Vertical (gravity) vs. horizontal (spring loaded) watering nipples

[iwiw60]

Thank you. I looked at your "switching your girls over to HWN" but I wasn't sure what size the bucket was and how many hens you were supplying. I plan to use 2-3 gal buckets....way lighter than 5 gal buckets. But I will copy your pic and place 4-5 nipples per bucket. Thank you!

You're quite welcome! Just make sure you use a 3/8" drill bit and screw them in "straight-on" to the surface of the bucket...that way they get a great seal. Best of luck!

 

[aart]

Quote: Exactly....
......and the metal pin conducts cold, as evidenced by this photo I took,
you can see the ice is thicker around the pin inside the vessel:

 

[mainechicklet]

You're quite welcome! Just make sure you use a 3/8" drill bit and screw them in "straight-on" to the surface of the bucket...that way they get a great seal. Best of luck!

How do you prevent your hens from jumping onto or perching on the bucket lid?

 

[Blooie]

I stuck a big red funnel on it. They knocked it off the first time I put it up there, scared the peewaddin' outta them. They never did it again! It's not even attached to anything...it just sits up there. Silly chickens! The babies are now drinking out of it very well too. I start them with vertical nipples until they get a little stronger, then switch them.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@iwiw60 ....Leahs Mom was asking ralleia.

Somehow I missed that...thought I read it well but totally missed the part about the heater.

One thing I've noticed is that if those nipples are in at a slight angle toward the bucket by mistake, it can trap any leftover water. So far I haven't had a freezing problem but mine are in pretty straight and there isn't any water left in the little trough after they drink. And, so far, no dripping under them like what was shown in the photo in an earlier post.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@aart
Did you have any problems with freeze-up with yours this winter?

 

[Blooie]

Somehow I missed that...thought I read it well but totally missed the part about the heater.

One thing I've noticed is that if those nipples are in at a slight angle toward the bucket by mistake, it can trap any leftover water.  So far I haven't had a freezing problem but mine are in pretty straight and there isn't any water left in the little trough after they drink.  And, so far, no dripping under them like what was shown in the photo in an earlier post.

In the photos I posted above of the icicles from the nipples to the ground, the water wasn't really leaking as a result of angles or anything - it was cup overflow after the girls used them.

 

[aart]

@aart
Did you have any problems with freeze-up with yours this winter?

I did not...lowest temp was -12F, twice we had that low and it never failed once after I got the good aquarium heater heater in there.
I was very happy with it...but ended up schlepping water out there every few hoursanyway for the broody and chicks <rolleyes>

Quote: I had big icicles too, from them splashing drips out of the 'lips'(cups) .
Even the ones that were angled back enough to hold some water never froze.

 

[fried green eggs]

Sorry if this question has been previously answered but: What is the recommended nipples/hens ratio? I need to supply 2 water dishes and 2 feeders for 16 hens that bully each other. My other coop has 7 easy-going hens. I was thinking 2 nipples for the 7 nice hens. And four for the picking on each other hens.....2 nipples/bucket.

If you have too many horizontal nipples to hen ratio then the little catch area under the nipple will have water left in it and could freeze up your nipple. I do 6-8 birds per nipple for winter months so, there is no water left to freeze. Summer when its hot I use the buckets that I made with vertical nipples in their run too and place a pan under it to catch leaks so, they have water inside and out.

 

[pdirt]

Sorry if this question has been previously answered but:  What is the recommended nipples/hens ratio?  I need to supply 2 water dishes and 2 feeders for 16 hens that bully each other.  My other coop has 7 easy-going hens.  I was thinking 2 nipples for the 7 nice hens.  And four for the picking on each other hens.....2 nipples/bucket.  

I did an experiment this winter. I had one 5 gallon bucket with two horizontal nipples for 23 chickens. That's way more than the recommended 6-8 per HN. It worked just fine, though sometimes there was a line for the nipples. After nearly 3 months of this, I added 2 more hn's. They didn't seem to drink any additional water, but the lines to wait disappeared.

My thought is the 6-8 recommendation is very conservative. I've previously read similar recommendations for vertical nipples. I've also read recommendations of up to 15-20 chickens per vertical nipple.