Cultivation of birds is a complex matter that requires compliance with a number of conditions, including with regard to ensuring proper drinking. So, in addition to food, in a chicken coop or cage there must be a drinking bowl with fresh drinking water at the rate of at least 0.5 liters per day for each bird. Such a design can not only be purchased, but also made with your own hands according to the instructions below.
Drinker Requirements
So that chickens can get comfortable access to water, it is important to use drinking bowls that have a number of characteristics, namely:
- Have a practical form. The tank should always be filled automatically or manually with water, therefore both chickens and the person must have free access to it.
- Resilient. Dishes in the chicken coop often move or tip over, for example, when fighting individuals. To minimize the likelihood of such "accidents", you need to install stable drinkers.
- Prevent water pollution. In order for individuals to drink clean water, it is necessary to prevent dust and other contaminants from entering it. For this, it must be of a closed type, since open structures are many times more likely to be infected by microorganisms, as well as pollution by dust and bird droppings.
- Made from safe and durable material. If the drinker is made of breakable or shatter material, then it may shatter into fragments during a fall and cause damage to the bird. In addition, it is not worth using metal structures, since metal can emit toxic vapor when it reacts with animal feces. So, the best option is plastic.
You can make a drinker that meets the above requirements with your own hands. Beginners can start by making simple models, but more experienced craftsmen can make vacuum, nipple, or drip drinkers.
Simple drinkers from improvised items
In order not to spend a lot of time on making drinkers and save on the purchase of special devices, you can make a simple design from a bucket or bottle. We consider each option separately.
From a plastic canister
To make such a drinker simple, simple:
- Wash an empty plastic canister well without using detergents.
- Screw on the lid and lay the canister on its side.
- Cut rectangular holes into the sides with a clerical knife, as shown in the photo below. Fill the container with water.
A similar drinker can be made from a 5-liter bottle. Only the bottle will stand, not lie on its side.
- Cut rectangular horizontal holes in the eggplant at a height of 10 cm from the bottom.
- Fill the container with water.
Vacuum drinker manufacturing methods
When keeping a small number of birds (5-10), it is advisable to make a vacuum drinking bowl. It is designed in such a way that the flow of water occurs automatically under the influence of atmospheric pressure. For the manufacture of a vacuum drinking bowl, you can use various vessels - from an old canister to a plastic bottle from lemonade. We consider the various options below.
From two bottles
The following materials are required:
- 1 bottle of 2.5 liters;
- 1 bottle per 5 l;
- 2 screws.
The assembly is assembled as follows:
- Trim the 5 liter bottle as shown in the picture. In the future, only the lower part with the cover will be used.
- Unscrew the lid from the second container and attach it to the inside of the lid from the 5-liter bottle using screws.
- In a 2.5-liter bottle, prepare a hole with a diameter of 6-7 mm:
- Screw the lid onto the 5 liter container with the lid secured from the second vessel.
- Dip the smaller bottle into the cut off 5-liter bottle and screw onto the cap. In the future, during the operation of the drinking bowl, to fill the 2.5-liter bottle with water, it will be necessary to unscrew the cap fixed on the larger vessel again. If the bottle is full, water from the prepared hole will be poured into the cut-off container, and fill it to the level of the hole itself.
- Fix the prepared structure to any support, for example, on the wall. To do this, a 2.5-liter bottle can be hung with a wire loop, and the drinker itself can be installed on two rods screwed into the wall.
When making such a vacuum drinking bowl, it is necessary to provide that the sides of the 5-liter bottle are located above the hole for the flow of water.
The following video demonstrates how to assemble a vacuum drinker from two bottles:
From tray and bottle
Using a tray (for example, a shallow can) and 1-2 l of a plastic bottle, you can make an automatic drinker, which is used in many households. In this case, you should choose a tray of the correct size. It should not be too wide, and its sides should be excessively low, because in this case the hens will bathe in it.
The instructions for making a drinking bowl are primitive:
- Make some small holes in the lid (approximately 3 mm in diameter).
- Put the bottle in a tin can upside down. Mark with a dot on the neck of the bottle the level to which the tin can should be filled. Make one round hole, and another 5 mm below it.
- Fill the bottle with water and place in the bath. When the birds drink part of the water, its volume will be replenished again, as water will spill from the vessel to the level of the hole. If the bottle is empty, it can be refilled with water.
A similar drinker can be assembled from a small diameter bowl and a 3-liter can. So, the size of the bath and vessel can be changed depending on the number of birds.
How to make nipple drinkers?
Similar designs are also automated, but they have a more complex structure, although they are popular both for adults and young chickens. Before assembling such a mechanism, it is worth evaluating its strengths and weaknesses.
Specifications
The advantages of such drinkers are as follows:
- Water saving. This is achieved thanks to its metered supply, so each bird receives the required amount of water. So, in comparison with drinking bowls of other types, the nipple design allows you to spend less water about 20-30 times. At the same time, its consumption can be further reduced by equipping the system with a droplet eliminator.
- Water pollution protection. The drinker is a closed type, so the water is not contaminated by dust, litter, etc.
- Easy operation. Maintenance of the nipple system consists only in periodically pouring clean water into the tank.
