Chickens won't use waterer cups.

[BellevueOmlet]

If they are not interested in the cups, press the valve so they fill with water and then they will see that there is water and learn to use them quickly.

 

[Guinea and Chicken raiser]

I usually give my chickens water by taking a milk jug and cutting it up to make a bowl. it always works. I even used glass kitchen dishes for making like banana bread loafs and cakes, but I washed them good after chickens always dirty them. Didn't affect how the banana bread tasted in the same dish, cuz I washed 3 times with plenty of soap. and hot hot water.... anyways... they should be drinking water just fine. they have an internal drive that tells them to drink. my chicks right now do too, they drink water a lot. they get big goiters, they always act hungry. and thus mine are growing so fast... but if yours dont want to eat or drink that much, they could still live and grow.

I had a few chicks have problems with hypothermia and I saved 2 lives of baby chicks who got cold. In fact, out of my 6 new hatchlings, the last hatchling was smaller than the others, I explained to my fiance it's because it was last and it needs time, but it always stayed runt. I helped 3 out of their shells a bit which I shouldn't have done, but I was so careful. They are alive and well 3 weeks old. Almost 4weeks. The last hatchling, we came home and she was looking dead and I freaked out and had to hold her, she responded, moved, breathed, blinked, but I felt she was cold. Baby chickens always seem to spill the water. And need to be watched well, like all the time. But I put her to a heater occasionally, held her to my chest, helped her breathe a tiny bit, made her eat a little, gave her a little milk then a little water... and she got better in time, I kept helping her and also helping her help herself on her own. The heater dried her feathers and she got warmer and fluffier like the others. I wasn't going to let her die.

So don't feel bad if you have to make them drink, but they should be wanting to drink on their own.

 

[Farmerwife1]

Can you drop a shiny object in the waterier? That may start them to peck at it which could get them use to using the new system.

My chickens are fine with drinking out of them, but I don’t think they know how to get the water into the bowls. What kind of shiny thing would you put into the cup that they won’t eat?

 

[kellylaurin523]

My chickens are fine with drinking out of them, but I don’t think they know how to get the water into the bowls. What kind of shiny thing would you put into the cup that they won’t eat?

Hi! I came to this thread this weekend to figure out the exact same thing. I filled up the cups a bit and put some oatmeal in there. My girls are OBSESSED with oatmeal. They went nuts for it and as they were going for the pieces that fell to the bottom of the cup, they started to peck at the yellow lever and the water came out. I did this a few times and it seems as though they really caught on! I walked away and watched them from a far and I saw that they were getting the hang of it. Someone else metioned on another thread that I found to be true also was that they only fill it up enough for them to drink what they need. The cups will never be as full as they would be if we went in there to fill them. As long as there is always a bit of water at the bottom of the cup I feel like they are drinking. They only peck out as much as they want to drink it seems. I hope this helps!

 

[citykitty]

I'm keeping an eye on this thread. I have new pullets (4-5 months) that I just brought home Saturday. I know they were thirsty because they were trying to get the water droplets off the run. I have two of those feeders but they just haven't figured them out. I am trying to get them comfortable with me, so I don't want to grab them and put their beaks in the water and traumatize them. This morning I put out a bowl and tossed some carrot greens (a favorite) in there. I also filled their greens pan with water. Maybe I'll try putting something shiny in there too.

 

[Farmerwife1]

Hi! I came to this thread this weekend to figure out the exact same thing. I filled up the cups a bit and put some oatmeal in there. My girls are OBSESSED with oatmeal. They went nuts for it and as they were going for the pieces that fell to the bottom of the cup, they started to peck at the yellow lever and the water came out. I did this a few times and it seems as though they really caught on! I walked away and watched them from a far and I saw that they were getting the hang of it. Someone else metioned on another thread that I found to be true also was that they only fill it up enough for them to drink what they need. The cups will never be as full as they would be if we went in there to fill them. As long as there is always a bit of water at the bottom of the cup I feel like they are drinking. They only peck out as much as they want to drink it seems. I hope this helps!

Thank you for the feed back! I was also wondering if chickens eat and or drink at a certain time of day, or do they just eat and drink all day long?

 

[trudyg]

I, too, had issues with the cups. They would be bone dry when I would go out and look, even tho the birds where all around it and obviously (trying) to drink. I think I'll follow the suggestion to put something in the cup so they'll peck it out and get to working the yellow lever, then I'll know for sure they're drinking. I may use raisins instead of oatmeal, it won't leave the dust oatmeal would.

 

[citykitty]

I might just take mine down for now, they don't seem to mind drinking out of the big tub and I have it up a little so it's not full of wood chips and dirt.

 

[trudyg]

how big is your tub? Could they drown?

 

[citykitty]

how big is your tub? Could they drown?

No, not that big. They could stand in there if they really wanted to, but it's not big enough for them to drown.