In pure self-interest, I wanted to come up with something so that I wouldn’t have to feed and water the girls every day (or multiple times a day, like when they were little). You could get a jumbo version, but since chickens are pretty messy (just raise a few chicks if you don’t believe me), I didn’t want to need to clean the poop out of the water every day either, so I rigged up this chicken waterer system. It keeps the water elevated (out of poop range), and allows for infrequent fill-ups – you could attach the pipe to a 100 gallon tank if you wanted to, I suppose.
It’s simple to put together – for the most basic version, take some 1″ PVC, put a cap on one end, drill a hole in a bucket, and stick the other end in there. I added a couple elbows to change the level a bit, but same concept. The keys are these chicken nipples (not as dirty as it sounds). These screw into the PVC, albeit not perfectly, since the PVC won’t have threads, but with a little Teflon tape, they should be just about watertight. Put the whole thing up high enough that the chickens can easily get under the pipe to the nipples. Voila.
He has a future as a hand model…
I know this is ingenious, but I can’t take credit for the concept, as there are many other people who have similar set ups out there. Lots of people even tap into a water line, so you never have to fill anything. I just decided to keep the plumbing to a minimum. But no matter how you do it, creating an easy no-mess chicken waterer is a worthwhile investment.
Ingenious! We did something similar for the pigs, and I already have a bucket with a hole in it, so I’m anxious to try this. I invite you to share this at the HomeAcre Hop on Thursday.
After the heavy & tedious job of watering the chickens yet again today ( it has been very hot here and the gals are thirsty) I am inclined to try this waterer before the month is over. Thank-you.
Cool idea. Thanks for sharing on the HomeAcre Hop. Please come back and see us this week: http://everythinghomewithcarol.com/the-self-sufficient-homemaker-hop-3/
I made this water system for my darling hens too. The only thing I did different was to add a submersible aquarium water heater at the base of the water barrell close to the. Opening to the pipe that the nipples are fitted to. No ice water for my girls!
Where can you buy the right water nipple thanks for the help
There’s a link in the post, but I’ll also throw it here: chicken nipples. You may also be able to find them at an agricultural or garden supply store nearby.
You can find the nipples on line. I added a float valve to the bucket and I haven’t had to water my flock in weeks.