water cups and little chicks

[Hagemt]

Hello everyone! I'm giving the water cups a try. Just put my 6+ wk old chicks into their coop, in the garage with a heat lamp for the first time tonight (still getting below freezing outdoors here, will need to stay put out of the elements for a few more weeks yet but just too big and messy to keep in my living room in a plastic tub anymore!). I placed the new bucket with the water cups in there. They took to drinking out of the cups great but either don't get it or are too small yet to "push down" on the yellow knob to get more water to fill the cup. Anyone else use these and at what age did they seem to be independent with it? I'm going down every hour right now to "fill the cups" for them and am going to place their old waterer back in until the catch on but just wondering how long that might take. They are horribly messy with their other waterer!

 

[blackdog043]

I use the horizontal nipples at 3 weeks, so I can't help you there. Raise your old waterer up on something so it's not on the ground(if it is), then try the cups in another week. As long as both waterers are in there, they will probably use the old one more.

 

[aart]

Any kind of trigger waterers, either horizontal nipple, vertical nipples, or cups,
can take some getting used to, some catch on right off, others tale weeks.

I leave the HN's all day as only water source,
then put an open waterer in for a bit before sleep time to make sure they aren't dehydrated.

 

[Hagemt]

This is what I have decided to do. I will continue to fill the cups for them during the day and have the other waterer available all night. When I fill the cups up, they drink them dry so I know they are using them. They just haven't caught on how to fill them once empty. I think as their beaks get bigger it will be easier, too. The cups aren't very big so an adult chicken beak cramming in there for water will automatically push down the trigger.
Their regular waterer is up off the bedding but it's small and they are curious so they knock it over a lot.

 

[aart]

I will continue to fill the cups for them during the day and have the other waterer available all night.

I would not fill the cups for them....or they won't even try to do it themselves.
BTDT. One thing someone suggested, was to use a laser pointer to get them to peck at the trigger.