim & have a lid for it. I did have to raise it as they got taller but love it.

It's recommend for chicks 8wks & older but I've tried/monitored week olds & they did fine. Just showed them by tapping the "nipple", they figure to tap under it & water comes out....Just make sure there's a "vent" to release the vacuum, thought it stopped working & was disappointed but figure it out. No more shavings in the water & wet bedding. I have one for chicks & one for my girls (4).View attachment 1140620 View attachment 1140621
I liked those too...until mine started to free up. I tried a heater but the nipples still froze solid. Then thawed...then leaked. I do think a freeze proof option like this would be great though. Seems possible.
 
Thanks for sharing. Yah. Only $65 and you can't clean it. My current one is 3 gallons with a vacuum seal top (meaning o-ring). Unfortunately if you don't screw the top on tight enough it all leaks out. But if too tight the cap breaks or you can't get it off. And the inside of the container turns green. Pretty sure my water bottle would never do that.

Yep I know what you mean, I got 2 of these 5 gallon and a galvanized one. But at least its cleanable when they turned green inside. I had to order a couple of those o-ring to replace the saggy ones.
 

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Hey guys,
I'm a product designer by profession and a backyard chicken rancher on the side. And as someone who makes products for a living I can't tell you how much it pains me to spend $40+ on a new waterer only to have it break, leak, get covered in funk, crack, feeeze, and be a total pain to fill and or clean over and over again. I've owned at least 6 waterers over the last few years and none of them survived 4 seasons.

So, I wanted to get your advice on what product actually works well, or if you share my same disgruntled experience, what you would like in an ideal waterer so I can design one that solves all our needs. Happy to get some beta testers lined up. Anyway if you have any thoughts please lemme know.

I really like the fact that you're taking on the challenge to come up with something new, innovative, easily maintained, and inexpensive. There are so many different setups people have that it's difficult to satisfy everybody's needs. My only recommendation is your design should take into consideration the worst possible scenario and then allow it to be tailored to the individual.

Small flocks like mine are easily hydrated using any 3-5 gallon plastic bucket that isn't opaque (blocks light) which helps to prevent algae growth. I bought blue buckets from CraigsList for $1 each and installed 5 drip nipples on each bucket. I bought the nipples on Amazon. The most expensive part of this setup was the stainless steel nuts that hold the nipples inside the bucket. This is the cheapest solution. The only issue I've experienced so far is one of the nipples fell apart and drained the bucket. This isn't the solution for the cold weather months, but I have a galvanized waterer that sits on top of a heater pan...which is controlled by thermostat. Since my solution was so cheap, I really don't see a need for anything fancy.

I would like to build a setup that connects to a sealed rain barrel, is gravity fed, includes a float valve, and can be connected to a pressurized potable water source in case the rain barrel runs dry. I would drop a water heater rod inside the barrel during the winter to keep it from freezing. I guess I'd need something wrapped on the pipes to keep them from freezing as well. I already have a rain barrel setup that serves as an irrigation system for my tomatoes and peppers...but I wouldn't give the water in this barrel to my chickens. It's not a sealed barrel.
 
@Spartan22 I have the same waterer you pictured except it is the 7 gallon size and cost $50!! I balked at the price but I needed a large waterer for when I am gone on weekends.

It works good unless you don't get that top on tight! If you don't, it will all leak out as I've learned more than once. My only other complaint is that due to sheer size, it's a bit of a pain to scrub it inside, but doable.

I use ACV in the waterer which is supposed to help cut down on algae and it helps but still need to scrub it every 2-3 days because it does get that slimy film inside and out.

@borhaaa I have yet to see a plastic gravity waterer that doesn't use nipples that is completely opaque which would certainly cut down on algae growth. Inside needs to be smooth like a plastic bucket so there aren't little pits that stuff can grow in and cling to.

I'm stuck with using plastic due to the use of ACV. 5 gallons would be a good size and if not super expensive, I would have two of them so when I leave for a few days, I could fill up the spare.
 

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