It is very important to provide chickens with sufficient clean and fresh water in a timely manner. Proper watering of chickens contributes to better food processing and, consequently, to an increase in egg production in laying hens and an increase in mass and meat breeds of chickens.
In order for your birds to always have clean and fresh water, it is necessary to provide the house with a good drinker. The stores offer a large number of options, both for large farms and for private farmsteads.
It’s clear with stores - I came, bought, installed. But what if there are not enough funds or it is simply impractical to install purchased drinking systems in view of the small number of livestock? In this article, we will consider several options for making do-it-yourself drinkers for chickens. First of all, it is worth finding out what types of drinkers exist.
Drinking systems are classified into:
- Nipple;
- Cup;
- Vacuum (or siphon);
- Simple containers for water.
Simple open drinking containers
It is clear with simple drinkers - these are, as a rule, various basins, buckets, bowls, bowls made of plastic, galvanized or enameled iron.
Such containers for drinking have a lot of disadvantages. Firstly, chickens can easily knock them over, leaving the whole herd without drinking. Secondly, the birds are constantly swarming, and the water in such drinkers will always be dirty, with garbage and droppings, so it will have to be changed several times a day.
It is advisable to use ordinary open containers as drinkers for chickens. For example, for daily allowances, you can put a saucer, place a jar in the center (so that they cannot climb into the container) and pour water. It is only necessary to ensure that they do not spill water - wet chickens can die from hypothermia.
vacuum
Such drinkers are also called siphon. They are optimally suited for a small herd of chickens (about 10-12 heads). The principle of operation is quite simple - the water in the pressure vessel does not pour out, remaining in a vacuum. In general, it is easier to show how such a drinker works.
Making a homemade vacuum drinker is quite simple. Water is poured into the container, then a saucer or a not very deep bowl is placed on top of the throat (for example, if a glass jar) on small wooden spacers. After that, the container is turned over. At first some water will pour out, but then it will stop flowing out. Water will fill the bowl as it is used up.
In stores, by the way, you can find a special bowl for such a drinker. It has already been deepened. It remains only to pour water into the container.
The disadvantage of such a drinking system is that chickens can easily turn over the container. Therefore, sometimes a finished product can be a good option. They are inexpensive. The version on legs is especially good - it is more stable.
Photo: shop vacuum drinking bowlCup
It is difficult to assemble such a system with your own hands, it is better to buy a ready-made one. The device of drinking bowls for chickens of this type is quite simple: a cup and a tongue with a valve are fixed on the base. The tongue is on the surface of the water and, as it decreases, opens the valve, after which the water fills the cup again to the required level.
drinking bowl sample
On top of the whole structure there is an adjusting screw that allows you to adjust the water level in the cup. Water enters through the fitting to which the hose is connected. The other end of the hose is connected to a container of water.
Nipple
Such drinkers are also called drip. The principle of operation is simple: water enters a PVC pipe, into which nipples are screwed at a certain distance. Water enters this pipe from some container, for example, a plastic canister, installed at a level above the structure. In fact, it turns out an automatic drinker, it remains only to add water to the container.
Nipple drinker for chickensMany novice poultry farmers often ask which drinker is better. We answer: nipple (drip) - perhaps the most reliable and effective. It can be installed both in open areas, in poultry houses, in chicken cages. But to make it at home, it will take time, some parts and tools. We devoted a separate article to this chicken watering system: which will help you learn all about drip drinkers for chickens.
Dimensions of drinkers for laying hens
The most important thing is that chickens should not get into the water, collect garbage and droppings there, and at the same time they could get free access to water.
The stores sell drinking systems of certain sizes, both for young and adult birds. When making homemade drinkers, consider the most important thing - chickens should not climb into the water, scoop up garbage and droppings there, and at the same time they could get free access to water.
Chicken drinker height
This parameter plays a very important role. Drinkers must be installed at a height that corresponds to the age of the bird. More details on the photo:
Important! Before you assemble the drinker and install it, keep in mind that chickens must reach for water. This allows the liquid to freely enter the goiter of the bird.
Winter drinkers for chickens. Some useful ideas and examples
Heated drinkers are relevant for poultry houses that are not heated in the winter. Water can freeze in sub-zero temperatures, and the chickens will be left without a drink.
You can, of course, bring the container after each meal and take it out with fresh, slightly warmed water to a new one. And this is the last option if there is no electricity in the chicken coop (you can use various long-lasting candles, but open fire in the coop is very dangerous).
