Can you please share how much water your waterer holds? My husband made one out of PVC pipe and nipples, but by the looks of it, it will hold enough water ofr a day! Grrr...We have about 20 chickens (by the time the little ones get out there too). Thanks!
I have multiple waters, but it is hot hot hot and dry dry dry here. I have an auto-waterer, which is for piece of mind during the 117 degree weather, but I also have a small horse trough with a fountain in it for ambient cooling and several flat 5 gallon waterers for them to wade in. Overall, there is probably 8 or 9 pans I dump, rinse, and fill everyday. It takes a few minutes. What takes time is the stupid chick waterers. I HATE screwing those things and flipping them over. There is a 50% chance I will dump one on myself.
I have a 5 gallon waterer and it seems to last about a week with 20 chicks and with me pulling it out daily and taking the sawdust encrusted water out of the drinking area and letting fresh dump in. This is similar to mine but mine is metal not plastic http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...nt/chicken-equipment/poultry-fountain-2167442
I use a 4 gallon nipple bucket for 6 chickens, it lasts until I change it ( every 2 days) as we like them to have fresh water, but its still real real full after 2 days.
I use a five gallon Dura Fount For 20 chickens and in the hot days I fill it every day, I put some cut 2x4's that are flat so the bedding material will not stop the flow. I also put it in the chicken yard. the rain gives me a helping hand on filling it.
I've got 3 waterers during summer (3 and 5 gallon metal ones) in the run and a 4 gallon plastic one outside the run for escapees (there's always a few every day that will not be contained). In winter I only have 1 waterer, the metal 5 gallon one on a heated base in the coop. I change them every other day until it gets really hot, then daily. I've got somewhere "near" 40 chickens.
I have 2 2gallon waterers and 1 1gallon. I use the 2g ones for my older chickens outside, I have to fill them up every 2-3 days. And I use my 1g one for my younger ones (about 2-3 weeks old) and I fill that up like every 4-5 days.
We use empty cat litter buckets as nipple waterers- the big ones that hold 35 pounds of cat litter. I've never measured how much they hold, I just refill them as necessary. But I would guess they hold at least 5 or 6 gallons. These things are a lifesaver for us. The water stays very clean and we aren't refilling twice a day in hot weather. We have a flock of 36 adults. Now, they do prefer to gulp their water like they did when they had a regular screw-on base waterer, but the nipple waterers work just fine. Goodness knows if it rains they run out in the yard and gulp down dirty rain water out of every puddle they can find
