# What is the best type of waterer?



## tigris1997 (Feb 15, 2013)

I am gone about 10 hours each day, and while I am home most to all of my time goes to my chickens and chicks. Usually when i get home everybody is great, they just want some attention. However, even though I have people coming and going who check on the chicks, my mason jar waterer (the red) gets very dirty by the time I get home. I also have a rabbit waterer with a ball tip that I tried today, but it leaks. Should I go buy another one, or is there a better type?


----------



## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

that red waterer only holds 1 quart
as they get older they will drink more than that
for now i would get a 1 gallon waterer with a screw on base
don't get the snap on type, they may leak 
also put that feeder & waterer up on a couple of bricks or blocks of wood
that type of feeder & waterer should be at the level of their back
they are too low so you will now get lots of poop in them 
now once they get some age to them & are out in a coop we go with a 5 gallon bucket 
with 4 nipples in the bottom for a waterer
ours has been fitted with a tank heater because it can reach -20f here in the winter.

good luck
piglett


----------



## Australorp (Dec 28, 2012)

tigris1997, I have been using The Thirsty Chick drinker for my chicks and it works great, clean water all day. I put a flat cinder block under it to keep the area cleaner as the chicks like to drink from it and a little water still hits the ground and I do not have to worry that a chick might be drowned in a ground waterer. Take a look at thethirstybird.com and see what you think. I will use two Thirsty Chicks for my new 10 chicks and that will last them all day usually.


----------



## rich (Mar 9, 2013)

I found HORIZONTAL WATERING NIPPLES on Ebay they are 100% better than vertical. They do not leak! They work on any gravity fed system. You can use a 5 gal. pail or add a float valve to auto fill from your water hose.


----------



## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

That's nice! Wish I had some money to get those.


----------



## farmhand (Feb 5, 2013)

rich said:


> *I found HORIZONTAL WATERING NIPPLES on Ebay they are 100% better than vertical. They work on any gravity fed system. You can use a 5 gal. pail with a float valve to auto fill from your water hose.*


Please explain why you believe these are better than nipples you would mount on the bottom of a bucket?


----------



## rich (Mar 9, 2013)

I believe that the horizontal nipples are better number one they don't leak. They will not leak even if you have the angle of the dangle off. Reason two I am not stuck in one spot where I am set up to hang the waterer. I can move it any where and set it down. I now have mine mounted flush to the wall the birds can't get on the pipe and poop on the nipples. Since there is no cup there is no place for trash to build up. Just plain easier cleaning. These were 5 for $13.00 or 10 for $21.00 with shipped free. I spent three times that on the others and wasted that much again in water leaks! I had nothing but trouble with the others and I think I tried them all.


----------



## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

rich said:


> I believe that the horizontal nipples are better number one they don't leak. They will not leak even if you have the angle of the dangle off. Reason two I am not stuck in one spot where I am set up to hang the waterer. I can move it any where and set it down. I now have mine mounted flush to the wall the birds can't get on the pipe and poop on the nipples. Since there is no cup there is no place for trash to build up. Just plain easier cleaning. These were 5 for $13.00 or 10 for $21.00 with shipped free. I spent three times that on the others and wasted that much again in water leaks! I had nothing but trouble with the others and I think I tried them all.


my nipples in the bottom of my 5 gallon bucket work great & they don't leak. i added a heater inside for the winter so the water would not freeze
now it's warming up i can remove the heater till next season.
i ordered my nipples from QC Supply for about $1.20 each
i got 10 of them.

piglett


----------



## rich (Mar 9, 2013)

*If vertical nipples work for you great. I had no luck with them.*


----------



## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

rich said:


> *If vertical nipples work for you great. I had no luck with them.*


 i think some are cheep knockoffs
mine are stainless steel in the center & never drip


----------



## rich (Mar 9, 2013)

I agree that there are knockoffs unfortunately you can't tell by the price. I started out with stanless steel. My girls would push the weights out the back. Since they were in a pvc pipe the only way to get the weight was to take it all apart.


----------



## farmhand (Feb 5, 2013)

Just got some of those cheap drippers in the mail today. I'll see how they work.


----------



## CarolynF (May 1, 2013)

For about 2 years I've been using the vertical style nipples and they work great. I use an O-ring to get a nice snug fit. No drips at all. 
Originally I used the PVC pipe but it's hard to clean if/when it's needed. (It only takes one time of getting something nasty in the water to make that very obvious.) 

Even with my chicks I put together a small bucket & nipple waterer. (I get food grade buckets at the bakery) As they grew I was able to raise it. When they went outdoors it went with them, again raising or lowering as needed. They are very portable. I have friends that have put the nipples in bottles of various kinds & sizes. I bought mine on-line from QC Supply and they were under a dollar each, plus shipping of course. Several feed stores in our region have started selling them, too.

Whichever style you use, it's great to have plentiful, clean water.


----------

