Seeking Cup Waterer Recommendations

[Poppy Putentake]

I'm thinking of ordering some cup waterers, Have tried the kind with the little yellow trigger inside and the birds don't use them. I recently looked on Amazon and saw that they have a slightly different kind, without the “trigger”, where water flow is activated by there being less weight of water in the cup. However, there are several different brands, all with brand names I never heard of before, and all with this same basic design principle,

Does anyone have experience with these that they would like to share?

BTW, I noticed that some come as a set of several waterers plus a drill bit, but I already have my own drill bits in a range of sizes.

Also, I have found that hatchery chicks that I get at the local feed store will immediately go to drink from nipple waterers, even before open water containers, so that must be how they are supplied water at the feed store. However, as they get older and larger, they tend to use the nipple waterers less and prefer open containers. Maybe that is because the nipples deliver water somewhat slowly for the needs of a full-sized chicken.

 

[SueT]

This type is not a cup, just a nipple that easily allows water out when pecked. There are also vertical nipples that do the same.
I have these on regular waterers and a heated waterer.
You can get pre-made waterers, or buy the nipples and make your own



This is the type of heated waterer I have

 

[Poppy Putentake]

I just did some tinkering with the “trigger” type cup waterers (which I got here).
These do have one nice feature, which is that by switching the position of the black fitting that the orange cup fits onto, you can change the orientation of the cup, for either mounting onto the side of your water container or onto the bottom. I've been mounting them onto the caps of beverage containers, which is sometimes more convenient than putting them on the sides.

I was wondering whether I could just remove the yellow “trigger” mechnism and convert these into passive, no-moving-parts, gravity-flow waterers. I found that the black fitting is easilly removed from the orange cup (using 5/8” wrench or just fingers), and the trigger mechanism can then be screwed out of the fitting. (Gentle force with pliers will loosten it.) The cup can then be reattached to he fitting and the
fitting screwed into a 3/16” hole in your container of choice.

This setup seems to work fine -- as long as container is plumb vertical, the cup fills to just the tright level -- and the hens do use them readilly.

I'd still like to get get and try some of the kind with the valve that closes as the cup fills. I noted that ForFlocksSake recently posted about the ones from "rentacoop", noting that they worked but seemed kind of flimsy and the cups tended to accumulate dirt. All the (numerous) different versions of these available online do seem to have somewhat larger cups than the "trigger" kind (maybe larger than needed for chickens), and all seem to allow for mounting only in the horizontal orientation.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

I've been using two different sized Rent-A-Coop waterers with the red gravity-fill cups for several months and they are working fine. [My pullets refused to even try the nipple-type waterers.] The girls do kick up dirt that settles in the bottoms of the cups (especially the one inside their covered run) and probably some of that is from them swishing dirty beaks in the water when they drink.

I keep a filled garden watering can nearby, swish the water in the cups around to put the dirt in suspension, then flush each cup with the watering can till it's all clear. Just takes a minute. The flushed water soaks into the run's wood chips so no muddy spots around the waterers.

The girls love to dig & forage - I just wish they would wipe their beaks before drinking!

 

[fuzzi]

I'm thinking of ordering some cup waterers, Have tried the kind with the little yellow trigger inside and the birds don't use them. I recently looked on Amazon and saw that they have a slightly different kind, without the “trigger”, where water flow is activated by there being less weight of water in the cup. However, there are several different brands, all with brand names I never heard of before, and all with this same basic design principle,

Does anyone have experience with these that they would like to share?

BTW, I noticed that some come as a set of several waterers plus a drill bit, but I already have my own drill bits in a range of sizes.

Also, I have found that hatchery chicks that I get at the local feed store will immediately go to drink from nipple waterers, even before open water containers, so that must be how they are supplied water at the feed store. However, as they get older and larger, they tend to use the nipple waterers less and prefer open containers. Maybe that is because the nipples deliver water somewhat slowly for the needs of a full-sized chicken.

I also have the Rent-a-Coop cup waterers, bought them through Amaz0n, really like them. I received another set of cup waterers (generic), but they leaked from the beginning.

So I recommend the Rent-a-Coop cup waterers.

Mine have removable inserts, too.

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

I have gotten this kit with nipple style and cup style (I require the cup as a visual indicator on all my waterers) and have had some similar style cups from ebay that tend to last me about a year. Well it's not that they break, they just get algae or clogged and I have to futz with them.

