Dripping Poultry Nipples, the bane of my existence.

[ChickenJerk]

What kind did you get?

 

[sonomachx]

I'm sure most know this, but in case not, the best nipple waterer in the world will leak if not installed so it is exactly vertical. This is due to the basic mechanics of how they work. It the metal pin is bumped out of exact vertical, water is released. Therefore, if one is installed at even a subtle angle it will always leak. It doesn't matter how much silicone or teflon tape is present.

 

[akashia26]

when i read the title of this thread i thought you had lost your mind. the second thought was i wonder how the chicks nurse the hens if they don't drip. a beak makes it hard to suck. lol

just goes to show my brain doesn't function quite right.

 

[Presidential]

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/chickennipple/
This is what I have. LOVE THEM!! I installed one in a water bottle for my brooder and another in the bottom of a plastic iced tea pitcher to hang in my coop. They do NOT leak, even when water is low or if they do not hang straight. No calk or tape required.

When I saw the less expensive nipples in the store, I felt lke I paid too much for these... But, the more I hear from folks with drips... The better I feel about my purchase.

 

[Ritambhara]

I just installed two nipples on a gallon jug for my chicks to use and one of them is leaking. When the chicks peck at it it sometimes stays over to the side and the water just keeps dribbling out. It's not leaking around the base where it screws into the jug, but right out of the stainless tube. Is this common? I thought they were such a good idea but if they leak like this I don't know. I'm new to the whole chicken thing so I'm trying stuff. Is it possible I just got a bad one?

 

[BruderHuhner]

I'm having the same exact problem. In a five gallon homer bucket. I only filled it 1/3 up. Gonna try it full. I'm putting it in the brooder to get em started early. So I don't want a watery mess. Hope filling it up more help. Ugh.

 

[BruderHuhner]

So this is with them installed horizontally. Unfortunately these ones I bought from amazon and I have a suspicion that they are supposed to be installed vertically. Waste of a bucket. I'm going to try installing them on the bottom of a bucket and see how that works. Even filling the bucket up to the brim didn't provide enough pressure to keep them from dripping. Wish I knew this before I ruined a bucket. Grr.

 

[BruderHuhner]

So it looks like they need to be installed vertically. I found this video in the comments on amazon where I got them.

 

[BruderHuhner]

That was the trick! They have to be gravity fed for the ball bearing to seat properly against the outflow rod. Vertical is the only way they seem to function the way they're designed. Sucky part is that I'll have to hang everything over the brooder for the time being. I think I'm going to install a PVC system like that guy did in the video I posted above. I'm going to use 4" stepped down to 2" so that it provides a larger reservoir though. I like that I'll be able to wrap it in heat tape that is on a thermostatic plug in case the pipes decide to freeze during the cold winters we have.

 

[pawtraitart]

That was the trick! They have to be gravity fed for the ball bearing to seat properly against the outflow rod. Vertical is the only way they seem to function the way they're designed. Sucky part is that I'll have to hang everything over the brooder for the time being. I think I'm going to install a PVC system like that guy did in the video I posted above. I'm going to use 4" stepped down to 2" so that it provides a larger reservoir though. I like that I'll be able to wrap it in heat tape that is on a thermostatic plug in case the pipes decide to freeze during the cold winters we have.

If you don't want to have to hang your drinker, use nipples that are designed to be put on the side. You can get horizontal nipples from Susan at allboutchickens.com