will chickens drink from a hanging water bottle?

[magentamomma]

I am considering building some chicken tractors, and I am trying to figure out the logistics of watering my birds. I am wondering if they will drink from the type of waterer that you would use in a rabbit hutch. Anyone have any experience with this. I do not have running water available so it will be a matter of hauling the water, and since my birds often foul or spill their water, I need an alternative to the standard waterers. Thanks in advance.

 

[briteday]

There are a couple of sources for nipple type water drinkers where you can use your own containers (like a clean milk jug) and make a "rabbit bottle" type watering device. You can use any size bottle you would like. And the poultry nipples do not leak like the rabbit water bottles, so no wet bedding to deal with. I have a 1- gallon rubbermaid jug hanging on our silkie cage. To fill it I just open the lid and pour more water into the jug. If interested, do a search on the forum for nipple waterers.

 

[1 Florida chick]

I have a friend that uses rabbit waterer and she says her chickens drink from it. I've read other threads on this site where people have said the same. I am considering using it for my tractor also, but I'm concerned about the temperature of the water in hot Florida summers.

 

[magentamomma]

Well, for us my girls could change the water by themselves if we had the hanging type, whereas if we had to carry buckets it would be all up to me. We are thinking of building three of them so it woould be a big help.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I used them in the brooder and have also used them in the coop, and especially when I have someone in lockdown, I hang them in there.
I have too many chickens to use that as my only source of water so discontinued using them in the coop now but Yes they do come in handy and the chickens can use them!

 

[Clay in MS]

Yes, they will absolutely drink from water bottles. I have two tractors - one with two bantams and one with five. If you are going to have several chickens get the larger bottles. They have to be refilled daily in my situation so the larger the bottle the better.

 

[mikenandrea]

I have 2 hens that are using the ones with the ball/marble in the end.. Didnt take them long to figure it out either

 

[Kazzandra]

My chickens LOVE drinking from water bottles, as it gives them somthing to peck. But be mindful not to get the leak-proof kind for rabbits that have a spring that pushes the ball back downwards. Make sure the metal ball is loose. I hate to say it, but the best water bottles for chickens can be gotten for 3.27 at Wal-Mart. Pet stores tend to carry ones specifically made for rodents.

I have about six water bottles in a buckets that I take turns replacing in cold weather and this works very well. I let the old ones defrost in my laundry room and they're ready to go back out after a night inside.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I use double wall founts and hang them from the overhead in my tractors. Keeps them in the shade and are always level even if the tractor is on a slope.

.....Alan.

 

[smoothmule]

I use hamster water bottles for my tiny Serama chicks. As they get older, I switch to the rabbit water bottles and I've seen some chicks that were just hours old find it and start using it like old pros. They Love it and it's clean, you can see exactly how much water they're drinking. I wish I could find a way to put one of the metal tips on a larger container.
I took one of the rabbit bottles out to the large breed hens and it was just seconds before they found it and were fighting over it. I though that would be cool but it doesn't hold enough water for the big girls. So, I got an old, non-working hot water tank and put it on blocks to raise it a bit. They all have a drain spout on the bottom that will fit a water hose and I got one of those lixit, metal nipples for dogs. It has a metal thing in the middle that when pushed, it lets out water. For the big hens, it worked as well as the rabbit water tip so I can put 20+ gallons of water in it, it stays clean and cool and the water doesn't get green like it will in the rabbit water bottles if they're in the sun. This isn't a good solution for chicken tractors but for stationary coops with no automatic water system, water available or electricity, it's great. I wouldn't use anything other than the hamster or rabbit bottle for my little chicks but then I only have a few at a time.

Here are some of my Serama chicks at the water bottle.....they look happy don't they?