Chicken waterer nipple ?

[cluckin tractor]

what do water nipples cost in australia
should i be able to get them posted

if i can then i will get some small pipe and set it up on a gravity tank with the nipples on the pipe


can the nipples take mains pressure

 

[zekii]

About to order some water nipples, need info from others using these, what type do you prefer ? The push in ones with bushing or the screw in type .. probably depends on where used ? I'm planning on some milk jug waterers for my brooder.
Also does alot of water get leaked from the nipple...will it cause moisture below in the bedding ?

Any recommendation on where to purchase these ?

Cheers,
ZekII

 

[smoothmule]

I've always used hamster water bottles for my newly hatched chicks then they graduated to the rabbit water bottles when they're older for the brooder. I've never had them take more than 10 seconds to find it and start chugging away

I think that little shimmery water droplet at the tip draws them in and when they get that first dribble, they stand around it like a bunch of bottle calves. When one chick tests it out they all go running to drink. It's clean and I can easily monitor how good they're drinking.

When they get older and go outside, they learn from the older ones to drink from the regular waterer. I love the idea of the PVC pipe with the nipples and the 50 gallon barrel. I have an old non-working hot water tank that I'm trying to make work to hold the water.

Cay you all show pictures of how you have yours set up?
Thanks

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I would recommend using extra nipples for your chickens. I used to use nipples but did not feel like my chickens got enough water. Many people say they are fine so you should be ok. I still like the water cups better but that is just a preference.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
There is no good reason to have more than two nipples for the 1 to 15 birds and one more for each additional ten birds. Nipples are designed to water any chicken but broiler breeders hens in hot desert climates at the rate of 15 birds per nipple. Providing to many nipples causes underuse and problems arrising from that.

Except under some unusual circumstance a chicken will get enough water from an appropriate nipple drinker unless a) the head pressure is to low (like 1/2") or 2) the npple itself is to low for the bird to capture the water.

And yes, chickens prefer to drink water from a pool rather than a nipple. I also prefer to lay around the house all day drinking Scotch from a glass rather than going to work and drinking water from a bottle.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

lol. If you were my chicken, I would give you scotch and let you lay around all day

 

[zekii]

Quote:
There is no good reason to have more than two nipples for the 1 to 15 birds and one more for each additional ten birds. Nipples are designed to water any chicken but broiler breeders hens in hot desert climates at the rate of 15 birds per nipple. Providing to many nipples causes underuse and problems arrising from that.

Except under some unusual circumstance a chicken will get enough water from an appropriate nipple drinker unless a) the head pressure is to low (like 1/2") or 2) the npple itself is to low for the bird to capture the water.

And yes, chickens prefer to drink water from a pool rather than a nipple. I also prefer to lay around the house all day drinking Scotch from a glass rather than going to work and drinking water from a bottle.

In otherwords if they are thirsty, the chickens will find the water ...

When I'm thirsty I find the beer !!!

 

[BellevueOmlet]

How does having too many nipples lead to underuse? And what problems arise from too many nipples?

 

[smoothmule]

I see a couple things not answered, the nipples (depending on type) will require a regulator if connected to a live source of water to avoid blowing them out. There are nipples and there are small cups. The chickens don't care which you use, it's human preference.
More or less nipples are not that important unless you have a huge operation. Chickens will often all run together to a nipple to drink together (silly girls). So, it wouldn't matter if you have 1 nipple or a dozen. If you have a "lot" of chickens it doesn't hurt a thing to have several but you never know if they're all going to like just one of them (silly girls). If you have a nasty dirty pan of water or a puddle of water in a mud hole, they love that too (silly girls, lol)

You all do what you want. It's all our own preference, not the chickens necessarily. As long as the volume of water supplied will meet their needs and not run out, you got it taken care of. Chickens are smart, smarter than we are sometimes, and will drink when they're thirsty, at the most convenient spot and all it takes is for one of the girls to run for a drink and they all may run for a drink together. They're so cute

If you have a nipple system, don't worry, they will find it and when that smartest hen in the flock gets that first drop of water, they are all watching and have to try it too. I've always used hamster water bottles to start my Serama chicks on and they graduated to a rabbit water bottle (it holds more water so there is more pressure on the ball at the tip and too heavy for the teeny Serama chicks to budge at first) but if there is a dish of water, they figure that out too. They are all smart and curious and it takes a couple of seconds to learn any of them.

 

[chicken nipple]

I changed over to nipples about a year ago and can't say a bad thing about them. I use a 5 gallon bucket with three nipples on the bottom for 25 hens and a rooster. I place a plastic square tray below to keep the shavings dry. I do not see anyone posting about how to winterize this set up and have found what I find to be a very effective and low cost solution. I use a 75 watt aquarium heater that I bought for 10$ new, with a 2 year warrantee. Once the weather is cold enough I plug it in and it has a preset thermostat for 70 degrees. The water stayed warm all winter, no freezing of the nipples and the birds got the benefit of a relatively warm drink. Hope this helps. If you don't have power in your coop an insulated extension cord will do the trick.