Training to use nipple? How long?

[aart]

Quote: With only 3 birds, and probably one waterer, the OP may be able to evaluate.

 

[MeepBeep]

 

Best to know how much water they do drink, so you can monitor how much they are getting via the nipples.

Between evaporation and spillage the perceived amount of use between an open water source and a nipple can be huge, you really can't compare usage between the two on a 1:1 scale...


When I was using open source watering bowls I was going through about 10 gallons a day, it' harder for me to measure daily consumption now but on average my 55 gallon drum nipple waterer will last 10+ days, so about 5 gallons a day...


Based on that, off the top of my head I would say my perceived water use is down about 50% since using nipples over open containers...

With only 3 birds, and probably one waterer, the OP may be able to evaluate.

Less birds can make it harder in some cases...

It's winter so evaporation rates are different but just to give you an idea of how far off evaporation and spillage can make the numbers.... A good estimate for summer evaporation is 1/4" a day... So if we take an 8" round bowl, filled 2" with water, that is about 6.93 cups of water, if we assume an evaporation rate of 1/4" a day, based on the 8" round surface area that is a potential lose of .87 cups or about 13% waste, toss in spillage and you could see 30% or even 40% waste realistically... Of course watering device design and sorts can change those numbers but it's not hard to imagine the nearly 50% water usage difference I see between open watering and nipples...

IMO it's best to simply look at the birds,observe them and confirm they are all using the nipples, then monitor them daily if they are lined up around the nipple all day long they are likely not getting enough water, if the nipples are empty of birds most of the day the birds are likely satisfied an hydrated... If the bird knows there is water there and using the nipples they are very unlikely to get dehydrated due to the hassle of using the nipples... I rarely see my birds actually using the nipples when I'm in the coop and others have similar experiences from what I hear.... If they are crowed around the nipples it;s a sure sign something is wrong and they are not getting enough water... This happens in my brooder boxes when they run out of water, they crowd around the nipple and drum away non-stop so it's pretty obvious...

IMO people have a tendency to coddle their birds too much when it comes to the transition to nipples, and the birds love to take full advantage of it...

 

[aart]

No it's not exact and yes evaporation can be an aspect to take into account, but I found it to be pretty accurate and helpful to mark the nipple container to see if the level went down. Geez, it was just a suggestion for the OP, not a scientific absolute that I need to defend. SHM.

 

[Ladyerat]

I'd love to see more feedback on the chicken nipples. myself! I purchased a pack of them thinking it would make watering the girls in winter a bit easier. At least dryer since i can bring myself to depruving them of a drink at night when they are closed in the coop. I know, I know, they'll live withput it for the night but this new mommy can't help herself. And with both chickens and ducks sharing the coop, it definitely can get wet and messy. Someone invariably dumps the small waterers over. I purchased a pack of the nipples and PVC to set up but can't seem to find the right sized containers to attach to them, esp ones that don't leak. Thoughts??

 

[VH Chicken Farm]

We use the nipples and the cups. When you are in the coop tap the nipples a few times (with the chickens present) to get water to drip, and the curious chickens will realize that is the water source. Should take no longer than 1 minute.