Official BYC Poll: Which type of waterers do you like best and why?

[3KillerBs]

I scored 2 more buckets for making more nipple waterers at work today -- a 1.5 gallon and a 3 gallon. Both frosting buckets from the bakery.

I can't lift 5 gallons of water so there's no point bringing home a pickle bucket.

 

[Show Sebright]

I love the cup. It gets rid of the mess and easy to clean out.

 

[WthrLady]

Galvanized water pan about 20 inches across.
I can use it in every season. All the birds can access it and know how to use it.
It's easy to fill and empty and crack ice out of.
It's easy to see when it's dirty, off, or needs filled.

That said, the pasture waterer is a 5 gallon bucket with nipples on it.

 

[Sauron1]

Gravity fed because it is less messy.

 

[Alderen]

I use a 5-gallon bucket that feeds a PVC pipe with the little cups attached. They're about 18 inches off the ground and so far they are staying nice and clean.

 

[Debbie292d]

We use both horizontal and verticle nipples. Vertical on water bottles for chicks, and horizontal on our Tupperware container in the grow-out pen and 5-gallon bucket in the coop. We use a few drops of RV water freshener to keep the water crystal clear.

We chose to go with nipples many years ago due to it's one more way to help keep humidity down as there is no open water, it keeps their water clean, and they get fresh water every sip.

This is the one for the grow-out pen.

 

[WingsysRoost]

I use a stainless steel dog bowl for water. When the water inevitably starts to freeze overnight, it isn't too much effort to thaw the ice and start bringing the bowl in overnight. It is small enough to fit in an inside sink to fill and small enough that it isn't too heavy to carry out to the coop, which is very useful once I lose access to outside water for the winter.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I use a 5-gallon bucket that feeds a PVC pipe with the little cups attached. They're about 18 inches off the ground and so far they are staying nice and clean.

How do you and the chickens like the cups?

I have the pipe attached to the coop and I'm trying to decide if I want the cups or the nipples.

You or anyone else who would like may give me your thoughts on this subject.

 

[Alderen]

How do you and the chickens like the cups?

I have the pipe attached to the coop and I'm trying to decide if I want the cups or the nipples.

You or anyone else who would like may give me your thoughts on this subject.

Our girls love the cups. I put in 5 so there would be plenty of room for everyone to drink, although it seems they all like drinking from the same one. I really tried to get our chickens to like the nipples - they seemed like they would be a little cleaner, but they never liked them. The cups I went with have inserts so I can remove them, wash them if needed, and pop them back in. I'm very happy with our water setup. I have discovered that even though it's 5 gallons and it's in the shade all day, I might have to add a frozen water bottle to it in the summer. We've had a few days when the temps were high and the water in the 5-gallon bucket was getting a little warm (not hot, just tepid). I'm hoping that we don't have problems with freezing in the winter, however, I live in middle west GA so we don't often see extremely cold temps in the winter. I'll solve that problem when/if it comes up.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Our girls love the cups. I put in 5 so there would be plenty of room for everyone to drink, although it seems they all like drinking from the same one. I really tried to get our chickens to like the nipples - they seemed like they would be a little cleaner, but they never liked them. The cups I went with have inserts so I can remove them, wash them if needed, and pop them back in. I'm very happy with our water setup. I have discovered that even though it's 5 gallons and it's in the shade all day, I might have to add a frozen water bottle to it in the summer. We've had a few days when the temps were high and the water in the 5-gallon bucket was getting a little warm (not hot, just tepid). I'm hoping that we don't have problems with freezing in the winter, however, I live in middle west GA so we don't often see extremely cold temps in the winter. I'll solve that problem when/if it comes up.

Thanks for the information.