Horizontal Nipple Waterer...opinions please! ☺️

[Acre4Me]

am not sure what kind of heaters you were using. The kind I use turn on when the temperature of the water gets near freezing and turns off when the temperature gets up to 40 degrees. There is no welded cage. I use a stock tank deicer.

I used both kinds. A de-icer type - neither of the two I bought worked brand new out of the box and water froze . Then the heater style rated for buckets, hence the cage that keeps the heater from touching the bucket. And that worked....too well...water was steaming hot. Then the cage quickly rusted at the welds.

 

[wamtazlady]

I used both kinds. A de-icer type - neither of the two I bought worked brand new out of the box and water froze . Then the heater style rated for buckets, hence the cage that keeps the heater from touching the bucket. And that worked....too well...water was steaming hot. Then the cage quickly rusted at the welds.

I just find that strange. I live in ranch country. Everyone has horses, or cows, bison, or goats. They all use stock tank deicers and they normally last for years with temperatures that go down to -30F. I use a sinking dicer that lays flat on the bottom for the water for the chickens. I use the floating kind of deicer for the geese.

 

[Acre4Me]

I just find that strange. I live in ranch country. Everyone has horses, or cows, bison, or goats. They all use stock tank deicers and they normally last for years with temperatures that go down to -30F. I use a sinking dicer that lays flat on the bottom for the water for the chickens. I use the floating kind of deicer for the geese.

I agree. It was unexpected. But, we moved to the other waterer and heater base and all was fine-water all winter!

 

[xXDestinyXx]

last issue that can occur with horizontal nipples is that birds may not drink enough. We noticed they were not drinking enough (prior to cold issues). Egg production will show this issue quickly as that is the first thing to drop off when they don’t drink enough. So watch for that.

horizontal nipples are greAt for the clean factor, but these didn’t work well for us Overall.

This was a big concern for me as well, the birds not getting enough out of them. We‘re in NE Arkansas and it gets HOT here...humid, sticky, air-you-can-wear kinda hot lol I like the clean factor of them but also wanna be sure our girls can drink enough to stay cool.

I guess I’d be inclined to ask if those who live in the southern states or really hot and humid areas if they work well enough during the heat of summer. Or, do the chickens spend most of their day at the water when using horizontal nipples?

 

[Acre4Me]

This was a big concern for me as well, the birds not getting enough out of them. We‘re in NE Arkansas and it gets HOT here...humid, sticky, air-you-can-wear kinda hot lol I like the clean factor of them but also wanna be sure our girls can drink enough to stay cool.

I guess I’d be inclined to ask if those who live in the southern states or really hot and humid areas if they work well enough during the heat of summer. Or, do the chickens spend most of their day at the water when using horizontal nipples?

you can post in your state thread. Go to “Social” to “where am I, ...” then the state threads are in a pinned post at the top.

we put out extra waterers in the summer. We add ice to the ones in the shade. We Will freeze melon rinds for them to peck too.

 

[blackdog043]

I've been using horizontals for 3 years, it gets plenty hot and humid in the Charlotte area of NC. I usually have around 23 - 25 chickens. I have not had any problems with my chickens dehydrating and they don't hang around the waterers drinking all day. I should add, that I don't give them frozen treats or any other type of waterer, like open bowls. I use two 14 gallon drums, one inside the coop and one in the covered run, both are protected from the sun. I refill them once a week and clean them out 2 - 3 times a year. Nothing grows inside them.

In the winter, we don't get cold for long periods, but it can freeze at times. I use a 250 watt non floating stock tank deicer, it sits on the bottom of the waterer. Don't use a floating deicer, the nipples could freeze in very cold climates. Our son uses the same set up in SE PA and never has frozen water. Mine and his deicer have been through 3 winters and still working.

Below are some of the waterers I made and a link for my heated waterer article.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ock-tank-deicer-and-horizontal-nipples.74609/

brooder waterer

5 gallon bucket

14 gallon drum

inside a drum after
3 months, a little
dirt on the bottom