How hard is it to train chickens to use a nipple waterer?

I made one with a 5 gallon bucket and some HNs. The birds took to it almost immediately. All it took was about an hour. I went out in the afternoon. I placed some corn around the waterer. Then I put a little peice of corn right on each nipple. While I was doing this I was pushing the nipples in a bit so they were drippy and shiny. The birds figured it out really quick. I hung around for half hour or so and kept putting corn on the nips and just generally bringing attention to the new waterer/HNs with corn. Once one or two of them got it the rest followed suit. The very next day I removed open water source and I have never looked back. I love my nipple waterer. My 5 gallons last my 25 birds about 4 days. I have a stock tank deicer in there right now and I have not worried about freezing water all winter.

Also, if you have a drill you could just order the nipples for like 10 bucks and use any bucket 5 gallon or otherwise. It sometimes helps to use silicone and you NEVER want to overtighten when screwing the nipples in. If you decide you want to make one let me know I can give you a more detailed run down.
 
Got pics!?

Okay, here’s some pics of my setup. 18 gallon Rubbermaid tote. On sale this fall for like $6. Nipples were maybe $15? Don’t remember exactly. For the spacing I wanted, I only put 5 in the tote(3 on the wide side and one on each short side), but if it weren’t against a fence, you’d be able to fit 10 going all the way around. I picked black so that there wouldn’t be any solar penetration that would allow bacteria to grow. Black also helps collect thermal energy on near freezing days to keep it thawed without electricity. Obviously, we will move it or put up a shade barrier in the heat of summer.

I lined a drill bit up behind the heater cord to find the right size. Drilled it close to the edge of the lid so that I wouldn’t have to cut in very far. Used tin snips to cut the lid so it would be clean and straight. In summer, I will remove the heater and tape over the hole. To keep out debris.

I built a little table base out of scrap 2x4s with 4x4 legs. Very sturdy, but with our uneven terrain and temporary water station, it wasn’t as tall as I would like. The legs happened to be just the perfect size and spacing to fit into the holes of cheap cinder blocks that I had lying around. It bumped up the height by a few inches and made it even more stable. I’ll likely keep the base like this rather than making the legs longer.

The bucket deicer is by API. Turns off at 40 degrees, turns on at I think 32. Made for plastic water buckets hanging in a horses stall. I got the capacity wrong in my initial post here, I think it’s rated for 30 gallons, and my tote is 18. Not sure on what outside temp it is rated for, but I know we had a few 3 degree mornings and the nipples were never stuck.

Not any cheaper than a pre-fab one all said and done, but I prefer having the flexibility to change the setup as I find new ideas... and the heating capability of this deicer is a lot better than any pre-fab ones or heater bases that I have seen.
 

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Also, if you have a drill you could just order the nipples for like 10 bucks and use any bucket 5 gallon or otherwise. It sometimes helps to use silicone and you NEVER want to overtighten when screwing the nipples in.

Just remember the air-hole so you don't create a vacuum.

Also, pitch the drill attachment and put in the nipples by hand so that you don't crack the container.
 
I *could* make one but I don't think I'd save much money by the time I bought the quality de-icer, the quality nipples (cheap ones leak), and an appropriate, 3-gallon, food-grade bucket (I can get 5-gallon buckets at work but can't lift 5 gallons of water so I want a 3-gallon container instead).

Note: If you make your own nipple waterer and it has an airtight lid you MUST poke a small, vacuum-release hole on the side above the maximum water level. I had trouble with my first nipple waterer before I enlarged that hole from needle-sized to nail-sized.

There are two awesome points here! Remember that water weighs roughly 8 lbs per gallon. So, if you are planning to use the waterer to haul water, make sure you can actually carry it! It’s also awkward to have the weight sloshing around while you walk. Makes it seem a lot heavier.

My tote is 18 gallons and thinner plastic than a bucket, so not suitable for carrying a weighted load. We take water directly to the water station, by gallon jug.

I also didn’t think about vacuum and air vents! Not a problem, I think, with the small gaps around the cord, but I will definitely retrofit it in Summer by poking two small nail holes 👌🏻 I will actually probably do it high on the sides of the container, to eliminate risk of dust falling or bugs crawling in.
 
Poultry nipples are the way to go, for clean water! The vertical nipples are easier to manipulate, but are more prone to leaking; the horizontal nipples are thicker, so not as easy for the birds to move around, but may be less prone to freezing up in winter. Either way, you can wrap a rubber band around the nipple to make it drip a little at first, so they get the idea there's water in there. Once one figures it out, the others should catch on.
 
Think about how you are going heat it in the winter.
Mine is 3 gal and I top it off daily.


I've had all age birds either pick it right up within an hour...and others that take weeks to really figure it out.

Here's my thoughts on 'nipple training'.

First, it's good to know how much water your flock consumes 'normally', I top off water every morning and have marks on the waterers so I know about how much they drink.

Found they drank just as much from the nipples as they did from the open waterer.

-Do not train to nipples during extreme temps when dehydration is more of a risk.

-Show them how with your finger(tho that might just train them to wait for your finger),
and/or manually grab them and push their head/beak onto the trigger(easier with chicks than adults).

-No other water source, best to 'train' during mild weather when dehydration is less of an immediate health risk. I do provide an open waterer late in day to make sure they don't go to roost dehydrated, especially young chicks.

It can take days or weeks to get them fully switched over, just takes observation, consistency, and patience.
When I teach them, I leave out the other water source for a day, because I feel that taking it away instantly will just confuse them more.
 
I forgot to mention that two of my birds have clipped beaks (NOT clipped by me). Would I have to use cups instead? Or would neither type work?
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My tote is 18 gallons and thinner plastic than a bucket, so not suitable for carrying a weighted load. We take water directly to the water station, by gallon jug.

I also didn’t think about vacuum and air vents! Not a problem, I think, with the small gaps around the cord, but I will definitely retrofit it in Summer by poking two small nail holes 👌🏻 I will actually probably do it high on the sides of the container, to eliminate risk of dust falling or bugs crawling in.
Chances are your tote lid isn't airtight, so no need for a vent.
 

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