Chickens won't use waterer cups.

[70monte]

I recently made a waterer using waterer cups and a five gallon bucket. I can't seem to get my chickens to use the cups. I have dipped the beaks of most of the chickens in the cups so they know water is there but whenever I check the cups, they are completely dry. I have also filled the cups up in front of some of them. They work when you press the yellow switch so it's not the cups. My chickens just don't seem interested in them. They have used bowls or regular chicken waterers the entire time I've had chickens so this new thing must be confusing them.

What else can I do to help them figure this new system out.?

Wayne

 

[Kevin565]

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.

 

[70monte]

It probably is a moot point now since the water in the cup froze last night when it got down to 25 degrees last night even though I had a bucket heater in the bucket. The water in the bucket was not frozen. Anyone know how to keep this from happening?

 

[jmagill]

I don't think you can. That is the problem we had with the cups. They freeze.

 

[MIKE555444]

Yea... I like the idea of the cups but i'm afraid it would have to be a summer only option.

 

[70monte]

It looks that way but many people are using this setup in the winter with bucket heaters and no one that I have read about has said anything about the cups freezing. I'm pretty disappointed because I spent quite a bit of money on the bucket heater and cups and now it is useless for me at the moment. I had this setup in my coop so it was not out in the wind but my coop is uninsulated and it was 25 F in the coop when I checked it this morning.

For now, I put in my heated dog bowl that I've used for the last two years. It only holds a little over a gallon so it is really not big enough for 15 chickens but will have to do for now. I do have the heated 3 gallon chicken waterer but I didn't want to mess with it this morning and didn't have time anyway.

Wayne

 

[dabb]

I just received my cups and I was planning on using heat tape around the bucket and down the pipe. I'm going to put it together this weekend so I'll let you know if and how it works out.

 

[MIKE555444]

My concern is the cup itself.... If everything else is protected BUT the cup then I assume it will still freeze

 

[BellevueOmlet]

One option is to have a heated bucket and route the water into the heat lamp heated coop through a tube the water never has the option of freezing.
Winter is the toughest time for chicken watering and keeping the water in a heated coop seems to be the easiest way to combat the cold.

 

[jmagill]

A heated coop is not good for chickens unless they are production chickens in a big barn that is climate controlled all year round. The real answer is using a water system that keeps the water thawed but does not heat the chickens. A heat lamp that is on 24 hours a day is a possible fire hazard and also interferes with their natural sleep cycle.