Which is better: nipple waterers or bell waterers?

[jso2]

Hi all,

We are putting the finishing touches on our first chicken tractor for our meat birds. We need to decide which type of waterer is better: a nipple waterer along PVC pipes, or a bell waterer like what Salatin uses.

The goal is for the water not to drip and go to waste, and for it to require the least amount of cleaning. (I can't wait until they're out of the brooder and away from that terrible fount waterer - so messy!)

Any input/opinion would be great! Also, any advice on the cheapest place to purchase either would be much appreciated!

 

[Rich386]

Hi all,

We are putting the finishing touches on our first chicken tractor for our meat birds. We need to decide which type of waterer is better: a nipple waterer along PVC pipes, or a bell waterer like what Salatin uses.

The goal is for the water not to drip and go to waste, and for it to require the least amount of cleaning. (I can't wait until they're out of the brooder and away from that terrible fount waterer - so messy!)

Any input/opinion would be great! Also, any advice on the cheapest place to purchase either would be much appreciated!

Don't ask me about these ask any one who has them. Don't leak easy to clean.

 

[Farm Mommy]

Hi, We have had great success with horse auto water bowls. They then have fresh water all the time and we use bowl brushes to swipe them out when we feed. Hope this helps

 

[Momhunter]

The low pressure water cups that have the trigger in the middle. They work great, the chicken moves the trigger when reaching in the cup to get a drink, this causes the valve to open a s water to go in the cup. No waste. I tried the nipples first but they drip and not all water released when they peck the nipple is drank by the birds. Always wet under the nipple waters. I use the cups on chickens, quail and peafowl. They learn them fast, easy to clean a d easy to use.

 

[Birdybooo]

We used to have the plastic dome type waterer, I had to constantly clean it and the chickens had a hard time getting to the water because of the space between the base and the dome. We switched to the bell/lubing cup recently, best thing ever. It holds the same amount of water as the dome waterer but I haven't had to clean it out completely once, just keep topping it off, cleaning the cup takes like 2sec.

 

[Demosthine]

When given the choice between the nipples, the bell waterer, or an open bowl, my flock if 11 adults, plus 14 chicks all choose he nipples. In fact, I just recently moved my chicks to a coop outside and wanted them to use the bell waterer for another day. They came from the hatchery with something that killed roughly two thirds of them. I wanted one more day of the antibiotic. Instead, they immediately found and started using the nipples, all on their own. The bell waterer sat completely untouched ever since.

The water below is a small issue and will always occur with nipples. It isn't that they leak, but the chickens don't drink everything that comes out. There are numerous ways to adjust the area underneath for this though.

I haven't tried the cups because they weren't as readily available when I started, but they look more ideal than the nipples. They are also more natural. Birds in the wild are not drinking from a hanging nipple. They drink from puddles.

And yes, the cups and nipples keep everything far cleaner and are easier to maintain. I am in the process of building a new coop and just added a nipple system to it, hooked directly to my water line. It requires a pressure regulator, which ran about $35 from QC Supply. Completely maintenance free and always clean, fresh watered.

If you run a system like that, you can also tee off and run a mister system if you live in a hot area.