Hate my Waterer!

[EdnaAndEdith]

I think I’m at my last straw with my water container... this morning the piece of garbage lid didn’t screw on for the thousandth time and I thought it had. Leaving me rushing out the door to work and covered in dirty chicken water and mud splashed from the mess everywhere. And leaving my newly recovered hen (she was ill) bopped in the head by the lid as it rolled away. I have tried several different kinds and never really been happy with any of them. This most recent style was supposed to hang but the handle snapped off after a couple of weeks and my girls have a miraculous way of dirtying their water in a split second. All of the ones so far have leaked. I was looking at trying to make some sort of conversion from the PVC pipe feeders I’ve seen but I’m not sure how easy this would be to clean. What do you find the easiest to clean out, fill, keep full, and keep clean?

 

[imnukensc]

I use this. I've never cleaned it in almost 8 months. In this pic, it looks discolored towards the bottom and as if algae may be growing in it, but I can assure there isn't any. There are about 5 or 6 pennies in it. Copper is a natural biocide and will not harm the chickens. (Think about all the copper pipes in your house.) I fill it with the hose from outside the run.

 

[BantyChooks]

Rubber pans. I rarely use anything else and I have no wish to. They are incredibly sturdy and clean nicely with a hose. They work especially well for cold climates, and aren't prone to flipping.

 

[nminusyplusm]

I love horizontal nipple waterers made from 5 gallon buckets and gamma lids. They are easy to put together, stay clean and hygienic and are very low maintenance.

 

[blackdog043]

What's the advantage of horizontal over vertical?

Horizontal don't leak
You can set the bucket down when you want to clean it
You don't have to hang the bucket
You can use a de-icer in the bucket and the nipples will still work in cold climates
All the reasons above are negatives for the vertical nipples

 

[blackdog043]

A couple questions: if you have a water nipple, then do you not need to clean the water out daily? If not, how often do you need to do it? And then, where do you hang it? My chicken coop is too flimsy to hang something that heavy from the inside, so I haven't done it yet. Mine are using the standard red and white screw-on-base water container and they always poop in it or get it filthy dirty. Gross.

My water is inside my coop.
I clean my bucket out every couple months even though it's not dirty or slimy, even in the summer. If you keep your bucket in the shade, you will probably have the same results.

You don't have to hang a bucket with horizontal nipples, just set it up on a cinder block so the nipples are at the height of their back.

You will have clean water 24/7, use a bucket de-icer in cold climates and your chickens will have unfrozen water.

Can anybody tell I really like the horizontal nipples for many reasons, from all these posts.

 

[chuckachucka]

I feel your pain. For a long time I used those red and white plastic waterers for my small pet flock, which were always too heavy to hang and would end up with stuff kicked into them or worse someone perching on the top and pooping directly into the water. Finally I bought some small metal buckets which I place around the edges of the run and use zipties to secure the handles of the buckets to the metal links of the fencing to prevent them being knocked over. Surprisingly effective and cheap.

 

[User395221]

With those cups posted above do the chickens have to do anything to get the water? Or is it just a mini bowl that fills itself back up?

It's just a mini bowl that fills itself back up. When the float drops, it opens the valve to the inside.
The jugs I use are for people, they are food-grade, BPA free, all of that. If you get buckets or tubs from "people places" you'll be ok. One thing about the jugs I use, they are semi-transparent, so you can see the water level without looking in the top. It's also convenient to me to check that none of the waters has emptied.

With the cups, they have to hit the yellow paddle, to make the water come out.

They may have different types over there, but no, the chooks don't have to make the water come out, the little bowl sits there full, and the float just operates the valve. That why I like them, I can walk past and see them full of water and know that everyone's ok.

 

[nminusyplusm]

How do you go about training the chickens to drink from the nipples?

Chickens naturally peck at things that are red. I didn't have to teach them. Once one pecks and figures out what it's for, the rest followed her lead.

 

[Pjacct]

Good ideas. Any others? How do you fill your little buckets? I guess you could use a clip instead of zip tie so you could just carry bucket to faucet then carry it back. Do they kick dirt into them? And on the pvc pipe how do you clean and sanitize the inside? Doesn’t it get grimey?

To clean I take the cap off and use a kitchen scrubbed and mild detergent and give a good rinse. The lubber or nipples I use an old toothbrush and then also use ACV which does seem to help with the grimy ness but overall no big issues as water is changed regularly