So I can't tell you how long THIS kit lasts, but my birds absolutely do use this style of waterer, and I've never seen one try the nipples (which are on the same buckets).

I have been putting these on 2G buckets, available at many stores and much easier to place/lug than the 5s.

Seeing the water level every day keeps me filling them appropriately.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

I just did some tinkering with the “trigger” type cup waterers (which I got here).
These do have one nice feature, which is that by switching the position of the black fitting that the orange cup fits onto, you can change the orientation of the cup, for either mounting onto the side of your water container or onto the bottom. I've been mounting them onto the caps of beverage containers, which is sometimes more convenient than putting them on the sides.

View attachment 3697107View attachment 3697109
I was wondering whether I could just remove the yellow “trigger” mechnism and convert these into passive, no-moving-parts, gravity-flow waterers. I found that the black fitting is easilly removed from the orange cup (using 5/8” wrench or just fingers), and the trigger mechanism can then be screwed out of the fitting. (Gentle force with pliers will loosten it.) The cup can then be reattached to he fitting and the
fitting screwed into a 3/16” hole in your container of choice.View attachment 3697117View attachment 3697116
This setup seems to work fine -- as long as container is plumb vertical, the cup fills to just the tright level -- and the hens do use them readilly.

I'd still like to get get and try some of the kind with the valve that closes as the cup fills. I noted that ForFlocksSake recently posted about the ones from "rentacoop", noting that they worked but seemed kind of flimsy and the cups tended to accumulate dirt. All the (numerous) different versions of these available online do seem to have somewhat larger cups than the "trigger" kind (maybe larger than needed for chickens), and all seem to allow for mounting only in the horizontal orientation.

I haven’t tried the trigger kind, but I did go back to horizontal nipples after using the rentacoop cups for a few days. Just didn’t feel confident in their strength and construction. I’m going to put water bowls out in the hot months. It was nice to try something different but the horizontal nipples have been working well for me.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I've been using two different sized Rent-A-Coop waterers with the red gravity-fill cups for several months and they are working fine. [My pullets refused to even try the nipple-type waterers.] The girls do kick up dirt that settles in the bottoms of the cups (especially the one inside their covered run) and probably some of that is from them swishing dirty beaks in the water when they drink.

I keep a filled garden watering can nearby, swish the water in the cups around to put the dirt in suspension, then flush each cup with the watering can till it's all clear. Just takes a minute. The flushed water soaks into the run's wood chips so no muddy spots around the waterers.

The girls love to dig & forage - I just wish they would wipe their beaks before drinking!

I have used the rent a coop products and have great luck with them. Customer service is great, but it's cold here in so I don't use them in winter. Sometimes the tub has cracked when I put them on it but the cups are great. Prolly would be better on a flatter surface.

 

[Leatherworker]

I'm thinking of ordering some cup waterers, Have tried the kind with the little yellow trigger inside and the birds don't use them. I recently looked on Amazon and saw that they have a slightly different kind, without the “trigger”, where water flow is activated by there being less weight of water in the cup. However, there are several different brands, all with brand names I never heard of before, and all with this same basic design principle,

Does anyone have experience with these that they would like to share?

BTW, I noticed that some come as a set of several waterers plus a drill bit, but I already have my own drill bits in a range of sizes.

Also, I have found that hatchery chicks that I get at the local feed store will immediately go to drink from nipple waterers, even before open water containers, so that must be how they are supplied water at the feed store. However, as they get older and larger, they tend to use the nipple waterers less and prefer open containers. Maybe that is because the nipples deliver water somewhat slowly for the needs of a full-sized chicken.

I have them, but they seem to be dirty all of the time. The girls get on top of the bucket and poop in them and many other things. So while convenient, I hate trying to keep them clean. I will be trying the nipples. After all, the eggs whites are made up of 88% water content, so I figure I am eating whatever water they drank. And I want to keep them healthy. So from my experience, I would not buy them again if I can use something cleaner.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

I have them, but they seem to be dirty all of the time. The girls get on top of the bucket and poop in them ... ... I hate trying to keep them clean....

What if instead of a flat-topped bucket, you used a container (like a gallon plastic jug) with a pointy top that they couldn't climb on? That's part of why I like the kind with the fitting that can be oriented vertically (pointed upwards, to go into the bottom of a hanging container, that could then be placed higher than they would like to land on).

Or else, maybe just put something on top of the bucket.