If there is one thing that flock owners can attest to, it’s how easily a flock can make a mess when it comes to their waterers! Keeping your flock hydrated shouldn’t mean settling for frequent and messy waterer cleanings. Additionally, traditional waterers can be an invitation to frequent cleaning and unwanted bacteria growth for your flock’s main water source.
Poultry nipple water systems, however, are used by a number of farmers everywhere to hydrate not only their chickens, but turkeys, ducks, and newly hatched chicks as well! There are a number of advantages to using a poultry nipple watering system for your flock, that’s why we’ve compiled together a list of our favorite features of our very own Round-Top Coop EZ-Fill Waterers.
Disadvantages of a Traditional Waterer:
Constant Cleaning
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- For years traditional waterers have been the norm for flock owners everywhere, even despite their tedious maintenance. In order to maintain a clean water system for your flock, these waterers must be cleaned every other day. Even if slightly elevated, dust and algae will soon start to take over your flock’s only water source.
Elimination in Run Space
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- If you have a traditional waterer, chances are you have a chain hanging from the top to elevate it, or you have it placed in the middle of your coop’s run space. The constant entering, cleaning, and take-up in your flock’s run space may eventually become tiresome.
Cold-Weather Disadvantages
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- If you live in an area with yearly snowfall, you may already be considering how you will maintain your flock’s waterer from freezing. To ensure your flock’s water source does not freeze, you will have to invest in a costlier separate, heated waterer. Although there are heated waterers similar to that of the traditional red channel dish, you’ll likely still have the same repetitive routine of maintaining the cleanliness of the waterer.
Advantages of an EZ-Fill Waterer:
Low-maintenance Cleaning & Use
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- By far one of our favorite advantages of our EZ-Fill Waterers is the low-maintenance! The opaque, food-grade, and UV-resistant plastic that our waterers are made from will reduce or in most cases eliminate algae growth. The overhead design of this coop saves run space while eliminating any poop or dirt that your flock may introduce. Rather than cleaning multiple days a week, EZ-Fill Waterers only require cleaning up twice a year. When it does come time to clean your flock’s waterer, no scrubbing is necessary! Simply add distilled white vinegar and slosh the water in the tube. Once complete simply turn the waterer’s upward-facing tube down into a bucket or the ground. If desired, you can wipe away any dust that may naturally collect on the outside of the PVC.
Cold-Weather Advantages
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- One of our favorite advantages to our waterers is their simple freeze-proofing steps. In addition to the slotted cap that we include with the 4″ EZ-Fill Waterers, to freeze-proof your waterer you will need a submersible fish tank-style water heater and a cord cover that may be bought at Amazon. Heaters must have a thermostat and be designed to be fully submersible. When you see an upcoming freeze in your forecast, simply insert the submersible heater inside the tube. Generally something 50-100 watts will work in most locations. ***Immersion style coffee and soup heaters will not work.
Submersible Fish Tank-style Heater: https://a.co/d/9HEHUSD
Cord Cover: https://amzn.to/3m835N8
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- Our Freeze-Guard³ Poultry Drinker™ is also an essential part of freeze-proofing our watering system. In extremely cold conditions, standard poultry nipples can freeze even if you heat the water. With our freeze-guard poultry drinkers, no water is stored in the body of the device so there is nothing to freeze, additionally, the copper drink pin extends into heated water to conduct heat. Furthermore, the red shape of the outer drinker provides a windbreak for wind-freeze protection. ***Please note that our Freeze-Guard Poultry Drinkers are not recommended for juvenile & or bantam small breeds as they will have problems pecking hard enough to cause flow. Regular Poultry nipples are suitable for any age and breed of chicken.
Coop Specific Training Tips:
It’s pretty easy to teach your chickens or ducks how to use the poultry nipples of your waterer. Either method mentioned below is enough to teach them what to do. Once one chicken or duck figures it out, they all follow suit. You will also want to remove any other waterers while they are learning.
Roost-Over-Run Waterer Training:
If you own a Round-Top Backyard Coop, the best method to train your flock on using the waterer is to utilize a stick or a kabob skewer to activate the nipple and cause it to drip when a flock member is near. Teaching your flock with a Roost-Over-Run coop may take some time, but it only takes one flock member to learn and teach the rest.
Walk-In Waterer Training:
Our Round-top Walk-in coops allow for the ability to offer more training assistance to your flock members on how to use the waterer. You can either activate the nipple and cause it to drip when the chickens are near or hold a chicken and gently tap its beak against the waterer.
We hope you find this article helpful as you start or continue your backyard farming journey! If questions regarding anything mentioned in this blog post, reach out to us at 877-741-2667 or email us at support@roostandroot.com.
We’re real people and always happy to help!