Teach chickens to use watering cup

[dannyd21]

So I’ve had the watering cup system for a few days now and im actually not sure if they know how to use it yet :/ When i fill up the cup myself theyre usually not in a hurry to get a drink usually 1 or 2 runs over but the rest of the flock continues to forage. Other times they all run over to it so im now in a state of confusion. Any help? Also if it does sound like they don’t know how to use it does anyone have tips? (ps i fill up the cup myself every 12 hours)

 

[aart]

My thoughts on nipple training, should mostly apply to cups too.

I've had all age birds either pick it right up within an hour...and others that take weeks to really figure it out.



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.

 

[RoosterML]

Keep in mind that with cups they do not fill up the cups to drink like you would do for them. Just the bottom of the cup will likely be alittle wet. So if your filling it and they aren’t running over it’s likely because they have it figured out.