New to chickens - wattering nipple question

[tebmsu97]

We are currently establishing our "suburban chicken farm". The wife bought a bucket with the watering nipples, which seems like a great idea to keep the water clean, but how do you train them to use it?

Thanks in advance

 

[ClockRoach]

All I had to do with mine (they were about seven weeks old at the time) was poke the nipples with a skinny stick so they could see water coming out of it. Did that a few times and they were drinking from the nipples almost immediately.

 

[kattington]

I don't do anything to train them. The nipples are shiny, and they love to peck at shiny things. I just make sure they have an alternate drinking source until I'm sure they've all figured it out.

 

[iwiw60]

We are currently establishing our "suburban chicken farm". The wife bought a bucket with the watering nipples, which seems like a great idea to keep the water clean, but how do you train them to use it?

Thanks in advance

Two things:
1. Remove ALL other water sources.
2. Just sit there in the run (or wherever your waterer is) and "click" the stainless steel thingie over and over and over and over and over. Eventually one or more will come over out of curiosity to the noise and peck at it..."hey girls, the water's over here!" Once you have one girl getting water they will all come to it.

It just takes persistence!!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

I don't do anything to train them. The nipples are shiny, and they love to peck at shiny things.

This has been my experience, and as soon as one pecked, they were ALL pecking! By day three in the brooder they were pretty much ignoring the mason jar fount in favor of the nipple bottles.

 

[biteme2134]

I just hatched 19 chicks. I had a lid of water for a day maybe two while a nipple is hanging.They learn on their own really. I poke the nipple a few times. But since day 2 I haven't had any water but the nipple hanging. I use them for everything! I have 9 "teenage" chicks about 3 weeks old on nipples and my whole flock in the coops is on nipples. Love that invention! I've seen new posts about horizontal nipples that I'm now curious about....
I was worried too when I started but they'll figure it out no worries

 

[tebmsu97]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad to know we won't be trying to "train" our future chickens

 

[pdirt]

We removed all other water sources and our 10 month old flock figured it out in a few hours. I set up my phone to video them. Reviewing the video, it took about 1.5 hours for the first bird to figure it out and then the rest followed. With chicks, they figured it out in under a half hour.

I highly recommend the horizontal nipples (they install on the side of the bucket) over the vertical nipples (these install on the underside of the bucket). The two main reasons are the horizontal nipples don't dribble when in use and they are much less prone to freezing in winter (assuming you use some sort of heating device in the bucket). If it never or rarely freezes where you live, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[iwiw60]

We removed all other water sources and our 10 month old flock figured it out in a few hours. I set up my phone to video them. Reviewing the video, it took about 1.5 hours for the first bird to figure it out and then the rest followed. With chicks, they figured it out in under a half hour.

I highly recommend the horizontal nipples (they install on the side of the bucket) over the vertical nipples (these install on the underside of the bucket). The two main reasons are the horizontal nipples don't dribble when in use and they are much less prone to freezing in winter (assuming you use some sort of heating device in the bucket). If it never or rarely freezes where you live, I wouldn't worry about it.

Absolutely agree...vertical nipples will freeze up on you...the horizontal nipples not so much. If you have your bucket heated you shouldn't have any problems at all...I don't.

 

[tebmsu97]

Thanks for the tip, but being in south Louisiana we shouldn't have too many freezing issues.