Happy hen treats nipple waterers make a wet spot in the brooder

[oldcoop]

I have installed 4 nipple waterers for chicks in a brooder. The nipples do not leak, but the chicks don't drink all the water when they peck at it and it gets the bedding wet. I had to remove it and go with a classic water tank type. I was going to make one for the coop but if they get the coop wet I don't want to wast my time.

Has anyone experienced this? I just made an L with pvc pipe and screwed them in the bottom of the lower pipe. They work great other than the water that hits the floor. Any advice with using these? Do grown chickens drink all the water without any hitting the floor?

 

[Whittni]

Oh, yes. I had tons of problems with nipple waters. They make these tiny little spoon-looking ones now that are much cleaner. Water leaks will happen a lot, so lots of people keep it outside the coop.

 

[oldcoop]

Thanks I was hoping it wasn't just me.

 

[Blooie]

Vertical nipples are notorious for doing this....they drip when the chicks drink and they drip if the chicks are wrestling around in there and bump into them. Yet I won't be without them, ever.

I've had the open type waterers. I fought the poop and shavings in the water....put it up on bricks, put it up on a bit of 4x4, put it on brinks on a 4x4.....they still got shavings and junk in it, still spilled it, and still managed to soak most of their brooder almost daily. Grrrr So I've decided I'd 10 times rather use a spatula and take out the drippy bedding directly under the hanging waterer than change the entire brooder.

But as soon as I know they are familiar with the mechanism and know how the system works, the pail with the vertical nipples is out of there and they get the big bucket with the horizontal nipples. I've never had a transition issue, and by doing this they are using the same system that the adults use, which is great when they are 4 weeks old and fully integrated with the flock.

But I do understand your frustration!!!


Vertical nipples when they first arrive...


Graduating to horizontal nipples when they can use the vertical ones easily, usually just a couple of days.

 

[oldcoop]

Those horizontal nipples look interesting. just curious, what do you do in the winter time. I use a black rubber bowl and get them fresh water every day. I don't have electric in my coop so I need to check it more often if it is freezing.

 

[Blooie]

I have one outlet in the coop and one in the run, so we do have power out there during the winter - a big advantage here in Northern Wyoming!

We put a stock tank heater in the bottom of the bucket, and this year we made a different bucket with the nipples up about 2 inches higher than they are in the photo. We didn't have any problems with the water in the bucket ever freezing, but sometimes the little bits of water in the nipple would freeze. We'd actually have icicles going from the nipples to the floor!! None of that this year....placing them up higher, plus a milder winter helped.