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The best chicken waterers.

 
Jen Fulkerson
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I'm doing some changes on my chicken coop. I have been thinking about what to use for water.  I have had chickens for 15 or more years, and I'm still not satisfied with the water situation.  I have tried several options.  I started out with the container you fill and hang. It works, but it's heavy and a lot of work.  The chicken nipples seemed to be a great option, clean, and I can leave it hang and fill it with the hose.  I have seen the chickens use it, but I didn't have to fill it very often, and if it rained, or the hose made a puddle all the chickens would drink like they were dieing of thirst. So I don't think they like it.  I got a bowl that has auto fill which is what I have used for a couple of years.  There is now a sign on that hose not to turn off. The plastic top has been removed because it was knocked down in a way to block the hens from the water.  I hate this option!  As you can imagine the water is always discussing.  I dump it every day and use a brush to clean it.  Once in a while I take it apart and clean it.  We have very hard water, so this is no east job, and is gross an hour after I'm done.  picked up a couple of cup things that go into a bucket like the nipples.  I have also considered building a frame around the bowel so they can only stick there head in.  I live in California, so in the summer going without water even for a short time can be a death sentence.  If you have a water system you like, I would love to hear about it. Thanks.

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Joshua Bertram
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Here'w what I did last year.   Zero problems and I have ridiculously hard water.  Haven't had to clean the nipples (yet) probably in a couple of months, though.  If I do it over, I'd like to try these cup nipples instead of the one's I'm currently using.  It seems more user/chicken friendly for them.  
I run two buckets, both of them connected to the drip now in case one breaks, or stops working for some reason.  Same as you, probably only hours without water before things go south with their health if they don't have access to water.

https://permies.com/t/116772/Hot-weather-chicken-watering-drip#1054404

Here's what I'll probably upgrade to eventually.  Seems more easily damaged, but better ergonomically for them.  https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Premium-Chicken-Mounting-Hardware/dp/B07FYT9LCH/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=chicken+watering+cups&qid=1614432930&sr=8-11

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Stacie Kim
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We have a flock of 10. We use an ordinary dishpan. I think a heavy oil-change pan would work too. Not too light that a chicken could step on it and overturn it. Or put a brick or stone in it to weigh it down.

We keep our water in a shaded area when it's warm and sunny, it helps to keep algae in check. In the winter we keep it in a sunny patch to help it not freeze.

I clean it about once a week or so, more often if it's dirty. To fill it, I bring in a five-gallon bucket of collected rainwater and just pour it in.

Thanks, Y'all!

 
Stacy Witscher
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I use the hanging bucket with nipples and love it. Anything on the ground they just knock over. It did take them a while to get the hang of it, but now it's great. I fill it about once a week. We have hard water but it's never been a problem. The nipples are replaceable if need be.

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Juniper Zen
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Flock of 20 here. I use the hanging (or rather standing on top of cement blocks) bucket with nipples. They definitely drink their fill on hot days. As you saw with yours, they will still rush over to drink as soon as I turn on a hose or drip irrigation. I think they just like the water to be very fresh, as they also rush the bucket when I’ve just refilled it.

I’m planning on replacing the bucket with an irrigation line that has nipples directly in it, so that the water is always fresh and never needs to be refilled. We’ll see how it goes.

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Mike Haasl
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I use the nipples due to freezing problems most of the winter.  But if I didn't have to worry about that, and house water was near by, I'd be very tempted to make something like this.  Use a sprinker drip irrigation system to dribble water in very slowly so that it ba-dum-slooshes only every 30-60 minutes.  Then if they crap in the trough/bowl, the rush of new water will rinse it away.  

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Kristine Keeney
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Because I already had a few of the more "traditional" waterers before I started on my latest version of a poultry flock, I have simply stuck to the old standby - a metal double-walled 5 gallon waterer on some concrete blocks that brings it to the height of the chickens' backs. I rinse it off and refill when I can easily move it by lifting up (that means it's down to about a gallon or so). .

Because we live in an area where there is a lot of heat and a lot of humidity, I had gotten into the habit of having extra buckets around for the dog (it was more important when we had more than the one, but the buckets still work and she enjoys the different "flavors" of the water), and the chickens enjoyed the extra cooling and drinking spaces.

