My nipple waterer experience

[MomMommyMamma]

We're about 6 mo. in to our chicken watering with poultry nipples. I'm not happy. I like them for chicks in bin brooders because they're much less work than constantly cleaning out wood shavings & refiling water dishes. In my larger coop though, they are now failing. I'm finding that they are leaking. Dripping just enough to make a nice large wet area on the floor of the coop. So I have to move them outside. Which is fine. I've also found that all nipples are not alike. Some are better, some seem to leak no matter what.
Anyone else have leaking poultry nipple waterer issues after time?

Now searching for a reasonable way to keep the flock watered and also not have frozen water in the winter. The nipples froze daily in the winter.

 

[loverOFchickens]

Thanks for the warning. I had been considering getting some but now I think I'll veto. They make heatable waterers although I have never tried one. I end up watering twice a day in the winter and usually give them a dish of snow for the short times when it's frozen over.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Are they actually leaking or are the birds making a mess when they drink?

Take a look at the comments I just posted on this other thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6958311

 

[MomMommyMamma]

I've stood there and watched it drip onto the floor with no chickens in site. We really LOVED them at first.

 

[MomMommyMamma]

If it matters, we have a 5 gallon bucket with 3 screw in nipples. It could be I suppose that they are leaking around the plastic casing. All in all, it's just starting to feel like more work than I want. If we had a line with water running through it etc - maybe that would be better, but I don't know that we're up for that and I don't know how those are kept fluid in winter.

 

[Farmer_Dan]

we use this in the summer:

We got a biggish heated one for the winter, have to fill it about twice per week.

 

[Farmer_Dan]

and, might I add, we are very very pleased with these 2 systems.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I really like the nipple waterers for baby chicks - makes the water last longer, of course. But as they grow older I use bigger waterers especially because of the heat here. I have been using the same nipples for about 3 months now, and no leaking yet.

 

[karlamaria]

How about putting silicon around the inside rim . Maybe that's all they need? Mine are also 6 months old and no problems, of course I stopped using them last month as there out side all day and I got a regular watered out there that holds 5 gallons. The water in the coop was never drank from, it was a hassle filling them only to not be used. We just it a small waterer in there for night time. And of course the nipple buckets will be of no use from November on here with the below zero temps. They worked great with chicks, but now it's just a hassle.

 

[1country]

I'v been using the nipples for some time now and they work great . One thing i did figger out is that thay say to use a 3/8 drill bit but that was to big so went a little smaller and they have to be scewed in strait . See if that will help . O and use teflon tap .