Autofill Drinking Cups

[BRandXX]

I am just adding the finishing touches to the coop and started looking at water supplies.

To save space in the coop / run I am considering distrbuting the water externally with either self filling cups or nipple type supplies internally.

If anyone has any experience or opinions of these 2 type of drinkers I would appreciate your advice. If not, then I may invest a couple of pounds for 5 of each type and have a play.

I think I have looked everywhere that I can think of in the forum to see if these items have been discussed previously but cannot see any threads, if they have been discussed then can someone point me in the right direction please.

Toodlepip

 

[Marigold]

Hi BRandXX, I don't remember anyone fitting these types of drinkers before, but they look interesting. If I was considering them, I would go for the second one, with the little cup to be filled with water. When you watch a chicken drink, you'll see that she fills her mouth with water, tips her head back, and lets the water run down her throat. With a nipple drinker, it isn't possible for a bird to drink in this normal way. I know many commercial outfits use this type of drinking nipple, and it does eliminate the problems of dirty water, but with the smaller number of birds involved for most hobby keepers, I think it should be possible to take that extra bit of trouble to ensure a constant supply of clean water in drinkers which are also cleaned regularly. You would also have the problems of pipework freezing in winter, and algae forming in the hose and attachments in summer, so not very easy to maintain.
How many sq. metres is your run, and how many birds do you intend to put in it? Maybe the space taken up by a normal drinker, perhaps one like the Omlet cups which hang on the wire netting, wouldn't make too much difference? I'm not sure if you were thinking of fixing the equipment in the coop - did you mean in the run? It's not a good idea to have either food or water installed in the coop itself, which should be for roosting and egg laying only.

 

[BRandXX]

Marigold 99 , Many thanks for the quick reply and advice, it is much appreciated.

Our coop is 1m square, with a Run of approx 4.5 sq m. We are only anticipating 3 or 4 hens (I want 4 but in my wifes culture 4 is a very unlucky number and 4 of anything is to be avoided at all costs, so it will probably only be 3). We intend that the birds will have access to a large open area for the majority of the time and only confined to the run when neccessary.

I have just ordered 5 each of the two types of cups. £4.20 total for ten cups with postage from China included. It's worth a look and will not break the bank.

Toodlepip

BRandXX

 

[Marigold]

How interesting - we'll like to know how you get on. How do you get the water into the delivery points? I have no mental picture of the setup, but imagine it must be something like the way people can use a mains connection and a pipework system for watering garden plants?
Three is a good number of hens for the size of your run, and with extra free roaming they will do well. However, do be aware that, depending on conditions where you live, fox attacks can be a real menace, especially in Spring and early summer when they have cubs to feed. Several people on here have had devastating attacks where their chickens were wiped out, sometimes in daylight, and even when they were in the garden with the hens. In some urban areas, this is more of a problem than in the countryside, where farmers often keep the fox population down. Urban foxes get very bold and are much less wary of people than country ones. Whereabouts do you live?

 

[BRandXX]

Whereabouts do you live?

Right in the middle of town but I am aware of some foxes in the vacinity. I will take what precautions I can.

I have alarmed the Coop / Run in the case of 4 or 2 legged predetors, and the "roaming" area is surrounded by a 7 foot high wall.

I will bare the foxes in mind but currently I am more worried about the two legged variety.

Toodlepip

BRandXX

 

[chrismahon]

They look a good idea BRandXX. Our mains pressure here is very high and they might not switch off. They may be designed for a gravity system with a water tank above, but that's not obvious from the pictures. Definitely worth experimenting.

Interesting you mention two legged predators- big problem in Staffordshire where chickens are stolen on a regular basis. We had to lock all the coops and later the nest boxes as we had an incident where they all stopped laying then, as if by magic, they all started again when the nest box lid had a padlock fitted!