If there is electricity, then we will show you how easy and simple it is to make a warm drinker yourself, and in several versions, your chickens will always be provided with clean and fresh drink in winter.
Do-it-yourself winter drinking bowl from an ordinary light bulb
We found this idea on the site detikukuruzy.ru (photo from the same site). The principle is very simple: an ordinary incandescent lamp is installed in a metal box. A small hole is left at the top of the box. Next, the drinker is placed on this box.
The heat from the light bulb keeps the water from freezing. Can't make a box? Then here's an easier option for you:
The light bulb is mounted inside a cinder block (or foam block) and a drinking bowl is placed on it.
There is also an option from a gift tin box. The principle is the same:
Chuck mounted
Drinking bowl for winter: option with a heating cable
To heat the water in the drinker, you can use a heating cable, which is used when installing underfloor heating. Such a cable can be bought at hardware stores and sold there by the meter.
We wrap the capacity of the drinker (in the case of the photo above it is nipple), we thoroughly isolate all the connections and connect it to the network.
Vacuum drinker heating with a heating cableUsing a heating cable, you can easily provide automatic heating. To do this, buy a special unit that regulates the on and off. When the water cools to a certain temperature, the cable will begin to heat it to the optimum. This is a costly option, but applicable with a large number of chickens.
Anti-freeze drinker
It sounds, of course, pretentious, because unheated water will still freeze at sub-zero temperatures, but still there is a way. It is especially relevant in cold weather, when the temperature outside is about -10 degrees.
The whole point is to place the container of the drinker in another larger container and fill the space between the two containers with mounting foam.
Homemade drinkers for chickens from a sewer pipe
From a plastic pipe that is used for sewage, you can make quite reliable and efficient wall-mounted drinking bowls with your own hands. Such devices are convenient not only for chickens, but also for their owners, as they are easy to fill and drain water, as well as clean and wash.
What you need
- Drill or screwdriver with a drill;
- Electric jigsaw or hacksaw saw;
- Plastic sewer pipe (length at your discretion);
- Two 90 degree bends or two plugs instead;
- two mounts;
How to make a homemade plastic pipe drinker for chickens: a step-by-step description of the process
We draw a straight line along the entire length of the pipe. Holes will be cut on this line. Draw the outline of future holes with a marker. They should be oval, about 20-30 cm long.
We drill a hole with a drill so that the file from the jigsaw moves freely in it.
Cut out.
Now it remains to fix the drinker on the wall with fasteners. The ends of the pipe can be plugged or branches can be inserted into them, through which water can be easily drained and filled.
Do not forget to process the edges of the cut holes with sandpaper so that the birds do not get hurt.
A hanging drinker for chickens from a sewer pipe is ready.
Automatic water supply to drinking bowls from pipes
Homemade version, made of a nipple, a cork from a wine bottle, a metal plate and wire.
Another idea is to make your own automatic chicken drinker. Fittings from the toilet bowl are used. Water is supplied through a hose.
Drinkers from plastic bottles
You can make a drinking bowl for chickens in a few minutes from improvised means, for example, from plastic bottles.
The easiest option: in a five-liter butyl, at a distance from the bottom, we cut out several round holes in a circle. The holes should be such that the bird can freely stick its head in and drink. The bottle can be hung or attached to the wall.
Drinking cup from a regular 1.5-liter bottle:
Vacuum drinker from a plastic bottle and a container:
Surely every farmer who breeds chickens knows how important it is to properly feed them. But, in addition to a quality menu, birds should always have clean and fresh water. After all, like humans, animals can be without water for much less time than without food. In order to fully satisfy the need of your pets for water, everyone can make drinking bowls for chickens from plastic bottles with their own hands. How exactly to do this, we will try to make out now!
Drinker Features
If you want your chicken farm to prosper and continuously provide you with fresh eggs and meat, take care of its proper maintenance. The amount of water that one chicken needs to consume depends on its age, temperature, and diet. But the average should be about 0.5 liters of water per day. Using a regular container or bucket to provide chickens with water is not entirely correct.
Often it turns out that the birds trample there with their paws, thus soiling the container itself and the water in it. In addition, water from an open container is easily splashed on the floor and your chickens end up in a swamp, which is naturally not very good. Therefore, it is recommended to use closed-type drinkers. They are easy to make with your own hands and today we will consider the option of a drinking bowl made of plastic bottles. In the next video, we suggest you see exactly how to do it yourself.
