DIY waterer? Any ideas?

[floppysquirrel04]

Just be careful because 99% of them are made in china- those ones have sharp edges and pins that are hard push

Where can I find safe ones?

 

[ngennetta]

Where can I find safe ones?

They are called Columbus Aqua. Made in Europe and safe for use with chicks 2+ weeks old!

 

[CindyinSD]

Where might I get a completely airtight container like this? I don’t want anything over about 5 gallons, for ease of transportation and clean out. I know for the waterers to work they need to be airtight.

Actually, if they’re airtight, the water won’t come out. A little will come out and then none will. The vacuum created by the airtight seal prevents it from escaping. I had this happen once with a 5 gal bucket with its lid completely sealed.

If you want a completely clean waterer, you’ll need to use nipples. I like the horizontal nipples, but if you have baby chicks, they’ll need either vertical nipples or some other type of waterer (with marbles in the troth to keep them from getting too wet or drowning) until they’re heavy enough to push in the horizontal nipples.

At present I’ve just been giving my girls 2.5 gal buckets of water. I change them out as they freeze, or every couple days at most. It’s just easier.

 

[Abriana]

It takes patience...and careful installation.
Tips on installation in here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...nipple-waterer-for-wire-crates-by-aart.72704/


Here's my thoughts on 'nipple training'.

I've had all age birds either pick it right up within an hour...and others that take weeks to really figure it out.

First, it's good to know how much water your flock consumes 'normally', I top off water every morning and have marks on the waterers so I know about how much they drink.

-Show them how with your finger(tho that might just train them to wait for your finger),

and/or manually grab them and push their head/beak onto the trigger(easier with chicks than adults).

-No other water source, best to 'train' during mild weather when dehydration is less of an immediate health risk. I do provide an open waterer late in day to make sure they don't go to roost dehydrated, especially young chicks.

It can take days or weeks to get them fully switched over, just takes observation, consistency, and patience.

I use this type of waterer and personally had no problems training my birds (although I'm such a worrywart I grabbed every single chicken and showed them). It's very easy and keeps clean, I highly recommend.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

I think I will try these. There’s not problem with them not getting enough water from theses?

 

[Abriana]

I think I will try these. There’s not problem with them not getting enough water from theses?

are you talking about the nipple waterer? If so, I have used them through summer and winter (I use a heated version during the winter) with zero issues.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Alrighty

 

[ngennetta]

I think I will try these. There’s not problem with them not getting enough water from theses?

The chickens get plenty of water from them. Here is a video of some quail drinking from them, showing how much water actually does come out:

I've use the nipples for years with no issues and no one has died of dehydration

 

[aart]

Just be careful because 99% of them are made in china- those ones have sharp edges and pins that are hard push

I have never heard of this being a problem.

 

[ngennetta]

I have never heard of this being a problem.

The Columbus Aqua (made in Europe) were the only ones for almost a decade. About a year ago the Chinese ones came out, so it’s a new problem