Water nipples

[sunshinedaisy]

My husbend and I are new to raising chickens, right now we are building our coop and i have been looking at the water nipples but have a few qustion and I thought this is the place to ask?? We are getting full grown chickens from a friend that has a few to many..and her hubby say some must go lucky for us

Will the chicken know/ figure out how to use them or do we have to train them If so how do we go about that?
How do these work in the winter months? I live in NE PA and winters can be prestty harsh and last forever?

 

[ChickenAl]

Ours picked it up as soon as I hung the bucket. Must be their curiosity that gets them to try pecking them, and then they understand water comes out when they peck it.

We're in upstate NY, where it is cold in the winter too. I don't think there is a good way to keep the nipples from freezing. We are going to use the metal double wall waterer with a heater in the winter. Seems like the only way to do it. You will love the nipples in the warmer months, though. Much easier, with less worry about daily cleaning.

 

[sunshinedaisy]

I just read on here that someone used a fish aquraum heater.. which sounds like a good idea for winter time....

 

[gale65]

Someone here mentioned that they used a submersible aquarium heater in the winter and the nipples didn't freeze. I'll probably try that but if we have to we'll get a heated waterer. But the heater should at least let us use the nipples longer (ours are on order).

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Now that sounds like a good idea. We have aquarium heaters around here somewhere from our son's old 50 gal. tank

 

[CarolynF]

Regarding training.... Many people say they just tap it a few times and when the Leader of the Pack uses it they all follow suit. I've also heard people say to take away their dish-style water at night so it's a brand new game in the morning, and don't be tempted to go half-and-half because they'll never get used to the new system.

My girls love sunflower seeds and will eat them from my fingers, so I tapped on the nipple a few times and showed them a seed. When they try for the seed I move it so their beak hits the nipple and drips on them. It takes a few tries because they're very adept at bobbing their hear around to get at the seed, but most of the time I was faster than they. It was kind of fun, really, and they caught on very quickly. They hit the nipple, I provided a seed -- hit nipple -- get seed. They learn fast and even remembered the game the next day when I played just for fun.

 

[briteday]

I use an aquarium heater in the winter. Just be sure that you put the heater on the bottom of the bucket so it is ALWAYS covered with water, otherwise the heater can shatter glass into the bucket. I live in the foothills of the Sierra NV mountains, winters are cold, but normally the worst is the month of January. During January I sometimes have to turn off the hose connected to keep the bucket full and carry water to the girls. I can usually get by with taking one gallon out at the morning feeding/ opening the coop and then another gallon when I get home and do the later feeding.

In the summer I put frozen blue ice packets in the bucket to keep the water cool. The girls seem to drink more water if it isn't so hot. I know a lot of people who freeze water in butter tubs and pop those into the bucket as well.

 

[otowner98]

When my 2-gallon, 4-nipple waterer came in about 4 weeks into the chicken adventure, I was very tired of cleaning out the dirty mason jar waterer. So I just took the mason jar out, hung the big one, and then peeked through the door every 5 minutes. The Buff Orpington went first, then the Brahma, and within about 2 hours everyone had it figured out. That bucket and the 30 lb hanging galvanized feeder are the two smartest investments I've made since I got started with this.

 

[jmagill]

I use an aquarium heater. The newer ones do not shatter even if the waterers goes dry.

 

[LD Jackson]

Quote:
Where did you purchase the waterer with the nipples already installed?