Chicken Nipples causing wet litter...

[Des R]

I have recently switched my chicks over to bucket with poultry nipples instead of the traditional waterer in their brooder. (I'm gone 9 hours a day at work, and when I came home the other waterer would have feces in it.) So I made the bucket waterer like the one in the picture below, only with 4 nipples. The nipples don't leak when the chicks aren't drinking, but they are making a mess when they do drink. I'm coming home to find the pine shavings underneath very wet, and I'm aware when you combine the heat lamp with the feces and wet litter I'm asking for bacteria. I'm scooping the wet pine shavings and replacing with dry shavings... but there has to be a better solution. I expect I'll have the same problem out in the coop when they go out there... anyone have a trick for this issue?
Thanks!
Des

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I'm having the same exact problem. I'm wondering if I should keep the nipple bucket out in th run. I have an automatic door that opens at 8:am. Food is inside.

 

[RonP]

Horizontal nipples with a pan underneath works well for me.

All dribbles are captured and utilized.

Here is a link:

Unfrozen Nipple Watering for those cold days.

 

[Doc S]

Horizontal nipples with a pan underneath works well for me.

All dribbles are captured and utilized.

Here is a link:

Unfrozen Nipple Watering for those cold days.

X2 I've used both, and the horizontal nipples are far superior. They don't tend to leak and there's a little reservoir under the metal tip that catches most drips. That said, I use a pan underneath, too, because even with the horizontal nipples the ladies can splash a little!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Those drinkers are normally used in commercial watering systems where the pressure is adjustable, commonly 6-12" of water column pressure. The pressure governs how much water is discharged each time the drinker is triggered. If the pressure is too high then the hen gets more than a beakfull and excess water goes on the ground. If the pressure is too low then they don't get enough water. Putting them on a bucket is a non-standard usage. When you fill the bucket full there is too much water pressure, around 24" and a lot of water goes on the ground when they drink.

 

[Beekissed]

I have recently switched my chicks over to bucket with poultry nipples instead of the traditional waterer in their brooder. (I'm gone 9 hours a day at work, and when I came home the other waterer would have feces in it.) So I made the bucket waterer like the one in the picture below, only with 4 nipples. The nipples don't leak when the chicks aren't drinking, but they are making a mess when they do drink. I'm coming home to find the pine shavings underneath very wet, and I'm aware when you combine the heat lamp with the feces and wet litter I'm asking for bacteria. I'm scooping the wet pine shavings and replacing with dry shavings... but there has to be a better solution. I expect I'll have the same problem out in the coop when they go out there... anyone have a trick for this issue?
Thanks!
Des

Try filling with less water and drill a hole in the lid on the bucket. This may help with the pressure behind the nipples. Another neat trick is placing a brick or two or a paver under the water bucket....seems to keep the shavings from getting too much of the water dripped.

 

[Des R]

I did end up putting pavers underneath and that helped some. Now that I've moved them out to their coop I changed to a bucket with horizontal nipples and set it up on several pavers stacked and it's perfect! Barely anything ever drips out and when it does it dries quickly off the pavers. I also used sand in the coop so even if it were to get wet it's just a matter of stirring the sand a bit.

For anyone reading the thread later... HORIZONAL NIPPLES are way better than the vertical kind.