Who has used chicken water cups?

[sepaditty1]

I made 2 five gallon waterers with buckets and the nipples. I hang them and they work just fine. I do have to dump them and clean them, but it's only about once a week. Way better than the traditional waterer. But, I see the benefits of the water line. Then the water is always fresh. My friend put the nipples right into the PVC pipe for his birds. Didn't need the little cups. He's very happy with that.

 

[LoneOak]

Traditional nipples do work ok they are just more prone to leave a bad wet spot under them if used inside or in a brooder with something like shavings as the bedding material. If you use them outside where the water runs into the ground then this may not be a problem.

I once had them in my brooder with some baby chicks and pine shavings as the bedding. I kept noticing that the brooder box was getting real hot even when I raised the light slap out of the brooder. I soon discovered that underneath the nipples that the bedding was soaking wet and cooking, it was putting off tons of heat. I took the baby birds out and removed all the wet bedding and replaced the nipples with a traditional waterer until I could get some cups ordered, this is before I had discovered the spring loaded horizontal nipples. I couldn't stand having to clean the regular waterer several times a day so I put some plastic catch cups under the nipples until the cups arrived. This worked ok for about a week and when the cups arrived the birds had already outgrow the brooder so I put the cups in their next pen and moved them a day or two later.

 

[socks]

Thanks for your pictures and notes about drips LoneOak. I'm looking at the cups you have about 12 inches above the straw on the floor and wondering if you have any trouble with them getting filled up with straw and stuff. How often do you have to clean them?
thanks

 

[LoneOak]

Thanks for your pictures and notes about drips LoneOak. I'm looking at the cups you have about 12 inches above the straw on the floor and wondering if you have any trouble with them getting filled up with straw and stuff. How often do you have to clean them?
thanks

I originally had them about 12 inches high, which was about chest high on the young birds, and it wasn't a problem until the straw built up a little and the birds got big. I recently raised them another 8 inches or so and got them back to beak height and they don't fling straw up in them nearly as bad as it was before. By using the black poly pipe with the reusable fittings it wasn't difficult at all to move the entire final part of the system.

The cups have a latch system built in where you give them a push and twist them 1/4 turn counter clock wise to remove them, dump the straw and depress the valve to run a little water in there to help clean them out, then replace and give them a 1/4 turn clockwise to snap the latch and your good to go. Now that I've got them above junk kicking height about once a week and 30 seconds apiece is all it takes to keep them clean.

Black poly pipe and fittings at
Lowe's
Homedepot
Cut pipe to length, heat end with heat gun-hair dryer on steroids-, inset fittings. To redo, heat pipe end remove fitting and reconfigure system with the same parts.
Lowe's has a much better selection around here, the fittings are Genova brand. I have used the end plugs and drilled and tapped them with threads to screw in the cups or nipples. 21/64 drill bit, 1/8 NPT tap.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I put gravel below the cups so that there is less hay and dust below the cups. I feel like it helps keep them a little cleaner.