Water, feed, and roost tweaks? Would like some tips.

[MClean417]

I didn't try the horizontal nipples on my 5 gallon buckets. I had the cups and the 250 heater in the bucket. The bucket was water but the cups n valves froze. I'm in missouri so we typically have a month or so that will see sub 10 degree nights and a week or two that will go negative temps. I switched to heated doggy bowls, they hold about a gallon of water. With no breeze they don't freeze though the bases did freeze to their boards last week. If the weather doesn't go under 20 plastic heated gravity feds work but by those nights regular waterers work as well. I did try the HNipples on a feeder last year but the darn thing kept leaking. May have been my application. I'll have to give it another shot. I do like using a 5 gallon bucket BUT get a dark blue ones from lowes and not the orange ones from HD. The orange ones sun bleach something fierce and let too much light in so you get algae in the water real quick.
Live and learn I guess. Well, at lease live. And I don't put food and water in the coop. When they go in there they're just going to sleep anyways. When the light shows up the auto door opens into the runs and they can go out and get food and water then. All the do at night is snuggle up and poop.

 

[The Coop-D-etat]

Also do any of you have any recommendations for a HN water setup for my day old chicks I'll be getting? Do they have a pre fabricated one I can purchase? Or any tips for setting it up for chicks? I'd like to get them use to the system at day one so I don't have to transition them when I move them out to the coop.

 

[Baumshell28]

Haha! Well I'm glad they use the ones you replaced the others with! That's what I'm terrified about myself. I put in effort to make some "pretty" nesting boxes, well not really. Regardless I hope they use them. BTW, that is a very pretty bird in the picture. What breed is she.

Thanks! She’s a Barred Rock. I have 7 BR’s and 5 Red Sex Links. I love my “red” girls, but my BR’s have the sweetest personalities ever! I have 2 BR’s that actually perch & ride on my wheelchair if I’m out in the run for more than like 5 minutes!
If you’re interested, I’ve got a YouTube channel with all the girls...laying an egg, singing the egg song, fishing for PetSmart minnows out of a Rubbermaid container, etc.

https://youtube.com/user/baumshell28

 

[The Coop-D-etat]

Thanks! She’s a Barred Rock. I have 7 BR’s and 5 Red Sex Links. I love my “red” girls, but my BR’s have the sweetest personalities ever! I have 2 BR’s that actually perch & ride on my wheelchair if I’m out in the run for more than like 5 minutes!

Oh wow! First thought came to mind was a BR but I thought maybe not. Haha you have very pretty birds! And love the picture of you and the little one. Looks like she ain't having none of it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Also do any of you have any recommendations for a HN water setup for my day old chicks I'll be getting? Do they have a pre fabricated one I can purchase? Or any tips for setting it up for chicks? I'd like to get them use to the system at day one so I don't have to transition them when I move them out to the coop.

I wouldn't recommend HNs for young chicks, as they require a certain amount of pressure to trigger, and chicks may struggle to do that. I've seen chick waterers that come with both a VN and HN that can be swapped out, if you prefer a nipple set up, but IMO just as easy to put them on a regular gravity waterer and switch them to a nipple when older.

Roughly 4 week old chick learning to drink from the adult waterer:

 

[The Coop-D-etat]

I wouldn't recommend HNs for young chicks, as they require a certain amount of pressure to trigger, and chicks may struggle to do that. I've seen chick waterers that come with both a VN and HN that can be swapped out, if you prefer a nipple set up, but IMO just as easy to put them on a regular gravity waterer and switch them to a nipple when older.

Roughly 4 week old chick learning to drink from the adult waterer:
View attachment 2538830

Ok! That makes sense! Thank you for the information! Much appreciated

 

[aart]

I wouldn't recommend HNs for young chicks, as they require a certain amount of pressure to trigger, and chicks may struggle to do that.

True Dat....But I use both in the brooder from the get go......at about 2 weeks I start removing the open waterer for much of the day.

 

[TOPChickens14]

Hello, The Coop-D-etat, I would suggest not staining or painting the perches, when the perches start rotting away in a couple of years, you could just buy a new board for cheap.

 

[The Coop-D-etat]

Hello, The Coop-D-etat, I would suggest not staining or painting the perches, when the perches start rotting away in a couple of years, you could just buy a new board for cheap.

Yea, I thought that as well. I decided to go against the staining of the perches. Doesn't make sense to me anyhow

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Oh OK thanks for that tip! Is it hard to get chickens to know how to use them? As you probably know everyone has this and that to say about their methods which is good so that I can make my own decisions. Would a bordered off section under the water with a square of vinyl with a 2×4 border be good? And also have you ever dealt with the cups? That refill when low by themselves?

I originally had the cups and they work good but they get dirty really fast, I switched to the nipples and it took 2 minutes to get 1 of my ladies to figure it out and the others followed suit