Nipple Feeders-Do they work?

[berryncherry]

I've recently bought nipple feeders and want to try them out. Have any of you used the nipple feeder and did it work for your flock? If so, how did you teach them to use it? I tried to teach my chickens by tapping the nipple feeder and then letting them see the water. They would drink it, but wouldn't try to peck at the metal part when they didn't see any water. Right now, I'm working on finding a solution so that they would want to peck at it. Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[jreardon1918]

They work. We only have horizontal nipple water bucket. The water stays clean, less spillage. Show them how the water comes out, remove all other waterers. Mark the water level and monitor. I think you will see the chicks are consuming water. Best to do this when the weather is not at an extreme.

 

[berryncherry]

They get lots of space to run, so they don't really notice that the water bucket is there

 

[Big Doggie]

I've recently bought nipple feeders and want to try them out. Have any of you used the nipple feeder and did it work for your flock? If so, how did you teach them to use it? I tried to teach my chickens by tapping the nipple feeder and then letting them see the water. They would drink it, but wouldn't try to peck at the metal part when they didn't see any water. Right now, I'm working on finding a solution so that they would want to peck at it. Any ideas would be appreciated!

I’ve had mixed success with them. Recently bought the Rent A Coup “cups” that stay half filled. So far so good. I took each chick and gently touched their beaks against the metal part of the nipple so that they got water in their mouths. Just one 5 second lesson is all it took.

 

[jreardon1918]

I’ve had mixed success with them. Recently bought the Rent A Coup “cups” that stay half filled. So far so good. I took each chick and gently touched their beaks against the metal part of the nipple so that they got water in their mouths. Just one 5 second lesson is all it took.

I see you are from mass. It may be a challenge keeping them thawed in winter.

 

[Big Doggie]

I see you are from mass. It may be a challenge keeping them thawed in winter.

I bought this at Essex County Coop. Supposed to be good for winter

 

[jreardon1918]

I bought this at Essex County Coop. Supposed to be good for winter

That should work well.

 

[kerbotx]

Poultry nipples are the way to go for clean water! I've had the greatest success with vertical nipples, as the pin size is smaller & easier to manipulate. I got baby chicks trained on them, then when they integrated with the flock, they showed everybody else how to use them. You might try wrapping a rubber band or something similar around the pin, to make it drip constantly, to get their attention. Or try smearing something tasty on the pin, so they peck at it. All it takes is for one bird to 'get it' - the rest will follow!

 

[berryncherry]

I bought this at Essex County Coop. Supposed to be good for winter

I bought the same type. I did get them to peck on it, but none of them would do it when I didn't press the thing for them first.

 

[Almarma]

I tried two types: vertical nipples and little red cups with the yellow thing in the middle, and both gave me troubles:
- The vertical nipples were dripping water even when they were not used and made a mess on the wood shavings.
- The red cups had the opposite issue: they were too hard to press by the chickens so they weren't able to drink, and they stop producing eggs for weeks because of that.

I live in the north of Norway, and I mainly need water inside the coop when closed because outside they find puddles with water everywhere and stay inside the coop all the time during the cold winter. I'm still trying to find a better alternative to give them clean water easier because whenever they don't get good water, they either stop producing eggs or get sick.