When we added the geese, we also added some of those tough rubber feed bowls. The geese have another two much larger horse/cattle feeders that are dumped, rinsed and refilled daily. The chickens enjoy those drinking areas, too.

Basically, my flock has one 5 gallon double walled waterer, two 5 gallon buckets in different locations, 2 smallish "tough rubber" dishes, one larger "tough rubber" dish, large enough for an African goose to splash in, and a slightly larger yet, hard plastic dish that is currently the site for amorous geese.

Between the 24 chickens and 5 geese, they somehow make do.

I would like to use an auto-refilled version, but putting a dedicated water line to the yards in which it would be useful is too much of a bother and expense, right now. So, I use a hose. It gives me time to interact with all of the birds and see how flock dynamics are changing.  
I have seen people use the nipples and have good results, but the geese need a different system to stay healthy.
I like the idea behind modifying a shishi odishi to serve for a water feature and a chicken waterer.  I would need to consider how much goose-ish interference I was willing to tolerate, though.

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Jen Fulkerson
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I tried the cup type chicken waterers.  The chickens love them, but they don't work.  In order to refill the cup you have to push on the little rod thing in the cup.  Seems easy enough, and I thought when they drink the water they would bump it enough to activate the fill valve. No I watched for a while, it never happened.  I filled them up last night, and were empty this morning.  I got them at Tractor supply, I hope they will take them back.  My chickens are ether to dumb to use them, or it's a bad design.  Bummer.
I put the bucket with the chicken nipples up and emptied the gross water bowl.  They will have to use it, or be very thirsty.  I will keep an eye on them.
I ordered a different cup that auto fills. When they drink the water the cup gets light, tilts up which opens the valve and fills the water.   It got pretty good reviews, so we will see.  The cost was 2 for 10, or 4 for 17.  I got 4. They are returnable if I don't like them. I hope they work.
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Mike Haasl
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If they're new to them it takes a bit for them to learn.  Just call them over and tap the thing to make water come out.  Peck/tap at it and they'll eventually figure it out.  

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Jen Fulkerson
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Ok I think this is the one.  Time will tell.  I ordered this cup style from Amazon. The company is Rent A Coop.  2 for 9.95  4 for 16.95 or 6 for 24.95.  For the most part they got good reviews, and in a few cases that had problems they said the company was super to work with.  I ordered 4. The company sent me 1 extra on them, nice.  I'm going to keep it just in case one needs to be replaced.  I got them 1 day after I ordered them.  Very easy to install. I put 4 cups in one bucket. Instead of hanging it I put it on a cement block. The chickens used them right away.  Best of all they refill themselves.  Every time I go out the cups have water.  I will keep the chicken nipple bucket up for backup.  My plan is to only put a couple gallons of water in each bucket, so the water stays fresh.  The cups get a little bit of dirt in them, but still way cleaner than the bowl.  Thank you everyone for all your help.
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Jen Fulkerson
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Quick update.  I love these cup waters from Rent a Coop. They fill themselves without any effort from the chickens.  They do get a little crud in them, but easily spray out.  I left the bucket with the chicken nipples in it as back up, but the chickens seem to like the cup ones.  I'm totally happy with this one and would buy again.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

 
Matt McSpadden
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If I may throw in my vote for vertical poultry nipple waterers. I would not consider myself an expert, but we raised chickens for quite a few years when I was a kid, and I have started a new flock myself as an adult.

Pros:
- Keeps the water clean!! No more straw or shavings in the water making it so the chickens can't drink. No more poop in the water causing sanitary issues.
- Easily extend with PVC pipe to use a single source of water like a bucket for many chickens.
- Can be inexpensive - Put 4 in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and you are done

Cons:
- Can be more expensive - I built a little water wheelbarrow, but spent quite a bit on fittings to get it to work. It works well, but is far more expensive than the $8 waterers from Tractor Supply.
- It seems daunting - Don't worry the chickens figure it out quickly
- The chicken has to work harder to get water than simply putting their beak in a trough
- When used with chicks, it's a pain to keep it at a good height as they grow quickly.
- Does not work well in the winter without some additional steps to keep it from freezing.

