In order to avoid any illnesses that other birds might bring over by using our chicken’s waterer, I decided to make a waterer with nipples. I didn’t use the water pipe to attach nipples because, first we only have 2 hens and the effort would not be worth it. Second, we don’t have a clean water source near our coop.
I decided to use a beverage cooler jug. I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it during winter because nipples would freeze in freezing temperatures, but at least water would stay cool during summer and it was small enough to fit in the coop.
I’ve got a pack of 5 poultry nipples and ½ beverage cooler jug. We used drill bits to open holes on the bottom edge of the jug, referring to the manual inserted in the pack. We wrapped thread tape around the screw parts of the nipples and screwed the nipples into the holes.
It was fairly simple and took us about 10 minutes to properly insert the nipples and make sure they do not leak. We didn’t need to use silicone sealant.
It took a week or so for the girls to figure out how the waterer nipples work. We have been using this since last fall. We put it away when temps were below freezing and used the galvanized waterer with heater underneath to prevent it from freezing.
It’s just another safety precaution to keep our chickens healthy, especially with all the bird flu news in northern states.
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