got nipples. now what?

[nok13]

i received my nipples and happily i went to put them on bottles and voila, bottles in israel do not have the same cap size as my nipple caps...so i am collecting foreign mineral water bottles that seem to be smaller and the caps fit... found one, hung the bottle up after making a small hole in the side of bottle; afixed bottle on fence with those plastic tie thingys, but the hens finished the bottle by the evening... THEN........ i realized, dumb me, that i cant refill the bottle!!. any ideas?

i thought to put an other bottle on the outside of the fence and hook with piping to the inside fence bottle, and refill from the outer bottle... would that work?
or ???? how do u all fill your bottles with out cutting off the plastic thingy and reattachng every day (which would not be frugal would it?)...
can i just open the top of the bottle (that is, the bottom of the bottle, can i cut away the bottom and just fill that way? or does the system have to be totally closed? cause i could cut off the bottom of a bottle, hang it, fill it, and then put something (piece of screen for instance) over the top as a 'hat' to keep birds and junk out of the water which was the purpose in the first place for getting this watering system...

i als put it a bit too low i think for comfort although the shnitzels managed to drink from it right away (i should them and they came to drink, the hens were a little slow but i had put the bottle where they water container usually was, and made the bottle drip a bit so i think they managed. anyhow, not too hot these days and they get wet veggies as food also.
ive watched a million utube videos on how to make the things, but no one seems to adress the problem of refills (plug small hole with finger and fill?! reaaallllllllllly? and for those of us less coordinated folks? )

 

[Quyen Le]

Fill up the bottle many times a day is bad. I use a very big tub and collect rain water from the coop's gutter and run water pipes from that tub. I drill holes and use hot glue to put them on the pipes. When it's rain season, I don't need to do anything. When it's dry, I just fill the tub with water. Cut the bottom of the bottle and fill water will work for you but you will get tired of filling that bottle.

 

[chfite]

You could cut the bottom out of the bottle to refill it in place. The nipples I have here fit into a hole drilled into the plastic cap of large drink bottles.

Chris

 

[nok13]

thanx. actually i found a video that showed me exactly. so what i did was cut almost all the way around the bottom of the bottle so that it could be lifted back, but not fall off, sort of like a cap; i also found fanta and 7 up bottles taht the caps do fit. they are liter and half bottles. the next thing is this: the chickens learned in one day to drink from them . i set up three bottles each at a different height for the different chickens. but i noticed that they spend an awful lot of time drinking or playing with the nipples. im jsut wondering if, because it is dry here, they are not getting enough water, or are thirstier then in other areas. one of teh hens in particular seem sto really attack the nipple.
is there anyone in dry semi arid areas that could clue me in?

they get leftover veggies (moisture) and dry layer grain feed... but im just concerned that in the summer and especially in teh hamsin (the east wind /sand /dry season) the amount of droplets isnt enough. (obviously i keep the water filled). i may just leave a large bowl of water accesable also, for them to drink from.

another note: my husband has experimented and made a nipple waterer from a giant soy sauce container which is actually a plastic bag with a spout on the end; i think it is five liters but not sure. we havent figured out how to hang it so way laid it on an incline (box and rock) in our faraway coop as a water backup in case we cant get there to re fill buckets (no continuous running water). he nsterted one of the nipples in to the end of the spout/spigot thingy at the end of the bag. ill try to take pics one day; didnt think of it this time round.