For me, using this system means less work for me on a daily basis and provides cleaner and more plentiful water (since they don't kick straw into it) for the chickens. The health of the chickens, as well as my time, far out weighs the requirement that the chickens work a little harder to get the water. Below is an example of how you could reuse an old wheelbarrow to have a single bucket of water for 8 or more poultry nipples.
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Jen Fulkerson
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Matt I love your water. Very inventive. Nice to be able to have water where you need it without braking your back.  I still have a bucket with 4  nipples on the bottom.  I also have a bucket with 4  auto fill cups.  Most of the chickens like the cup ones best, but I do see chickens using the nipple one. I like having both so there is always a back up.  Your right about them being cleaner. The cups are a lot cleaner than the auto fill bowel.  I fill or at least add water every other day, so I just spray the crud out.  I have a kitchen brush hanging by the waters, and once a week or so I give them a quick scrub.  It only takes a couple of minutes.  I could do all of this less, but with 2 5gallon buckets 19 hens, hard water, and now the heat the water inside the bucket gets scummy real fast.  I don't like to waist water, so I only add a couple of gallons to each bucket. As long as I can manage I like to make sure not only do they have ample water, but fresh too.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

 
Matt Todd
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Juniper Zen wrote: I’m planning on replacing the bucket with an irrigation line that has nipples directly in it, so that the water is always fresh and never needs to be refilled. We’ll see how it goes.



Nipples directly on an irrigation line? Is that connected to a standard pressurized water system? I ran a line with a valve to fill my chicken nipple bucket, but that is still me manually filling the bucket. So if you've figured out a way to cut out the middle man and connect nipples directly to a water line I'd love to hear more!

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Matt McSpadden
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@Jen Fulkerson
Thank you. I wanted to put the waterer on the mobile chicken coop, but I couldn't figure out a good way to do it. So I was hauling a 5 gallon bucket around all last year. That got old fast , hence the wheel barrow. About the nipples vs cups, I have not used the cups, but when I had both the common plastic ones and the nipple waterer, they always went for the easier one first. Once they only had the nipples as an option... all of a sudden they used it a lot more I guess chickens are like me... I mean... like some people... and want to go the easiest route.

@Matt Todd
As long as it is low pressure (e.g. gravity fed) I think it would probably work fine. I have only ever used gravity fed for the nipples, but when researching, there were a lot of people who said if they are put under pressure, they will leak.

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Trace Oswald
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I have been through a lot of waterers, and if there is a better one than this, I would be shocked :)  It doesn't break down in UV rays like other plastic ones I have tried and I've had two of them for years.  The plastic is extremely good and these waterers have been frozen every day for several winters and show no signs of problems.  The company is Little Giant.  I have two of the 7 gal ones.  Full, it is heavy of course.  I leave it it one spot and fill it with the garden hose.  In winter, I put in a couple gallons and carry it each day.  That part stinks.
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Little giant waterer
Little giant waterer

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Andrew Mayflower
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Plasson waterers are, far and away, the best I've come across at least for warmer months.  

https://www.qcsupply.com/422210-plasson-broiler-drinker.html

The company linked above has versions for all different types of poultry.

Winter is a bit trickier, but where I live we don't usually get really long periods of sub-freezing temps, so dumping boiling water from a stock pot on a kiddie pool of water or other large container isn't a big deal when it does freeze.  Plus, for broilers at least, I usually only keep them in spring and summer anyway, and the waterers get drained and put away over winter.

The "downside" of those is you do have to put a pressure reducing valve on the end of the garden hose if you're just using a regular domestic water supply.  But, one pressure reducing valve can service quite a few waterers by putting T's in the line to the waterers.
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Juniper Zen
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Update on my plan to connect nipples or cups directly to drip line: did not work because even with a pressure regulator, it was too much pressure on them and they would leak. In the meantime, I bought some of those self-refilling cups from Rent a Coop and tried them out with a bucket. The chickens really like them. Much easier to get their fill, and I found that some of the chickens liked to dunk their whole faces in!

So the cups work great with a gravity fed/bucket system, but I don’t want to be manually refilling the buckets... enter the float valve! I now have a 10’ hose going from a hose bib to a float valve installed near the bottom of a 2 gallon bucket. Four Rent a Coop cups are connected to the bucket. No leaks, no maintenance (other than occasionally cleaning the bucket), and a constant supply of almost-totally-fresh water for the chickens. They are loving it, too!

