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

[Willow2253]

I like my water founts, but the chickens prefer to drink out of the leaky garden hose or the kiddie pool. I’ve also been using a short bucket but that gets dirty quickly.

 

[Alaskan]

What is the best de-icer?

The stock tank de-icer that I use, (Farm Innovators Aluminum Utility DeIcer) and that has NOT broken when I have run it dry is this one. There are some stock tank de-icers that 1. will break if run dry, and that 2. will melt rubber or plastic if set directly on the rubber. This one is safe in both cases. It only runs when it needs to (so you don’t need a separate temperature cube), and when my power goes out, so that it ends up freezing in the middle of a solid block of ice, it CAN thaw itself out. It truly is only a deicer, so it keeps the water from freezing, but doesn’t use up your electricity by making the water warm

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Good ol rubber bowls. Tried other methods of watering and so far these stay algae free and all of the animals can use them. I have 3 gallon and 5 gallon gravity fed waterers. The ducks empty them out in a few hours and they have algae issues here in western Washington.

 

[1muttsfan]

I also use one of these when I have a single bird confined to a cage - they are easy to fill, and provide enough water for a few days for one bird.

 

[Flockincrazy]

I made mine from a pvc pipe and a bucket

 

[Teresa D]

I've used vertical and horizontal nipples. If freezing temperatures weren't an issue, I was fine with how the vertical ones work (I did not have any leaking issue, which is a common complaint... the nipple was really snugly installed in the waterer) and the chickens preferred the vertical one. However since I need a waterer that works with freezing temps, horizontal is my preference. Haven't had any leaking/dripping issues, the nipples stay clean throughout the year, and it's just an easy, low maintenance way to provide water.

The waterer I use is this one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/premier-1-heated-poultry-waterer.11903/

In hot temperatures (around 90F+) I do provide additional water via large plant saucers. They're meant for the chickens to stand in to cool off a bit, but of course they'll also drink from them.

Another thing that's important to me in a waterer is to have one that's fully opaque, and to keep it in the shade on top of that. If no light gets in, no algae grows. No algae, no need to clean. My semi translucent chick sized mason jar waterer grows algae and slime pretty fast, my adult's bucket horizontal nipple waterer (with very thick plastic walls, thicker than a typical bucket) does not. I've literally never cleaned it other than a quick rinse out each time I fill it, and it's perfectly clean inside.

I just purchased this premier 1 heated poultry waterer. Thank you for sharing.

 

[BigFuzzball]

In the run they have a poultry fountain hanging from a sturdy chain from the roof, means all have access, can't kick in dirt, saves floor space and we can easily see the water level.
Outside when free-ranging they have a couple of stainless steel (dog) bowls as too lazy to go back to their run for drinks !!

 

[All Ball]

I love the cup nipple waterers, however I am having problems with the 2-gal buckets I have drilled them into cracking. Complete waste of a good bucket! I will be looking for a better container.

 

[City Farmer Jim]

We have 2 water systems actually we have a gravity fountain and a horizontal nippler, the fountain is in the coop and horizontal nipplers are in the shade under the coop.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

I like the rubber pans that can be used for other animals (like to put mineral in for sheep) because they don't break when the water inside freezes. It gets cold here, so a water that can be easily heated is a necessity. They are also easy to clean and easy to move as well. Only downside is that my birds like to stand in them.