watering systems and supplies

[eggsr4me]

I was just wondering what is a good web site to go on to find water nipplers and such. I want to change my way of watering my flock
before winter. I know many of you use the water nipplers and seem to love it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gootziecat]

Personally, I love the water nipples as it keeps the water clean and it doesn't have to be filled every day. The chickens on the other hand, will use it. But given a choice between the water nipple system and a tub of water, they usually chose the open tub. Having said that I'm planning on using the water nipple system for winter.

I don't know where you are located, but if it freezes there you will have to make arrangements to keep the water in the bucket and nipples from freezing up.

 

[eggsr4me]

We live in Pennsylvania, so there is the problem of freezing water in the winter. I thought about using the light bulb method for the winter to keep the water from freezing. Also I know some people use the heat tape to keep the water from freezing. I will have to choose some kind of method to keep the water from freezing. Last year I went out at least 3 times a day to change it.

 

[ailurophile23]

Many farm stores carry these as do many of the on-line farm stores - I think I got mine from FarmTek but have since seen them at the local farm co-ops too.

 

[pdirt]

Have you made up your mind about the vertical nipples or horizontal nipples?

vertical:

horizontal:

My experience has been the horizontal ones don't drip during use by the bird and they are easier to keep from freezing during winter. The only downside of the horizontal ones is they are slightly more expensive and are not usable by cross-beaked birds (depending on the severity of the cross-beak).

I bought the vertical ones from a site called CCONLY.com. I just looked, too bad they don't sell the horizontal ones as well. [email protected] is the guy to purchase the horizontal nipples from, he was quick to ship and was a great resource to ask questions about use and installation of the nipples. He also has them on ebay.

Are you somewhere where it freezes in winter and if so what are your plans to keep the nipples from freezing?

 

[eggsr4me]

I do live where the winters get cold and water would freeze. Pennsylvania winters are unpredictable. But, right now, I am researching different ways to water my flock. Last year I took fresh water out during the day and evening. I am trying to get more efficient in watering them mainly for the winter. I did see where someone said they use a submersible heater in their bucket of water. Not sure what method I will use yet. Thanks for your info.

 

[pdirt]

I do live where the winters get cold and water would freeze. Pennsylvania winters are unpredictable. But, right now, I am researching different ways to water my flock. Last year I took fresh water out during the day and evening. I am trying to get more efficient in watering them mainly for the winter. I did see where someone said they use a submersible heater in their bucket of water. Not sure what method I will use yet. Thanks for your info.

You might be interested in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-vs-horizontal-spring-loaded-watering-nipples

The nutshell version is I found far fewer problems using horizontal nipples on a bucket with a submersible stock tank de-icer like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-250-...p/B002QXN1EQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

I used it without the floater ring so it sank to the bottom and kept the water warm near the nipples. I used this same de-icer device with the vertical nipples and the water stayed un-frozen, but the vertical nipples froze up when it got below 15F. Sometimes it stays below 15F around here for weeks.

The horizontal nipples also don't drip like the vertical ones do. I have two watering buckets, one with vertical nipples and one with horizontal nipples. I have to refill the vertical nipple bucket about every 2 days in the summer and the horizontal one about once a week. When the chickens drink from the vertical nipples, they dribble a LOT of water onto the ground. The horizontal nipples don't do this. This observation, in addition to also not freezing up at -9F (my lowest measure temp last winter) when using the 250W de-icer, the horizontal nipples have been my favorite. Plus they are way easier to install...no teflon tape needed or extremely specific drill bit size. Just drill a 3/8" (or slightly smaller) hole and hand screw in the horizontal nipple and it will self-seal. I've done this on plastic 5-gal buckets as well as quart-sized yogurt containers. The only down side of the horizontal nipples is that they are more expensive...but this would really only be a problem if you had hundreds of birds.