Homemade Poultry Waterer

Raising poultry is a good way to produce meat and eggs, or simply have an unusual pet at home. Poultry needs available water at all times. Buying poultry dispensers can be expensive compared to homemade solutions. For small flocks, recycling a few household items is a cost-efficient alternative, while building an automatic waterer based on a commercially used system from scratch for larger flocks, can save money and time.

  1. Small flock

    • For small flock, one to five chickens, the cheapest way for you to make a water dispenser is to use a plastic milk or juice bottle. Fill the bottle with water, poke a 3/8-inch hole ½-inch from the bottom, and put it in a 8-inch pan with tall sides. It works because the water flows out of the bottle from the hole until the hole is under the water level. Once under the water level, no more air can get in the bottle to replace the water. The air inside the bottle expands until it cannot expand any more and the flow of water stops. This system allows for a constant level of water in the bowl, as the water refills it each time the level drops below the hole.

    Large flock

    • For larger flock, the previously mentioned system--even with 5-gallon buckets--can become tedious to maintain. For example, just 10 ducks can go through 2 gallons of water a day. The best system to use for a large flock is watering nipples based on commercial systems. The goal is to create a system that doesn't need to be refilled using a water level valve connected to a hose, or only needs to be refilled once a week or less. The watering nipples are connected to a ¾-inch PVC pipe and allow the poultry to drink when they desire. On the other end of the system is a 55-gallon container of that holds the water. Such a system does not need to be air tight as the nipples only dispense water when the poultry pushes on them. Using nipples also has an advantage over regular poultry water dispensers, as it keeps the water cleaner and does not need to be cleaned as often.

    Caution

    • When building your waterer, remember to use food-grade materials and not reuse anything that contained oil or other petroleum products. Also, make sure you can access every part of the system with ease, as regular maintenance will keep your system working for years. While nipples are very reliable, you might want to get a gutter covered with chicken wire under it to collect and carry away from the coop any water running from a damaged nipple.