UPDATE: bought the 'automatic' feeders/waterers

[NameIwish]

OK, regrets, I've had a few, but just this one I've got to mention . . .
Those plastic watering cups are not to be used with full-sized fowl!

As you may have read, I was quite proud of my recycled mud bucket and home made locking lid (OK for grain/dry feed - but must be primed, painted and sealed to use with a water bucket!) constructed with some effort and care to accommodate my new Orange Plastic Feeder Portals from China.

Well, my hens are not well trained by human standards and, apparently, can get quite rambunctious from time to time - esp when pecking up the occasional treat dump.

As the design of these cheap (why I tried 'em first) China Cups has them hanging out in the most venerable position while firmly attached to an immovable object such as ten pounds of cracked corn in a bucket, it is likely that a collision with a well-fed three pound hen might prove fatal - and it is, does, was.

Irreparably so - with the loss of a tiny orange cylindrical nub not one-eighth of an inch in length or diameter allowing the spring-loaded cup to move sufficiently off it's bracket to allow the 'valve' to disgorge the entire contents of the six-gallon plastic bucket in a matter of (I suppose - I never saw it coming or happening) minutes or even less.

I suspect and ,ay even try to replace this 'factory' hinge with a SS Pin - if I can avoid it interfering with the essential spring(s). With bits tend to 'spring away' when teh cup is knocked 'clean off' the bucket - never, in at least one case) to be found.

So, if anyone has a better idea . . .

 

[AntiqueB]

Nipple waterers. They are not very large, absolutely dispense clean water, and work during all seasons. I used to use the cups, too, but it was the dirt that got to me, and the constant cleaning.

I found very nice nipples with a small tray underneath, and they have been leak and clog free for a year now.

RentACoop DIY Waterer Kit - Horizontal Nipples with Dribble Dish and Installation Tool - Great for Chickens, Turkeys, Peafowl, and Other Poultry - 6 Pack https://a.co/d/2OAAV9Q

 

[NameIwish]

RentACoop DIY Waterer Kit - Horizontal Nipples with Dribble Dish and Installation Tool - Great for Chickens, Turkeys, Peafowl, and Other Poultry - 6 Pack https://a.co/d/2OAAV9Q

Thanks for the link - going to try them out. Good news, they'll fit in the old holes!

 

[TeresaW]

Nipple waterers. They are not very large, absolutely dispense clean water, and work during all seasons. I used to use the cups, too, but it was the dirt that got to me, and the constant cleaning.

I found very nice nipples with a small tray underneath, and they have been leak and clog free for a year now.

RentACoop DIY Waterer Kit - Horizontal Nipples with Dribble Dish and Installation Tool - Great for Chickens, Turkeys, Peafowl, and Other Poultry - 6 Pack https://a.co/d/2OAAV9Q

Do those work with button quail? Mine are still babies.

 

[NameIwish]

Thanks for the link - going to try them out. Good news, they'll fit in the old holes!

I installed one - replacing a cup type. The treads on these little red things are tapered like pipe thread - a bit smaller diameter at the one end than at the body of the water'er. They fit nicely into the holes made for the cups.

The cups 'self-start' if you will as soon as the water level is raised above the holes they fit through.

The one I installed, however was dry long after I'd refilled the bucket. I flicked the little silver thing a couple of times and water did come through.

It may well be that the hens had drunk their fill when I wasnt looking, or weren't using it after the recent fill - favoring the big bright orange (do pullets see in color?) cups brimming with ACV & H2O