Plastic is an inexpensive and practical material. And almost everyone has plastic containers on the farm, so the cost of such a device is minimal. The design can be a simple five-liter bottle with a hole, or a nipple drinker, also made on the basis of a five-liter container. Any designs from such containers are very practical, they serve for a long time, and are made very quickly.
How to make your own?
To make a cup for chickens with your own hands, you need a minimum of skill. The convenience of such a device is that it can be made automatic and the water will replenish itself as it decreases. The only thing you need to follow is to replenish the supply of water in the tank on time. The simplest version of a drinker is just a bottle with a hole at a small distance from the bottom (15-20 cm), which is placed in a tray or bowl.
Some go further and make a nipple drinker based on a five-liter container. Nipple designs are good in that chickens do not have the opportunity to climb into them with their feet and stain the water with droppings, as they are suspended in the air. However, their disadvantage is that several chickens cannot drink from such a drinker at the same time, so you need to correctly calculate their number so that there is no fight among the birds.
Easy option
So, in order to make the simplest drinking bowl for chickens based on a five-liter container with your own hands, you will need:
- the bottle itself is 5 liters;
- bowl, tray or other container;
- sharp knife.
Step-by-step instruction
- Take a large bottle and make a hole in it at a height of 15-20 cm from the base.
- Fill it with water, covering the hole with your hand or finger at this time.
- Then put it in a bowl or other container and open the hole. Water will flow out of it to the level of the hole and will be replenished as the water decreases.
Nipple Cup
In order to make a nipple design with your own hands, prepare:
- five-liter bottles in the right amount;
- nipple according to the number of plastic containers;
- awl to make holes.
Step-by-step instruction
- In the lid of a large container, make a hole with an awl or other convenient tool.
- Insert a nipple into it, and cut off the bottom of the bottle so that it is easy to add water there as needed.
- Hang the bowl in the chicken coop and it is ready for use.
vacuum design
There is another design that is made from two plastic containers - this is a vacuum drinker. In order to make it at home you need to have:
- a bottle of 5 liters;
- smaller containers (for example, 1.5 liters or 2 liters);
- self-tapping screws.
Step-by-step instruction
- The neck of a five-liter container is cut off so that a kind of bowl is obtained.
- Next, we take a container of a smaller volume and insert it into our bowl, fasten the lids of both bottles with self-tapping screws, so that there is a neck in the neck (see photo above).
- Further, in the bottle inserted into the bowl, punctures are made below the sides of the bowl. It is through these punctures that water will flow into the drinker itself.
- Water is poured through the neck of the bottle inserted into the bowl, the structure is turned over and fixed in a convenient place. We suggest watching the next video to see how the design should look like in the end.
Photo gallery
Video "How to make a nipple drinker for chickens"
This video clearly shows the entire sequence of steps for making a do-it-yourself plastic nipple drinker!
In order for chickens to please with decent performance indicators, proper conditions for their maintenance should be created. The bird must drink enough water. On average, she can drink up to 0.5 liters per day. A bucket or open water container is not very convenient to use in a chicken coop, as birds can knock over the tank.
A great alternative is a closed-type drinker, which you can make yourself for chickens from a plastic bottle. This is a really profitable solution, since the material for the manufacture of this design, for sure, is in any household. In order to make a drinker, a two- or five-liter bottle will be enough.
It is advisable to choose a container from under clean water, and also do not forget to replace it in time. After all, plastic does not last long.
We do it ourselves
The easiest way is to make your own automatic vacuum drinker. The presence of such a device will automate the process of supplying water to the birds. The main thing is to replenish its stocks in a container in a timely manner. For these purposes, a bottle is suitable, which is enough to place in a bowl.
In addition, it is possible to create even a nipple drinker from a five-liter container. The advantage of this design is that it is suspended in the air, and a regular ball nipple is inserted into the cap. Chickens do not have the opportunity to be in a tank of water and dirty it with dirty paws.
From a 5 liter container
The manufacture of such a device does not require special knowledge and skills. All that is needed is to prepare a 5-liter bottle, a bowl and a sharp knife.
Step-by-step instruction
- In the bottle, you need to form a hole at a distance of 15 cm from its base. You can do several.
- Place the container in a convenient bowl larger than the bottom of the container.
- Fill the bottle with water while covering the opening with your hand.
