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.
-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.
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.
-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.
I had the same concern, but after long term observations have confirmed they drink just as much water out of the nipples as an open waterer...not sure if the nipples may cause some kind of neurosis by being deprived of an open water source. They also like to drink out of puddles, sip the drips from rain or dew off the run mesh, and eat snow.
). I noticed that the girls love sipping the raindrops off the welded wire of their run. This gave me the idea that training them to use nipples might not be that difficult. My main concern about switching is making sure the water doesn't freeze. I had good luck with the two cookie tin heaters I used last winter, one inside and one out, and I will be bummed if the nipple water heater doesn't work as well. I don't heat the coop, it is insulated but there isn't much difference in the temperatures inside or out. I think I'm going to try it out this fall and see how it goes.
