Seeking the perfect waterer!

[springlea]

I am looking for a heated waterer that has a screw top so you don't have to take the whole rig apart to fill it (like a water cooler). I've searched online and locally and can't find anything! Thanks!

 

[jetdog]

You should go with a 5 gallon bucket with nipples and a lid, holds a lot of water and keeps the water very clean, this system has worked flawlessly for me through the summer and winter, you can get the nipples for less than 10 bucks easy to install and a very efficient system.

 

[springlea]

That looks great, thank you. How are you keeping it from freezing?

 

[jetdog]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6090627/width/200/heig
ht/400
I bought this stock tank heater at tractor supply, it keeps 30 gallons of water thawed so 5 gallons is no problem, it has a thermostat built in so it only runs when it has to, it's been below freezing and the nipples have been working flawlessly.

 

[jetdog]

 

[lazy gardener]

I bought a 5 qt heated dog bowl. I didn't think I'd be happy with it b/c it is so deep, but it's working great for my little flock. I was concerned about them stepping in it, so I put a water filled 1 gal. milk jug in the middle to give them a "moat" to drink from. I was going to put a hole in the jug so it would gravity feed into the bowl, but chose not to b/c when the jug level got below the hole, I was concerned that the jug would float up, and cause spillage issues. My flock is small: 5 girls. I'm guessing that it wouldn't work as well (with the jug) with a larger flock unless you re-filled more than once a day due to decr volume in the "moat".

 

[lazy gardener]

Any readers using nipples with heaters in the bucket in below 0 temps? Any problems with frozen nipples (I could make a joke here) or frost bite due to water dripping down on the girls wattles?

 

[jmagill]

I use nipples in a bucket. We had down to -18 last week. I use an aquarium heater and don't have a problem with freezing. I also don't have any dripping problems.

 

[chad-o]

Horizontal nipples seem to be a lot less prone to freezing from my experience. You can get them here on Buy Sell and Trade. Rich 386 also has them on Ebay.

 

[springlea]

Finally made my waterer just like yours. Thanks so much! The nipples seem to drip - any advice?