drilling holes for watering nipples

[enggass]

I got mine from Neil:
Neil Grassbaugh: [email protected]

He is a member of this site. You can order some through him for much less than some of the Websites that sell them.
I got 2 for like $1.90 ea plus s&h Total $6.00 +/-. Quickly too.

I will post some pix when I can. Do a search for Nipple Waterers, and I'm sure you find plenty.

 

[MakNugget]

Im curious to this type of watering system can someone send me a pic of one? does the nipple go on the side of the bucket and you just set it on the ground or does it go on bottom and you hang it. anywhere I can order these nipples online? I have an automatic waterer in my coop but looking for a cheaper and easier solution for my Run.

It goes on the bottom, as it's gravity fed. The way it works is you nudge the metal piece up or to the side which allows water to flow. Having that piece rest back down shuts off the water. This shouldn't work mounted on the side and would make a big mess, I would think.

Here's a picture of mine. It's based on a design from Niel that I adjusted for my needs. Even though it's connected to the end of PVC, it's still the same concept, only mounted underneath a bucket that's either resting on blocks or hung. I chose this for inside since I wanted to save space and have it adjustable with little effort.

I've had good results from push in nipples on 2 gal soft jugs, 5 gal buckets, and even used an old shaker bottle (one of those used to hand blend nutritional shakes) for the girls when they were in the brooder. I have yet to have one leak, and the key I think is to use a 11/32" bit (8-10 bucks) and don't make the hole too big. Drill straight, use water to lube up the grommet and nipple and firmly push in. I use 1/4" fender washers on my coop so I use those to help push them in as well.​

 

[rocketdoctor]

I like your system, how far off the ground is the optimum location for the chickens to reach it? Im assuming since its red the naturally will peck at it and learn they can get water from it?

 

[enggass]

About 18" seems to be good. My birds caught on well at only about 7 weeks old. I showed a couple and that's all it took.

 

[MakNugget]

Quote:
I never measured, but I read something about it should be about a height they could just reach up to. The coop is set up for DLM, so the first 12" of the coop height is reserved for bedding. I have the gray bracket partially secured so that I can slide the pipe up and down for easy adjustment as they get bigger and the bedding gets higher.

It's been over 3 weeks since they've moved in and I really haven't had much problem at all with the set up, except for flow rate. I have a 5 gal reservoir when filled can cause more water to flow than the girls can drink. It really isn't a lot, but since they drink out of it quite often (I watch them from my netcam

) it can get a little moist. I plan on putting something below it to catch some dribble to keep the bedding dry. As it is, it doesn't get wet enough to be a concern, but enough to make me want to remedy it.