Waterer and feeder size.

[Bear1978]

Right now I have 6, 4ish week old pullets that I’ll be putting in the outside covered run and coop soon.
I live in central Arkansas where it has the potential to get up to 100 during the hottest part of the summer.

I plan on putting a smaller size hanging waterer in the coop.

but they will be out in the covered run during the day. Not only is the run and coop covered BUT it’s also next to a big oak tree which provides constant shade.

With all this being said, what size waterer would you more experienced chicken crow-nies recommend for the outdoor water source which will be the primary one for 6 growing birds?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Right now I have 6, 4ish week old pullets that I’ll be putting in the outside covered run and coop soon.
I live in central Arkansas where it has the potential to get up to 100 during the hottest part of the summer.

I plan on putting a smaller size hanging waterer in the coop.

but they will be out in the covered run during the day. Not only is the run and coop covered BUT it’s also next to a big oak tree which provides constant shade.

With all this being said, what size waterer would you more experienced chicken crow-nies recommend for the outdoor water source which will be the primary one for 6 growing birds?

1-2 gallons, but in your heat, I'd provide two waterers. Trust me. I've came home to a waterer that's been knocked over, and I've done the hanging method and sitting it on the ground. One time I didn't tighten mine enough. I am one of those that believes a little redundancy is always a good idea. Look into nipple waters if you can. They are much cleaner. Change the water at least every two days especially when it's hot!

 

[Bear1978]

Ok thanks!

 

[Bear1978]

With the regular trough like waterer I had to dip the chicks’ beaks in it for them to know it was water. Will they figure out how to drink from a nipple waterer on their own?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

With the regular trough like waterer I had to dip the chicks’ beaks in it for them to know it was water. Will they figure out how to drink from a nipple waterer on their own?

You can do this, but often when they see something shiny they will try to peck it with their beak.

 

[aart]

For 6 birds a gallon waterer is plenty, my 18 birds only drink about a half gallon a day.
Agrees that redundancy of two waterers might be good in hot conditions.

Horizontal nipples are great but don't try to train them to the nipples in extreme temps.
Some pick it up right away but others do not. BTDT.

 

[Bear1978]

They’ll be about 6 weeks old when I move them out to the coop and run. Is that too young for them to use the water nipples?

what about the ones that don’t catch on right away?

 

[NatJ]

You could use all the options at once:

hanging waterer in coop
2 waterers outside (in case one gets knocked over, or lots of dirt kicked into it)
waterer with nipples outside
waterer with nipples in the coop

That way, they MAY train themselves with the nipples, but will not go thirsty if they fail to figure it out.

For the outside waterers, I'd probably aim for at least a gallon of total capacity. Maybe use two at 1 gallon each, because that's a common size and fairly convenient to handle.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They’ll be about 6 weeks old when I move them out to the coop and run. Is that too young for them to use the water nipples?

what about the ones that don’t catch on right away?

They'll be old enough to use the nipples. 4 week old here:



I did manually pick up each chick and show them how to use the nipples. Pick each one up, use its beak to push aside the toggle and get a few drops of water. Then keep an eye on them to make sure they're actually able to do it correctly and get something to drink - if needed, repeat picking them up and triggering the toggle again later on in the day. Most chickens will pick it up without issue but occasionally, you'll find one that really struggles with it.

 

[aart]

Here's my thoughts on 'nipple training'.

First, it's good to know how much water your flock consumes 'normally', I top off water every morning and have marks on the waterers so I know about how much they drink.

-Show them how with your finger(tho that might just train them to wait for your finger),
and/or manually grab them and push their head/beak onto the trigger(easier with chicks than adults).

-No other water source, best to 'train' during mild weather when dehydration is less of an immediate health risk. I do provide an open waterer late in day to make sure they don't go to roost dehydrated, especially young chicks.

It can take days or weeks to get them fully switched over, just takes observation, consistency, and patience.