Feed and water bucket critiques/recommendations

[25 chickens]

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So I have finished my feed and water buckets and would like input from you guys whether these should work. What ate your thoughts,any mistakes or things I should change? Also how many chickens can I realistically feed and water from these two? My plan is to have these against a wall and the hens will have access to three sides of the feeder and five drinking cups. Thanks for any input.

 

[Keith and Julia]

Could you post more pictures of the watering bucket

 

[25 chickens]

Added more pics

 

[aart]

Do you live in a climate that freezes?
If so, those cups are not likely to work out....they'll freeze up

 

[25 chickens]

Yes it gets below freezing here. my thought was to use one of these type bucket heaters. http://www.sears.com/farm-innovators-ice-chaser-cast-aluminum-submergible-bucket/p-SPM7704241402

 

[aart]

Yes it gets below freezing here. my thought was to use one of these type bucket heaters. http://www.sears.com/farm-innovators-ice-chaser-cast-aluminum-submergible-bucket/p-SPM7704241402

Yeah, that'll keep the water warmer in the bucket but probably not warm enough to keep the tiny orifice between the bucket and the cup thawed...or whatever water is in the cup.

The horizontal nipples are the best bet for a heated bucket....will thread into the same holes as the cups, I think, so easy change out if needed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Solway-HO...850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33950aa4e2



Here's how I used them, just made this so not fully vetted yet.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

 

[pdirt]

X2 what aart said about horizontal nipples working best in a heated bucket for freezing conditions. It's worked down to -9F for me so far, the coldest I've recorded yet. What I've read from many others is the cups simply do not work in freezing conditions, heated bucket or not.

One horizontal nipple will comfortably water 6-8 birds. Currently I have 2 nipples watering 23 birds, which is working, but I will be adding another couple very soon. I'm not sure how many birds the cups water, but it's probably similar.

If I were you, I'd keep your cup bucket for warmer weather and make a second one with horizontal nipples for winter. There are several threads about it.

 

[pdirt]

FYI...of the Amazon reviews of several Farm Innovator products, they we're horrible. People complained of product failures and poor design. That led me to this product, which has worked well for us:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Stoc...=UTF8&qid=1415930995&sr=8-1&keywords=K&H+250w

 

[aart]

FYI...of the Amazon reviews of several Farm Innovator products, they we're horrible. People complained of product failures and poor design. That led me to this product, which has worked well for us:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Stoc...=UTF8&qid=1415930995&sr=8-1&keywords=K&H+250w

Woah, that thing is huge!
What vessel are you using this in pdirt?

 

[pdirt]

Woah, that thing is huge!
What vessel are you using this in pdirt?

I use it in a 5 gal bucket. It's not all that big. If I had to guess, it's about 8" in diameter and about 5" thick. I think the dimensions listed on Amazon are probably for the box it comes in. The heating element is caged in a plastic frame. Depending on which side you orient to face the bottom of the bucket, the heat element will be closer to the nipples.