Water nipples for Chicks???

[ZedR]

Hey there everyone. May be a dumb question but does anyone use water nipples/cups for their chicks? I have 6 Rhode Island girls between 3 days old and a 1 week. Right now they drink from your standard bottle waterer in their brooder but they keep getting pine shavings in it. I guess that's not a big deal but ultimately I want to transition them to the nipples but don't know when.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hey there everyone. May be a dumb question but does anyone use water nipples/cups for their chicks? I have 6 Rhode Island girls between 3 days old and a 1 week. Right now they drink from your standard bottle waterer in their brooder but they keep getting pine shavings in it. I guess that's not a big deal but ultimately I want to transition them to the nipples but don't know when.

They will start early---you might have to remove their water in a few days to get them to completely change over. I try to keep a drop of water hanging on the nipples for them to peck at. I set my waterers up on bricks to keep the bedding out of them---helps a lot.

 

[henny1129]

The nipples work pretty well, you just have to check them each day to make sure that they don't get blocked and therefore no water comes out. I would wait a couple more weeks to start them all on the nipples, as the 3 day olds are a bit young, but after that I think you should be pleased. The chickens might figure out the nipple system themselves, or you might have to show a few how it works and then the rest should figure out form watching.

 

[ZedR]

Duh.. bricks.. should have thought of that since I have my quail ones up on pavers. THANKS!!!

 

[ZedR]

I'll wait a couple more weeks then and transition to the nipples. Thanks everyone!

 

[Poppy Putentake]

Hi Zed,

When I got my baby chicks last year, I hung up nipple waterers from day one. The chicks started using them right away, but I also gave them water in open containers until about 2 weeks, just to be safe. The first week is when they are the most delicate and vulnerable, and I also wanted to be sure they all knew how to use the nipples.

(I used 16 oz plastic beverage bottles, upside down, with the nipple in the plastic cap and a hole for filling cut in the bottom.)

Poppy

 

[Bro-n-Mar Farm]

Yes! I have had chicks for two weeks and today I started with the water nipple. If I knew they would have loved it this much I would have started right away. I hated the water pan because they would walk in it and get the pine shavings in it. I used a small Gatorade bottle since there coop is inside and small until they are able to go outside. I took away the water pan completely and held each chicks beak up to the nipple so they knew it was water. It took about an hour but now they won't stop using it. Their coop is so much dryer and cleaner now. Follow up: make sure you poke a couple holes at the top of the bottle to release the pressure when the chicks drink.

 

[Carlie59]

Oh thank the Lord for this thread lol. My girls are a week old and all I do is clean out the water lol. Guess I’m gonna let the kids buy a soda or something today and pick up a nipple. I’ve got 10 chicks... should I put in more than one bottle/nipple?