Opinions on Chicken Water Setups

[SharknOtter]

Thanks for the tips So far! I think I’ll get some horizontal nipples soon. I like the idea of using a heater in the water and hooking it up to a thermostat outlet. That way it can’t overheat(like my container pond did in the spring a couple years ago!), and it’ll use less power. I have some old circulation pumps too though so I might hook one of them up when winter gets closer. I’ll probly keep one or two vertical nipples hooked up too for my cross beak.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for the tips So far! I think I’ll get some horizontal nipples soon. I like the idea of using a heater in the water and hooking it up to a thermostat outlet. That way it can’t overheat(like my container pond did in the spring a couple years ago!), and it’ll use less power. I have some old circulation pumps too though so I might hook one of them up when winter gets closer. I’ll probly keep one or two vertical nipples hooked up too for my cross beak.

How bad's the crossbeak? I got mine to use horizontal nipples though it was a struggle for her at first (I think she knew how to aim, but because her beak isn't straight, her aim is off).

Vertical nipples can be used in areas where it freezes however you'll need to manually defrost the nipple regularly, as most of the mechanism is outside of the waterer itself, so does not reliably stay unfrozen once temperatures drop, even if the water inside is liquid.

 

[aart]

My fish tank heaters have thermostats on them, but when I tried one in my container pond(40 gal) one winter, it burned out since it was working too hard.

Not a good application for an aquarium heater.

Work good in my setup, tho the cheap heater I bought at first failed.
Next one was a better one and has lasted 5 years so far.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples.67256/

Don't bother with pipes, or pumps.


Here's my thoughts on 'nipple training'.
First, it's good to know how much water your flock consumes 'normally', I top off water every morning and have marks on the waterers so I know about how much they drink.
Found they drank just as much from the nipples as they did from the open waterer.

-Do not train to nipples during extreme temps when dehydration is more of a risk.

-Show them how with your finger(tho that might just train them to wait for your finger),
and/or manually grab them and push their head/beak onto the trigger(easier with chicks than adults).

-No other water source, best to 'train' during mild weather when dehydration is less of an immediate health risk. I do provide an open waterer late in day to make sure they don't go to roost dehydrated, especially young chicks.

It can take days or weeks to get them fully switched over, just takes observation, consistency, and patience.

 

[SharknOtter]

How bad's the crossbeak? I got mine to use horizontal nipples though it was a struggle for her at first (I think she knew how to aim, but because her beak isn't straight, her aim is off).

Vertical nipples can be used in areas where it freezes however you'll need to manually defrost the nipple regularly, as most of the mechanism is outside of the waterer itself, so does not reliably stay unfrozen once temperatures drop, even if the water inside is liquid.

Her beak doesn’t seem to be as bad as some of them out there, but I still worry about her lol. I saw on one blog that they replaced the steel pins inside the vertical nipple with copper ones so they wouldn’t freeze? I need to look into it more but it’s an idea.

Not a good application for an aquarium heater.

Work good in my setup, tho the cheap heater I bought at first failed.
Next one was a better one and has lasted 5 years so far.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples.67256/

Don't bother with pipes, or pumps.

Yeah I found out about the limits of aquarium heaters the hard way. I had fish tanks before, so the heaters were already used, and didn’t cost extra. I no longer have the container pond since it got to be too much work. I’ve found plenty of uses for most of the equipment and stuff from it though. The container(50 g livestock tub) became a brooder for my tiny chicks, then when the chicks got bigger and moved into my dog crate brooder, the tub became a compost bin. The gravel is spread here and there, the de-icer I bought later is in storage for hopefully ducks later on.
Thank you for the setup idea! This is an excellent how-to! And I already have half the stuff to do something like this. And it seems way simpler easier than PVC. I might look at various ways of insulation, since my hubby prefers everything to look neat and clean. The insulation would help keep it cool in the summer too I bet, with a little ice added.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Her beak doesn’t seem to be as bad as some of them out there, but I still worry about her lol. I saw on one blog that they replaced the steel pins inside the vertical nipple with copper ones so they wouldn’t freeze? I need to look into it more but it’s an idea.

Never heard about copper pins but I suppose that's something you can look into - if it works, it'd be great! Vertical nipples are a little easier for birds to learn to use, but your crossbeak might surprise you and learn to use horizontal as well.

 

[tripletfeb]

I use this heated horizontal nipple bucket for my chickens. Just trained them over to it from their open waterer. It plugs in in the winter to heat the water just enough so it doesn't freeze. I love it and will never use anything else! I will provide them with another water source in their run if it gets over 85°.

 

[aart]

I saw on one blog that they replaced the steel pins inside the vertical nipple with copper ones so they wouldn’t freeze? I need to look into it more but it’s an idea.

Hmmmm...link to blog?

 

[SharknOtter]

Aart, It’s actually from The Chicken Chick, but I realized the copper pins are just one component. It’s a pretty intensive setup. The how-to is toward the bottom of the page, I’d love to know your thoughts on the whole article though!
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-advantages-of-poultry-nipples/

 

[aart]

Aart, It’s actually from The Chicken Chick, but I realized the copper pins are just one component. It’s a pretty intensive setup. The how-to is toward the bottom of the page, I’d love to know your thoughts on the whole article though!
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-advantages-of-poultry-nipples/

The copper pin link is broken, I found the site and no copper pins are listed.
Article is interesting, some good info there.
No real mention(just one pic) or discussion of horizontal nipples(which are far better than VN's, especially in cold climates, IMO.)

 

[RoosterML]

I use all types of water containers for spring to fall. I have 5 gallon pails with both HN & VN on them. Open waters and open bowls.
When cold weather rolls in I use 5 gallon buckets with HN and a 50watt or 100watt aquarium heater in it. I’ll also keep a black soft bowl of water available for them.
This will also work well for chickens in the winter if you don’t need a large amount of water. It’s actually for rabbits but nothing more than a brass HN.