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.
