Nipple water for chicks

[abritton77]

I built another nipple water for my chicks and am wondering if I should worry about them figuring them out?

 

[elmo]

Yes, I would be careful with that. Chicks can't go without water for very long. I'd keep a conventional waterer in there as a back up.

 

[jmagill]

My chicks have no problem figuring out the nipples. I never have to teach them.

 

[blefky]

I always start out with a conventional chick waterer for the first week, just to make it as easy for them as possible. The beginning of the second week I add a nipple waterer to the brooder but I leave the other in as well. It's been my experience that as soon as one chick is comfortable with the nipple waterer she "teaches" the others. This generally doesn't take more than a day or two, but I leave them both in for a week, then remove the conventional one. Never had an issue.

 

[Hixnstix]

Do the nipple waterers work for ducks & geese too? Can old hens learn from others too? What is your favorite kind?

 

[abritton77]

My older chickens had no problems figuring them out. They started pecking on them almost immediately.

 

[trilyn]

All of my hatchlings take to the nipple once I've tapped their beaks on the nipple. Very easy..I've never put a conventional waterer in with them for backup...

 

[ZKeeper04]

i put lix-its in my brooders even and they figure it out very quickly. as long as you can stand the tapping of them drinking from it, its great!
my older girls figure it out just as quickly. my problem is that i cant use these during the colder months bc of freezing

 

[featherz]

I have nipple waterers in with them right out of the egg. No conventional waterer. All my chicks figure it out within an hour, if that. 'see that thing? go peck it.. neat! oo water.. peck peck'. I don't even show them where it is (but it's right next to them)..

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:
There are nipple drinkers for ducks. They have a much higher water flow. I doubt that you would be happy with them because the ducks will not drink from them if they have a pool of water as a source otherwise and if they have only nipples they will have dirty faces and the wasted water will be a problem.
Geese - I do not know of any instance where nipple drinkers have been used for geese.