This will help to keep the water fresh for longer and the water will stay refreshingly cool.

It is always best to place your waterer in a cool, shady location where it is easy to access and safe from extreme temperature changes. Once you’ve chosen a waterer for your flock, you need to start thinking about placement. It does however limit waste and in the long run, needs very little of your time making it worth it. This option is more on the expensive side, so if you have a small flock, one of the other options might work better for you. There is a little learning involved when you first set up automatic nipple drinkers, but your girls should figure it out quite quickly. This type of waterer can be set up from a self-contained source like a big drum or can be fed directly from the main water source. They provide easy access to water, require almost no maintenance, contamination is very rare and the mess is kept to a minimum. This type of chicken waterer is starting to become increasingly popular for chicken keepers with big flocks. This style of waterer can be hung up to keep soil and other debris from getting into the water. The more your hens’ drink, the more water will come out to fill the rim. This waterer needs to be manually filled and is gravity fed. They are usually quite cheap and normally do a good job of giving your flock access to water while keeping the water clean and from spilling.īell chicken waterers are available in both plastic and metal versions and get their name from their bell-like shape. When the sides are too low, you have the problem of water getting soiled and will need to replace it several times a day.īell waterers are one of the most common chicken waterers among chicken keepers. When your chickens need to reach into the container, it can become quite difficult to drink. It can also become a problem if the water level drops. Debris and even small animals easily find their way into the water making it undrinkable. On the other side, they can be quite a pain to keep clean. It is a cheap option and your hens should have no difficulties using this type of waterer. It is simply an open container that allows your hens to dip in their beaks for a drink. Bucket, Container or Trough Chicken Waterers.This goal is to give your girls access to fresh water while keeping the water clean and inside the waterer. Despite all the different ways chicken waterers are designed, they all have the same goal. All of them work differently making your choice so much harder. There are quite a number of different designs when it comes to chicken waterers. It is always best to have backup waterers just in case your chickens manage to knock the main waterer over or soil it completely. You also need to make sure that the water is clean and fresh every day. More is always better since accidents like spilling do happen. For this reason, it is best to have at least one litre of water available per chicken every day. On very hot days a chicken may drink up to a litre of water a day. It may seem that your girls just take a sip here and there during the day, you will be absolutely shocked to know how much they really drink.Ī chicken will usually drink around half a litre of water a day depending on the weather. Having more than one waterer is also not a bad idea. It is best if you know how much water a chicken drinks per day to make sure you get a big enough waterer for your entire flock. This means what you will be looking for in a chicken waterer is that it is difficult for your chickens to spill it or mess in it while still giving them easy access to drink. Chicken waterers need to be of a superior design so that they don’t tip over easily or become soiled too quickly.Ĭhickens make all kinds of messes so your waterer needs to be designed in a way that dirt and debris cannot be scratched into it, but still allow your flock easy access to fresh, clean water. Unfortunately, it is not quite as simple to set up a chicken waterer as it sounds. To help you out, we have put together a guide so you can make the right choice from the start.Ĭhicken waterers, also known as chicken drinkers, is an essential device that holds your flock’s water while keeping it cool and clean. You will quickly learn that one size does most definitely not fit all chickens. Most chicken keepers will tell you that choosing a chicken waterer is serious business. However, you are in for a rude awakening. Most imagine it to be as easy as filling up an old dish or bucket like you would for the household dog or cat.

Most first-time chicken keepers imagine that keeping their flock’s water clean is an easy feat.

Chicken water feeder