I have the push-in nipples, and I got them from someone on
eBay. All of the birds took to it immediately. In the brooder, I used the plastic quart waterer that you see at the feed stores for chicks. I unscrewed the red part and used some wire to hang it from the grate on top of the brooder. The opening was at the top and made it easy to fill, and I just installed the nipple on the closed end.
I also tried this with a soda bottle, putting the nipple in the cap. Not sure what the problem is, but that one won't release any water unless I squeeze it while the birds are tapping the nipple. I'm going to try poking a hole in the bottle to see if it helps with pressure. I have no idea why it won't release the water when tapped.
They are outside for the first time this week, and I"m planning on using a bucket or a large dog treat canister with a screw-on top.
The nipple waterers are AMAZING. Before I had them, the chicks would poop in their water almost as soon as I put it in the brooder. Elevating it didn't seem to help. But with the nipples, it couldn't have been easier (or cleaner). One of the sellers on
ebay also sells the appropriate drill bit. I bought the drill bit along with the push-in nipples, and it was easy peasy. I may just make a bunch of them to give to my chicken-farming friends as gifts