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

[VeryHappyHens]

If there is another one that people think would be better, I'm open to recommendations.

Just dip there beaks in they will learn on there own.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Got pics!?

I will take some when I head up to let them out

 

[photohutch13]

I ordered mine through Amazon, RentACoop Make Your Own Waterer Kit - Horizontal Side Chicken Nipples + Installation Piece (12 Pack) and put them in 5 gallon buckets. It was very easy to do and inexpensive as well. They all picked it up very quickly. Like several have said, get one of your hens and help her tap the nipple. It may take a few attempts but once she gets the hang of it the others will figure it out too. I have two of them in the run and fill them once a week. Good luck!

 

[aart]

Yes. So is the base.

The heater base?
Got a link?

 

[tigger19687]

I had bought the cups with the yellow toggle for them to hit. I had some leaking issues and they were not peckers so I went to the 5 gal red/white basic waterer that they liked better.
This next batch of chicks I will train early to the cups on a 5 gal bucket. I have 3 or 4 cups so I'll make 2 of the 5 gallon buckets.
BTW I went with the cups because I had heard of leaking from the other kind and I have no outside spigot I don't want to waste water

 

[3KillerBs]

I tapped the nipples with my finger to start the water drips to attract their attention but, since it was mid-summer I didn't initially remove the other water source.

After a few days I wedged dried mealworms into the nipples so that they'd understand that it was wet there when they took the mealworms.

After a couple days of that I started taking the other waterer out at night and not putting it back until they'd been up for a few hours -- putting it back later and later until I was 100% certain that they were all drinking from the nipples.

The transition could definitely be done more efficiently when it's not 90+F but it was July in NC when they outgrew the chick waterer and were dumping it in the brooder every other day.

I'm considering getting this heated waterer from Premier 1:

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).

My current waterer is 1-gallon and I have a smaller one to use as a second source in hot weather (I have near-unlimited access to "5-lb", plastic, deli-salad containers (about half a gallon), at work).

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.

 

[photohutch13]

I had bought the cups with the yellow toggle for them to hit. I had some leaking issues and they were not peckers so I went to the 5 gal red/white basic waterer that they liked better.
This next batch of chicks I will train early to the cups on a 5 gal bucket. I have 3 or 4 cups so I'll make 2 of the 5 gallon buckets.
BTW I went with the cups because I had heard of leaking from the other kind and I have no outside spigot I don't want to waste water

I have never had a problem with the nipples leaking using the horizontal nipples. I think it might be a problem with the vertical style.

 

[aart]

I have never had a problem with the nipples leaking using the horizontal nipples. I think it might be a problem with the vertical style.

Indeed.
Tho any nipple can leak if the hole drilled is ragged and won't seal against the thread.

 

[photohutch13]

This winter I have been using the Farm Innovators heated waterer with horizontal nipples. It got down to 18 below zero here but the water stayed perfectly thawed.

 

[linguini]

How difficult is it to train birds to use a nipple waterer?
I'm looking at this one from MyPetChicken, in the corner variety: https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Supplies/2-Gal-Bucket-Waterer-with-Nipples-and-Cups-up-to-15-chickens-p1855.asp
As of right now, we have a fount waterer that has two major issues-
-it gets ridiculously dirty, very often
-the heater causes the water to evaporate very quickly
I know that a nipple waterer would solve those issues. I'm not sure if it would solve the issue of birds potentially not getting enough water from a fount, because the bowl is shallow? Would a nipple waterer solve that?
I don't want to buy a waterer, have it come, and have the birds not know how to use it at all. Is there a way to teach them? Is it super hard? I have three red sex links and one white leghorn that are all fully mature and I think are over a year and a half old.

In our experience, it took no time for training! Our chooks simply got on with the new waterer when we switched. We put the new waterer in the same place where we had the old waterer. When the winter came, we added the plastic deicer base. We put the entire water station on two cinderblocks. It works quite well. (photo below, sorry I don't have a better photo but you can see the waterer in the back)

We have a 5-gallon rent-a-coop waterer, (8 chickens), I change water once a week.

https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Chicken-Waterer-Horizontal-Chickens/dp/B016AFYT4vy

And the de-icer also works well for us. (I do wrap up the waterer with extra insulation and cover the wrapping with a heavy duty plastic bag from the 50lb feed bag - this may not be necessary since the de-icer works quite well throughout the winter so far.) We use K&H de-icer.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products-2062-Universal-Deicer/dp/B072MDWTTQ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=K&H+chicken+water+deicer&qid=1614872283&sr=8-2

You can probably also use the bucket heater since the waterer has a hole on the lid on top that you can insert the heater.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products...ds=chicken+water+deicer&qid=1614872160&sr=8-5

p.s. we do periodically check to make sure the nipples are functioning and not frozen by tapping the nipples to see if the water comes out properly.