It is very important that chickens always have access to fresh water. The most basic waterers are an open bowl or a bowl with an attached reservoir. The problems with this type are many. They don’t usually hold a lot, requiring refilling at least daily perhaps more often than that. They also tend to turn quickly into wash basins where the birds stick their dirty feet and you end up with a muddy mess. If it’s hanging so that they can’t kick dirt in it, they’ll bat it around until all the water spills out. This is where an automated chicken watering system comes in. These primarily take the form of watering nipples and cups come in.
Watering Nipples and Cups
A chicken nipple is a device that screws in to some water source and has a joystick-like toggle that sticks out. When a chicken pecks at it, it drips a little water. These are nice because, since the water source is not accessible, there’s no way for the chickens to spoil it. They are also generally resistant to freezing. Sometimes this is combined with a small cup underneath. When a chicken drinks from the cup, it pushes the nipple with its beak and this causes the cup to refill. The cup is nice because it’s a more natural drinking motion and also allows chickens to dip their entire beak in the water, which is a common way to cool off. I found these cups to be problematic though, because my birds didn’t make the connection of pecking the toggle to fill the cup and if the cup was empty, they would just go around thirsty. Instead I like to use auto-filling watering cups. You can find these made by every randomly name generator manufacturer, but I’ve had good luck with those from RentACoop. These are similar to the nipple style, but are spring-loaded, so when they become empty they automatically refill. This means my chickens always have a little bit of water to dip their heads into. If you’re in an area prone to freezing, this wouldn’t be the best option, but here in Florida where freezing isn’t a problem and it’s almost always sweltering, having some cool water is a necessity. You can get the cups attached to a bucket as a “complete system” or make your own using your own bucket or hose and PVC pipe. If you do connect directly to a water hose, you’ll need something to reduce the pressure significantly, like this adjustable in-line water pressure regulator.
Other Types of Chicken Coop Automation
There are many things you can do to improve the safety and comfort of your chickens while reducing the amount of labor you need to expend daily. For more ideas, take a look at our list of ideas for making a low-maintenance backyard chicken coop.