The bucket has a snap-on lid to keep debris out. I need to pick up another short 10’ hose, so that I’ll easily be able to blast the cups and spray accumulated dirt out as needed.
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The whole set up
The whole set up
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The bucket
The bucket

Zone 9b

 
Jen Fulkerson
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I think it's smart that you put the float so low in the bucket.  The water will stay fresher that way.  I may have to try this. I put water in the bucket every one to two days only filling it about 1/3 to 1/2.  I don't mind doing it, but there's always more to do then time to do it. One less thing to worry about is good.  Great idea.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

 
Michael Fundaro
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A 1 gallon bucket.  It's large enough to not be knocked over and short enough they can easily get a drink whenever they need.  Every day use the old water to water a plant or tree and refill with clean water a little bit of apple cider vinegar.

When in doubt, doubt the doubt.

 
Sena Kassim
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Hi, a little late to the party. We use a 4" pvc pipe, with a sweep so the vertical pipe is outside the coop. Easy filling. The sweep/90 degree-ish pipe goes into the coop with chicken nipples. Animal Welfare Approved standards requires 1 nipple for 12 birds. So we have 8 nipples on the pipe. I like this method because it keep the water free of debris. We can add tea or vinegar to the system once a month.
No other animals drink from the chicken waterer. Now it does free during the winter, we have wrapped the pipe and one year we even wrapped a heating pad around it. Usually topping it off with some hot water from the house is enough.

We have 50 chooks and plain to add another 40 or so. We plan everything for 100 birds so we can cycle some out. I really like to be able to do as much as I can from outside the coop. :) The waterer, if you had to purchase all the parts would be around $50
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Michael Moreken
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I used nipples, just raised it higher as chickens got taller.  I use the cups on one, I like the idea of putting this one on a block, ( I see debris in the cup all the time).

Bless your Family,
Mike

 
Jen Fulkerson
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Almost a year since I got my cup waterers, and I'm still very happy with them.  The chickens have loved them from day one.  We got through a very hot miserable summer, and didn't loose a single chicken due to heat. (Thank goodness).
I have super hard water making every kind of waterer a challenge. Maybe 6 or 7 months the cups stopped filling. I had to take it apart and clean it thoroughly. It worked, and hasn't given me any troubles since.  
I haven't gotten around to adding a float, but that's my next step.
I still have the bucket with 4 chicken nipples for backup, and I do see them use it now and then, but they prefer the cups hands down.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

 
Jen Fulkerson
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For me the cup system is definitely the way to go.  I still haven't put a float on it, but it's not a big deal, because I check on them every day anyway.
I have a bunch of chicks, a couple months old. They are drinking all the water( the  waterer I use for Chicks)in less than a day, and it's getting very hot.  I had hoped to integrate them with the flock of older hens(3) but the Rhode Island Red is quite aggressive and mean to the chicks, so I will wait a bit longer. In the meantime they need a large water system.  I ordered a set of 6 cups from Rent-A-Coop. They have an improved version. The cups have a removable insert to make them easier to clean.   I think this is going to make them so much better.  I plan to order 4 more and make a new water bucket for the older hens.
One of the problems I have had with this system is algae growing in the bucket. To try to eliminate this problem I wrapped a bucket in duct tape. Unfortunately it was black, so I spray painted it white.
This did the trick for a few years.  Now a bunch of paint has come off. I could just repaint it, but the cup are so gross, I just want to start over.
This time I sanded the bucket on the outside to help the paint stick. Painted first black, then white.  This seems to work (time will tell) but I used to rough grit sandpaper and it left the bucket a rough texture. The upside is if I want to make plastic look like stone, I know how, the down side is I imagine it will look dirty very fast.  I hope it works because the duct tape was a pain to drill through.
All in all I'm super happy with the cup system.
IMG20240607133820.jpg
New water bucket
New water bucket
IMG20240607134041.jpg
Old water bucket
Old water bucket

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

 
Sena Kassim
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That's awesome Jen! I've a lot more people prefer the cups to the nipples. The nipples seem to waste more water and have more sticking problems in their delicate design.

We are going to be debuting our new chicken waterer soon. Rain barrels to an autofilled something. haha

I like the idea of a trough waterer for easy of clean and less parts. However it would get dirty more often. I'm leaning towards the cups with an autofill feature. Keep y'all posted with pics soon.
 
The barrel was packed to the top with fish. And he was shooting the fish. This tiny ad stopped him:
Established homestead property 4 sale east of Austin TX
https://permies.com/t/259023/Established-homestead-property-sale-east
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