Water Recommendation for 3 chickens.

[spillsomepaint]

I'm new at this. The variety of styles of and sizes of waterers is overwhelming. Can someone supply me with a recommendation for a waterer (size and style) for three chickens.

My thanks!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'm new at this. The variety of styles of and sizes of waterers is overwhelming. Can someone supply me with a recommendation for a waterer (size and style) for three chickens.

My thanks!

Are you planning to have the water station inside the coop or outside the coop? If inside, what size is your coop? Whether a particular water dispenser would be a good fit is going to depend on that. How much *work* do you want to put into maintaining their water supply - do you want to be filling it daily, weekly? Is it difficult for you to carry heavy containers? Do you have running water near the coop or is it a distance to the water? Are you wanting something that can be easily adapted to prevent freezing in the winter months (is electric going to be readily available to/in the coop?

 

[spillsomepaint]

My chickens will free range during the day, so I need something to put outside the coop for that. And inside the coop, I'd like to supply water as well. I have a smallish coop, so space is premium. I'm using the same 2 gallon found waterer in the coop now since I'm coop training them, but this was originally bought to be their outside water source during the day. I can't really tell if they are drinking from it though which concerns me. I don't mind filling them everyday. I just want to make sure they are getting enough water.

How long should it take them to go through the 2 gallon?

 

[redsix]

I have a 1 gallon plastic waterer inside the chicken house for 10 chickens that are 8 weeks old. It usually lasts all day. I think it is good to give them fresh water each day.

 

[chicknshrimp]

I use a bucket (maybe 2 gallons?) with 3 chicken nipples on it and I love it. It keeps the water CLEAN!!! and I hung one inside and one outside the coop. It's nice because it hangs, they drink from the bottom of the bucket, so it doesn't take up much space. They learn to use the nipples in less than a day given their love for pecking shiny things and I don't have to fill them often at all, just top them off with the hose.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Three birds won't go through *that* much water on a daily basis. I have a three gallon waterer and 22 birds (13 weeks-just over 1 year old) and generally rinse and fill it every 2-3 days *but* they stretch the water in the container because they absolutely live for drinking out of mud puddles while they are out ranging in the pasture. If you do a nipple bucket waterer you will have pretty much no waste whatsoever from spillage or evaporation, so the water is going to last longer as the ONLY water going out will be what is being taken by the chickens. I like the idea of a nipple water station for water offered in the coop as it eliminates the issue of spilled water- and a dry coop is a healthier, cleaner coop.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

A one gallon waterer is going to be more than plenty for your 3 birds. I used to have 3 gallon size in my breeding pens which hold 4 birds and the water would go stale long before they drank it all and I would have to dump and change it so I switched to 1 gallon size and it still takes them 2-3 days to drink it.

 

[evemfoster]

You don't have to use the expensive commercial waterers. I bought one of the heavily advertised ones that has a heated bottom last spring and it was horrible to use. The plastic got super brittle and broke when it got down to the lower 40's. Never did get to try the heater. So now i use an old dog waterer that has a plastic container you fill and put onto the bowl inside the coop and a dollar store "tub" that holds about a gallon and a half out where they free range. I find the chickens standing in the tub on real hot days.

 

[spillsomepaint]

Thanks everyone, super helpful!

 

[silkwormlady]

If you do a nipple bucket waterer you will have pretty much no waste whatsoever from spillage or evaporation, so the water is going to last longer as the ONLY water going out will be what is being taken by the chickens.  I like the idea of a nipple water station for water offered in the coop as it eliminates the issue of spilled water- and a dry coop is a healthier, cleaner coop.

I AM QUOTING THE ABOVE AND ASKING FOR HELP, BELOW:

I use the "standard" bucket outside that gravity feeds water into the "trough" around it. Inside the coop I have 3 nipple waterers using the red plastic nipples with the metal piece on the inside for the chickens to actually peck at and get water. BUT one of them leaks terribly and the floor is getting really wet beneath it. Questions:

1. I can (maybe) solve the problem by ordering more of the same nipples on-line (NONE to be found locally!) but I hate to buy more only to have the same problem. DOES ANYONE USE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF NIPPLE AND IF SO, WHERE DID YOU GET THEM?
2. I can take out the offending waterer out of the coop, BUT then all I have left is 2 small (very small) waterers left for 9 chickens. NOT a good solution.
3. I can put a small version inside of the bucket system I have outside (IF I can find a small version) ANYBODY KNOW OF A SOURCE, HAVE A HOME MADE VERSION I CAN COPY?
4. I can put some kind of protective something or another under the leaky waterer. SUGGESTIONS?

SO .. ideas anyone? About any of these questions and then any potential solutions??? Especially since now, when I let them out in the morning I notice they beat feet for the bucket right away and the waterers in the coop have not had a lot of water drank from them. (Of course, the latter varied before. Sometimes they drained 'em almost dry and sometimes ....)
My "all caps" above are not "screaming", just trying to highlight the areas of "Help!!"