- Structural stability. Often, such a drinker is attached to the cell grate, so you don’t have to worry that the chickens will overturn it or it will roll over due to strong winds.
The disadvantage of the nipple system is that at the same time a limited number of chickens can drink water. In the summer season, this can lead to a crush near the drinker, especially after feeding. Of course, this drawback can be eliminated if the needs of chickens and the optimal number of nipples are correctly calculated in advance.
From plastic pipes
You can assemble a full nipple drinker for chickens according to the following instructions:
- Take a small piece of plastic pipe with a diameter of 2-3 cm. It is required to measure with a tape measure 60 cm, and mark every 10 cm with a simple marker. It is in these places that nipples will be installed.
- Cut off the excess pipe section using a metal saw or a special pipe cutter (scissors for cutting pipes). The cut may be uneven. In this case, it must be smoothed out by removing excess areas with a sharp knife.
- Prepare holes in marked pipe points using a drill bit. Work must be done carefully so as not to drill through the plastic. After drilling, it is worth blowing the pipe to eliminate plastic chips.
- Screw nipples into prepared holes. First it’s best to do it with your hands, and then you can use a wrench. The drinker does not imply strong pressure, so there is no need for seals.
- Put a plug at one end of the pipe, and a special wick at the other end that you need to buy in the store. To securely fasten the elements, you can use a special soldering iron for plastic pipes.
- Check the drinker for performance. To do this, you need to blow strongly into the wick. If everything works properly, you need to install special latches and attach the drinker to a suitable place.
If there are a lot of chickens on the farm, several nipple drinkers should be made and installed in different parts of the chicken coop.
Out of the bucket
It can be an old bucket or tank, but it is necessarily solid. It can be turned into a drinker in two steps:
- Cut 5-6 holes in the bottom of the container. Their optimum diameter is 9 mm.
- Screw the nipples into the holes. The design of such a part is designed in such a way that water flows only when it moves, which saves water.
Such a bucket should be hung in a chicken coop and pour water into it, which several chickens can drink at the same time. It is possible to increase the convenience of this design with the help of aluminum wire or a strong rope, having made a drinker handle from it.
In order for such a design to be protected from pollution, it is worth choosing a container, the upper edge of which is at the same level with the back of farmed birds.
It should be borne in mind that the dimensions of the drinking bowl can be different depending on what temperature conditions in the chicken coop or what kind of food is used. For example, if the temperature in the room does not fall below 18 degrees, then the volume of the drinker should not be more than 300 ml. From this calculation, you can determine the optimal size of the drinking bowl for your chicken coop.
From a bottle
A plastic bottle or 5 liter eggplant is used. The instructions for making the drinker are as follows:
- Drill a hole with a diameter of 9 mm in the cover.
- Screw the nipple into the hole.
- Close the bottle cap and cut off its bottom.
- Drill two symmetrical small holes at the edges of the container. Take a strong rope, the ends of which stretch through the holes and secure with a reliable knot. Thus, it will be possible to get a convenient drinker handle, with which it can be hung in a chicken coop or paddock, and then filled with water.
How to mount the nipple into the cover, see the video below:
Sewer long drinker
The principle of manufacturing this drinking bowl is similar to the principle of collecting the nipple system, however, it is assumed here to use a longer plastic pipe, and the design itself is open. To assemble it, you must adhere to the following instructions:
- Take a plastic pipe 1.5 m long and 15 cm in diameter. Install a plug at its one end, and a bend at the other.
- Attach the building level to the pipe and draw straight lines with a marker on both sides.
- Take a small squared bar with a length of 25-35 cm. Using it, make marks for future holes, the first of which should be outlined at a distance of 10-20 cm from the edge of the pipe. In addition, it is worth noting with a cross those parts that need to be cut. Such marks will help not to make a mistake and not spoil the pipe.
- Make small holes around the edges of the marked rectangles with a drill or screwdriver. To prevent the drill from slipping off, initially it is worth making small indentations with a nail or an awl.
- Having prepared the holes, use a jigsaw to cut the desired shape on the surface of the pipe. If any irregularities occur, they should be leveled with sandpaper so as not to scratch or cut the pipe, and also not to harm the chickens.
- After cutting all the holes, install special latches or latches, which after attach to the wooden stand.
The finished drinker can be put on the ground, and pour water through a bend. If desired, the pipe can be connected to the existing water supply network in order to simplify the process of filling it with water as much as possible.
Such a drinking bowl is not the best option for chickens, as they can choke with water or drown.
Features of Chicken Drinkers
For them, the best option would be to make a drinking bowl of a vacuum or nipple type. However, even when using such devices, it is worth making sure that the chickens do not choke in the vessel, into which water will come from the bottle. To maximize the safety of the drinking process, it is worth choosing dishes whose sides are not too high. It is also important to exclude drinking from a simple saucer with high edges, since in this case the chickens may choke or drown.
Regardless of the type, the drinker must be securely fixed so that the chickens are not able to overturn it. A similar “accident” can end for young animals with injuries and the development of various diseases due to wet litter.
So, there are many options for drinking bowls for chickens that you can do with your own hands. The most popular are vacuum and nipple systems. In the case of breeding a large farm, it is advisable to make a long drinker, and if it is planned to grow chickens, drip models will be the best option.