Watering

[aart]

What exactly are the cups called so I know what to look up when buying them?

chicken watering cups or poultry cups

 

[gibel-girls]

I just switched from a normal waterer to chicken nipples recently and LOVE it. Super easy, less mess, less work, less cleaning!

I have the same thing

Out side the coop a simple 3 gal Ace Hardware bucket and inside the coop I made a heated bucket with nipples too. Love that they have clean water!

 

[LoneOak]

What exactly are the cups called so I know what to look up when buying them?

I searched and searched and Googled and ebayed and found the best prices at CoopsNMore.com. There are 4 pages here of waters of all kinds, buckets, nipples, cups, and even some pre built system parts.

I'm making mine out of polyethelyene pipe which doesn't need any clamps or glue to hold it together. You simple heat the pipe with a heat gun -hair dryer on steriods available at most hardware stores- and push it over the fittings. The pipe is rated for 100psi but with a gravity feed system you never come close to reaching that level. I found out today that since the pipe doesn't meet building codes for new home construction some of the big box stores are discontinuing carrying it. It is still available at the big blue box place so I'm going to stock up on parts before they take it out, the pipe is only $18 per 100ft. If they all take it out I should still be able to find it online somewhere. Here is a picture of one of my systems, I have 4 now and have done 2 for friends. I'm going to be building some tractors for sale and they will include systems as well. I live in the south and ave very few problems with freezing, when it does the pipe just swells a little but doesn't bust. I have a couple standard waters I'll carry out in the mornings when a freeze is happening.





On this wall there are two nipples and a cup way in the back you can barely see. I think I'm going to stay with cups inside and use nipples outside. The cut off coffee can catchers under the nipples are to catch the drips after the birds drink so I don't have wet spots in the bedding, with the cups there is no drip and no wet spot, outside it wouldn't matter so much.

 

[Homestead girl]

Hey loneoak,
How are you ? I like your watering system. I use the nipple in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets. Which is great, so I thought till I saw your system.
Do you have it hooked up to a permanent water line or a water hose ? How does that end of the system work ?

 

[LoneOak]

Hey loneoak,
How are you ? I like your watering system. I use the nipple in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets. Which is great, so I thought till I saw your system.
Do you have it hooked up to a permanent water line or a water hose ? How does that end of the system work ?

Thank you Homestead girl, My system has changed a little since I took this picture but it is still basically the same. I now have all cups inside and as I expand I will be using nipples outside, its all to eliminate inside puddles that don't dry as fast as it does outside. The black poly line you see feeds from a 55 gal drum in the hay loft of my barn, then into a 5 gal bucket with a float to regulate pressure. The pressure was too high coming directly from the drum high above the nipples that is why I had the cut-off coffee cans below them to catch the drips--a lot of the birds would just wait on drips in the can to drink and not use the nipples. The end of the poly pipe system has a simple plug in it that can be removed to expand the system or just leave it alone and forget about it. The same plugs is what I have the nipples and cups screwed into. I drill a hole in the plug and tap it out the size of the threads on the nipples and screw them in. One of the neat things about using the black poly pipe and fittings is you can take it apart and reuse the parts and pieces in different configurations without having to just throw them away like a lot of PVC fittings, they are available at most Lowe's stores and on their website. You put the fittings in the hose by heating the hose with a heat gun(hairdryer on steroids) and when the pipe gets warm simply push in the fittings, when it cools they don't leak.

If you would like to come visit and see how it all works you are welcome most anytime. Visitors are always welcome at the LoneOak Terrace.

 

[Homestead girl]

Thank you Homestead girl, My system has changed a little since I took this picture but it is still basically the same. I now have all cups inside and as I expand I will be using nipples outside, its all to eliminate inside puddles that don't dry as fast as it does outside. The black poly line you see feeds from a 55 gal drum in the hay loft of my barn, then into a 5 gal bucket with a float to regulate pressure. The pressure was too high coming directly from the drum high above the nipples that is why I had the cut-off coffee cans below them to catch the drips--a lot of the birds would just wait on drips in the can to drink and not use the nipples. The end of the poly pipe system has a simple plug in it that can be removed to expand the system or just leave it alone and forget about it. The same plugs is what I have the nipples and cups scre
wed into. I drill a hole in the plug and tap it out the size of the threads on the nipples and screw them in. One of the neat things about using the black poly pipe and fittings is you can take it apart and reuse the parts and pieces in different configurations without having to just throw them away like a lot of PVC fittings, they are available at most Lowe's stores and on their website. You put the fittings in the hose by heating the hose with a heat gun(hairdryer on steroids) and when the pipe gets warm simply push in the fittings, when it cools they don't leak.

If you would like to come visit and see how it all works you are welcome most anytime. Visitors are always welcome at the LoneOak Terrace.

Thanks so much for the information. I know that we will be adding on to the coop or just building another one. I would like to get some peacocks next year and maybe some ducks for the pond we have. So all the information is great. I use the nipples in my five gallon buckets and that is such a time saver and stops the water mess on the coop floor.
Thanks so much for the invite. We just might have to come see your farm.

 

[Rich386]

GREAT SYSTEM BUT WHY NOT ADD THIS VALVE AND NOT HAVE TO FILL IT EVER AGAIN?

 

[LoneOak]

Rich386, that is basically what I have. The pressure coming from my 55 gal drum was to high so I added a bucket in the system with a similar float to the one you show and then feed to my water cups and nipples out of that smaller bucket. I used a square bucket with half hinged lid that Tidy Cat cat litter comes in, I think it was 35 lbs of litter. I wish I could find a bunch of those buckets because they make great recycle projects, you can use them for all kinds of water projects and they work good for nest boxes as well.

I plan in the future to add a rainwater collection system to fill my 55 gal drum with some of Gods free moisture. I already have one on my original coop and a new one on this coop would be nice too.

 

[Rich386]

Rich386, that is basically what I have. The pressure coming from my 55 gal drum was to high so I added a bucket in the system with a similar float to the one you show and then feed to my water cups and nipples out of that smaller bucket. I used a square bucket with half hinged lid that Tidy Cat cat litter comes in, I think it was 35 lbs of litter. I wish I could find a bunch of those buckets because they make great recycle projects, you can use them for all kinds of water projects and they work good for nest boxes as well.

I plan in the future to add a rainwater collection system to fill my 55 gal drum with some of Gods free moisture. I already have one on my original coop and a new one on this coop would be nice too.

The biggest difference I can see is this one hooks direct to a garden hose. The pail you see is the whole thing. This small set up will handle 125 chicks or 50 grown birds. When I medicate I just add it to the bucket and they all get it.

 

[theeggcamefirst]

those nipples are a great idea!