Water bottles are the way to go!

[Rogue_Woman]

When we first got chickens a few years back, we started with the regular chick waterers but found that they got nasty in a hurry. Since poop in water can cause diseases, we decided to use a nipple from a rabbit bottle and an empty 2 liter drink bottle. Both day-old chicks (using a smaller nipple) and recently purchased pullets who have never used a water bottle take right to it...the trick is offering NO other water supply, the nipple is shiny and they're curious, so they find it fast. Here's a pic of ours, sooooo much easier to deal with than waterers:

 

[Cuban Longtails]

I use them and I love them!

No mess and no more wet brooder.

 

[Rogue_Woman]

And it's fun to watch them drink like a hamster!

 

[Katy]

Over the years I've thought of trying them because of the messy waterers.....I might have to give it a try. Do you start them from hatch on the bottles?

Never mind, I reread and you refer to day olds.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

No, you don't have to start them from hatch. It is easier if you start them as chicks, when they're still naturally curious enough to peck at the nipple and learn that it gives water. Then they get the technique down in order to get a good drink out of it.

 

[Rogue_Woman]

You can if you want or you can wait, just be sure to use a really small nipple, like one meant for mice until they're a bit bigger...tap their beak on the end until a couple of drops come out, I've never had a problem with any of them finding it so far. Good luck if you decide to do it, it's MUCH cleaner and more convenient.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

They would work great for a couple of chickens, but I can't imagin how many of those 2-liter bottles I would need to line up to keep our 200 pullets hydrated!!!

Jim

 

[wegotchickens]

We've used water bottles all along, but the bigger breeds, like our Buff Orps, sometimes have trouble with them. We are trying a standard 3 gallon waterer now.

Another problem with water bottles is that our blind chick can't find them.

 

[Rogue_Woman]

Not as many as you think! I use 1 bottle per 10 birds, and they never empty any of the bottles in a full 24 hours unless it's just rediculously hot outside. You'd be amazed how much water is conserved when they can't play in it! Of course, filling 20 bottles a day could be a chore depending on how much you already spend on watering...

That bites that your buffs have a hard time with them, have you had any better success with the waterer for them?

 

[wegotchickens]

We tried the biggest size water bottle nozzle we could find (for rabbits), but they still seemed to struggle. Those beaks are just too big!
They are definitely using the waterer pretty consistently. We set it up on a cinderblock so that they can't scratch crud into it. Other than dirt from their beaks, it seems to stay pretty clean.

The younger chicks defninitely took to the water bottles right away.
I'm trying to find a new home for blind Dinky so she gets extra care. I work full time, so I can only make sure her water bowl is full and in front of her 2x per day. So far that's worked, but it isn't hot yet.
I'm talking to the mom of a home-schooled biy about adopting Dinky. Her son would have time to check on Dinky more often, and also play with / love on her. She's a very sweet bird!