I made the last solution you showed with a 5 gallon bucket and 4 horizontal nipples from Amazon. I don't use a hose on it, 5 gallons goes more than a week with a dozen chickens. I use a bucket heater and a temp controller in the winter, worked great last winter.
Good job explaining lots of methods. It should be noted that even though water may not need to be toted daily, birds should still be checked daily. Someday, I will not have to carry those buckets. Take Care
Love your channel, I live in Bush, Louisiana and raised chickens with my dad when I was young, now I want to get back to the country style of life and I'm fixing to get started very soon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Very informative.
I have tried alot also. We dont have snow or freezing temps in the winter so i dont have to worry about that. I wanted to get the nipples but we didnt have them in australia when i wanted them. I found the little cup version. My hubby made me a system with pvc pipe to fill the water from the outside. Works awsome but i still have to get in there every other day and clean out the cups. They get all sort of stuff in them. We just give them a blast with the hose and all good. Awsome video for newbees to chickens. Loved it.
Also we use heat tape on a hose like people in RV’s and mobile homes. We Protect the hose then wrap the heat tape over with taped over blankets or rubbery noodle type devices. And to make it look nicer, we covered the entire thing cut in long strips n taped dark green sheets over the black rubber long noodles that we put over the heat tape that we got from Lowes. We don’t put heat tape directly on our hoses anymore. We wrap the hose with a bed sheet material then put the heat tape on it then we put rubber over that and we also use a bed sheet set material to tape over that to make it look nice and give it a bit more protection.
For the first solution (the heated dog bowl) look around and see if you can find a small piece of dog/deer fencing (3 feet x 3 feet should be enough) (you need fencing where the gaps in the fence are large enough for the chickens to stick their heads through. Using the piece of fence, make a TeePee (like the American Indians lived in only smaller) out of the piece of fence. You do this by rolling one end tighter than the other end, so you get a cone. You want the wider (bottom) of the TeePee to be only a little larger than the outer circumference of your watering bowl. Once you get the TeePee the right size (you can use some wire to keep it fasten together). Then just put this TeePee over top of your watering bowl. The chickens will be able to slide their heads in to drink but won't be able to actually get into the water bowl or defecate in the water. Should keep your water cleaner for a much longer period of time. If your TeePee is too light and the chickens are knocking it over, get some tent spikes and spike it into the ground on at least two sides. You can use this type of guard for almost any type of waterer that sits on the ground, you just have to adjust the size of the TeePee so it fits over your waterer and the chickens can still reach the water. Chickens will always get dirt into the water. Even if they are just drinking, they are constantly pecking the ground and therefore their beaks will always be dirty. Eventually you will have to clean the water.
While cold is not a problem for where I live (Brisbane Au) My experience with water heaters is the thermostat sticks and they either burn out or over heat the water. But if using a water heater inside a plastic bucket then I'd put it on or inside ceramic garden pot which is spaced off the floor of the bucket. That would allow drainage into the bucket through the drain hole.
I've been using chicken cups (not the ones with that little nipple in it) in a 5 gal bucket and so far I really like that. I ran a 3/4" pvc pipe from outside of the run connected to the ceiling and with an elbow above where the 5 gal bucket sits it goes down from there. Attached to the elbow I have a nipple and an inlet hose about 2' long from a garden hose reel with a normal sprayer nozzle on the end. I just run the hose to the outside of the run where I hook up the hose to the pvc pipe and then go into the run and fill up the 5 gal bucket. What I am finding out though, is I have 5 chickens and they don't even come close to drinking up all that water in the bucket. I also have a 5 quart waterer (plastic) that I used when they were baby chicks. I usually keep that filled with water and 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in it. Anyway, the 5 gal bucket I'm usually cleaning out way before they even drink a quarter of it. It doesn't get dirty inside, because I have a lid on it but I keep seeing people say, they need fresh water almost daily. Can they continue to drink out of that 5 gal bucket all the way until it's finished? I like this bucket idea, Keep it under the roof of the run where the water doesn't heat up. Thanks, I know this was kind of long.
I recently introduced that new nipple waterer to our girls and they haven't been getting the hang of it; I really like the peanut butter trick you mentioned; so clever. I will give that a try right away!
I do a 55 gallon rain catching system with a fish tank pump . With a fish tank heater . With pvc pipes that go indoor and out. I use the cups . Never freezes Use year round . Never have to fill it . I don’t like filling . Aromatic food too don’t have to fill for 3 or 4 months
Great vlog. I use the 2 gal bucket with the old style chicken nipple. It does leak a little bit here on Arizona in the summer it is ok! I keep coop floors wet anyway! Keep up the great vlogs!
Great video, i've been trying myself to find the systems that works the best for me. I found your dripp system vid about a year ago. And it works great. Definetly the way to go in my opinion. Keep it up, always like your content!
Love those options, thank you. I'm considering adding a UV light to my rain barrel as it flows to the PVC nipples..any thoughts ? Maybe also an aquarium oxygenator.
The funniest thing I've noticed is when I fill the chickens water Bowl. They don't drink the filtered water from the bowl they drink the water that splashes out and puddles on the ground.. I love them, but they are nature's D student.
I've heard that you take a soda bottle fill it with rock salt and water and drop it in your PVC pipe water nipple system and that will keep it from freezing. I made one last year and it froze and broke.
This was super helpful! Thanks for detailing them for us. Have you found a good solution for watering both chickens and geese with the same waterer? We're raising up some guard geese & I'd like to accommodate both in one solution if I can. I'm planning to try the little nipples where it's a small red cup with a yellow knob that they peck to make the water fill the cup. I'm kind of doubting it'll get full enough for the goose to clean its bill though so we'll see.
Why do you need to clean every day or every other day I use a milk jug and it gets a little Algae then I will clean it just asking because we just started raising chickens thanks
I meant to comment on the video about moving the wood furnace but got sidetracked. Any how you need to start planting some hardwoods or finding a source near by. As one who has used a wood stove for 50 years you can't believe the difference in heat and lasting time. Also you need to get farther ahead in the processing of your wood. Unseasoned wood in a stove is wasted time, effort and can be dangerous. God bless.
We plant from 10-20 hardwoods each year. So far mostly hickory but will also be planting black walnut, oaks, and other nut trees. We will use them for wood and nuts for animals as they grow.
I like the video but have a prob with summer watering there comments about the water lasting 3to5 days what about the heat of the water it has to be very hot water after a day animals control there body temperature with cold water the green aliguy building up in the hose and bucket so how do u keep it clean and cool
I have never had an issue with algae since that needs sunlight to grow. As long as you fill it with fresh water every few days it stays clean. If you just install it in the shade it isn’t bad
Not a fan of them myself, good for ducks but not chickens. They still end up getting dirty and you have to scoop out the dirty water, also impossible to keep from freezing in winter.
