Not getting enough water from nipple waterer?

[Tashua]

Woah - what an aggressive response! I thought nipple waterers were recommended for keeping the water clean. This was also the best reviewed heated drinker I could find. They don't need to "suck" on the nipple... just peck.

Nipple waterers are just fine as long as you keep them clean and not frozen up . All depends on what the chickens grew up with . I made my own waterer out of PVC and the girls get plenty of water , BUT they do enjoy a nice bowl as well every day & I have cast iron pots out in the gardens when they free range every evening ...,.

 

[WindingRoad]

Hi All!

I use a 2 gallon Farm Innovators nipple waterer for my 6 girls which they seem to use without issue. My concern is when I go to fill it up using a watering can, the girls always run over and take gulps of water out of the can (see photo!). This makes it seem like they are very thirsty and aren't getting enough water from their nipple waterer. I'd say they are going through a gallon of water every 3-4 days right now. Am I overreacting? Could they just be doing this out of excitement?

Thanks for your insights!
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Chickens are really very selfish. I bet they rush over to drink from the can because they are worried they are not gonna get their fair share. I have 12 birds and I use a heated dog bowl. They drink about half a gallon a day. Are you changing the water daily?

Mine do the same thing with feed even if they have a full crop. Greedy little buggers. LOL

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

Hi All!

I use a 2 gallon Farm Innovators nipple waterer for my 6 girls which they seem to use without issue. My concern is when I go to fill it up using a watering can, the girls always run over and take gulps of water out of the can (see photo!). This makes it seem like they are very thirsty and aren't getting enough water from their nipple waterer. I'd say they are going through a gallon of water every 3-4 days right now. Am I overreacting? Could they just be doing this out of excitement?

Thanks for your insights!

I can't answer you (I'd say yes, they need more water) but my ladies wouldn't drink from a nipple waterer for any reason. They didn't want anything to do with it. Now mine have an electric dog dish, which they love. I have it up on an inverted shipping box so it is about 3" off the ground. Clean and never freezes. They drink it down 1/2 way each day. Perfect.

 

[FlyingC]

I tried nipple waterers and saw a fairly dramatic drop in the amount my hens were drinking. I live in the South, and felt it not worth the risk. I use the regular wateres raised off the ground so the water says cleaner. A little acv to keep slime from growing in the water

 

[Three chickens]

I had the same problem and found that the lid made a seal and the water wouldn’t come out of the nipple. had to drill a little hole in the top to let air in.

 

[Three chickens]

When I put more water in the bucket and put the. Top on it would work for a little while then make a seal and stop working till I drilled a little hole in the top

 

[HappyHenHomestead]

Hi All!

I use a 2 gallon Farm Innovators nipple waterer for my 6 girls which they seem to use without issue. My concern is when I go to fill it up using a watering can, the girls always run over and take gulps of water out of the can (see photo!). This makes it seem like they are very thirsty and aren't getting enough water from their nipple waterer. I'd say they are going through a gallon of water every 3-4 days right now. Am I overreacting? Could they just be doing this out of excitement?

Thanks for your insights!

I use the Farm Innovators Heated Nipple Waterer for my 10 chickens and they seem to be doing fine with it. They drink just fine from the nipples, meaning I see them sip and then tip their heads up to swallow. When I go to fill the waterer, they are very curious and love to drink from the top while I am filling it. Because I see them go and drink from the nipples, I am not concerned. Plus they show no other signs of dehydration, are bright, alert, feathers in good condition, eating fine. I keep a tray underneath with shavings in it and empty that every couple of days as their drinking otherwise gets drips of water on the floor and can build up as ice and extra humidity is a frostbite issue in cold weather. I also check it daily to make sure that it hasn't failed and frozen.

 

[coryn]

My 12 are just fine with the nipple waterer. And, when they get an opportunity, they excitedly go to any water source, including muddy puddles. I have parrots, and they always have fresh water. Yet, the minute I turn on the sink or fill a bowl, they want to drink out of it. I think birds are just opportunists. You see the same thing with food; they go for whatever you put out, dropping whatever they are doing even if the food they have is better/tastier.

It's also good to test the nipples when refilling though there isn't much that can go wrong except freezing.

 

[DSill]

I have one, same design as yours but I had to remove it because my Easter eggers with shorter beaks than my Orpingtons weren’t getting enough water. It was late summer so it was very hot and they were only about 9 weeks, so I’m quite sure that may have had something to do with it. I found out by watching them, they were pecking at it but not hard enough I guess. Maybe they just needed more time and training with it, I don’t know, but because it was so hot I didn’t want to take any chances. Is it possible for you to get up close while they’re drinking to see how much is coming out? Hope it works out- I really love that type of waterer because it keeps the water clean longer. I’m constantly changing the water bowl!

I have a hanging waterer with vertical nipples. I never see the hens use it, but the ground is wet underneath so they are messy with it. I have two that are one gallon with the bottom bowl that I switch about every two days so I can keep a clean one in the run. It’s a pain, but I know they use it.

 

[Ferd Berfel]

In the coop I have 2 five gallon buckets with 2 nipples each, vertical. They use them, but I also set some old pans near the cattle water trough and put water in them. They don’t have to run back into the coop for a drink that way. They prefer the pans. I also have ducks, so the water in the pans is usually filthy within minutes. They also want to drink from the cattle trough, which is bad, because a few have slipped in and drowned.