- Finally, it remains to open the hole, as a result of which the water will pour out to a certain level, and as it decreases, it will be replenished.
Automatic from a regular bottle
Note that in practice, the vacuum drinker for chickens turned out to be the most convenient. At the same time, it will not be difficult to make it with your own hands. To make an autodrinker, you will need a five- and two-liter bottle, as well as self-tapping screws.
Step-by-step instruction
- From a five-liter bottle, it is necessary to form a bowl by cutting off the neck from the container.
- A two-liter bottle should be placed in the resulting bowl and fasten the lids of both containers with self-tapping screws so that the neck of one tank goes into the neck of the other.
- After that, in a 2-liter container, it is necessary to make punctures below the edges of the bowl, through which water will pass into the cup.
- As soon as the two-liter bottle is filled with water, the structure must be turned over and fixed in a suitable place. The following video (Pticevod.info channel) will help you understand what this device for chickens will look like.
It should be noted that such drinkers are easy to use, stable, safe and durable. Thus, the chickens will always have access to clean water. However, to avoid damage to the bird, the edges of homemade automatic drinking bowls should be carefully processed. In winter, to protect water from freezing, you can use heating elements, which are also quite possible to do with your own hands. Aquarium heaters are also perfect for this.
Those who breed poultry know that it needs not only food, but also a sufficient amount of water. Particularly acute in constant access to fresh water are small chickens, which today are fed with special feed and mixtures for accelerated growth - such food must be washed down with plenty of liquid.
There are many different designs on sale, designed for adult chickens and for young animals. But, despite the whole range, most poultry houses continue to use simple bowls or other open containers for water.
This article will be about the dangers of open tanks, the types of closed-type drinking bowls, as well as how you can make them yourself from ordinary plastic bottles.
Why the drinker must be closed
The disadvantages of open drinkers for poultry are obvious, these are:
- clogging of drinking water with food, manure and bedding elements;
- ingress of insects and harmful bacteria into the water;
- the possibility of turning the drinker;
- rapid evaporation of water from an open container.
Even the simplest closed-type drinker for chickens, made with your own hands from a plastic bottle, has a lot of advantages over open structures. Among other things, these are:
- protection of water from foreign objects and substances;
- clear dosing of water, the amount of which can be easily calculated taking into account the number of chickens;
- a small chicken will not be able to get wet in such a drinker, drown or get cold;
- the ability to independently regulate the amount of incoming water;
- the cost of a homemade drinking bowl from a plastic bottle will be zero;
- plastic is durable, which means that you can use the drinker for a long time;
- even if a plastic bottle drinker breaks down or becomes clogged, it can be easily replaced with a new one using another bottle.
Important! The amount of water a chick needs per day depends on several factors, among others, the type of feed, the age of the chick, and the room temperature. On average, it is generally accepted that a chicken needs about 0.5 liters of clean water per day.
How to make a drinker for chickens from plastic bottles with your own hands
There are many ways to make poultry drinkers using plastic containers. This can be done from ordinary one and a half liter bottles, and from bottles of five or ten liters, many use plastic buckets from building mixtures or food products for this purpose. The choice of container and its size depends, first of all, on the number of chickens and their age.
There are also many designs of drinkers for chickens, they are difficult to manufacture: they can simply be fixed horizontally and cut along open drinkers, or they can be closed-type drinkers that supply water gradually.
The simplest drinker for chickens from a bottle
The simplest and safest drinker for chickens is made in one minute. To make it, you will need a bottle with a capacity of 1.5 or 2 liters, a sharp knife and wire.
To begin with, the bottle must be closed with a lid - so the container will not be deformed during cutting. Now the bottle must be placed horizontally and several round or oval parts should be marked with a marker or pen - these will be holes for the bird's heads.
Holes are cut out according to the outlined contours, the resulting drinker is fixed on the wall of the barn or cage with a wire.
Attention! In this embodiment, it is very important to maintain the correct size of the holes: if they are small, the chickens will not be able to get drunk from the drinker, through holes that are too large, the bird will be able to crawl inside the bottle, cripple or choke.
Given these factors, it can be concluded that such drinkers are more suitable for adult birds than for constantly growing chickens.
Vacuum drinker from plastic bottles
The principle of operation of purchased vacuum drinkers is that water gradually fills a container or reservoir - liquid is added when its level becomes critically low.
It is quite simple to make a vacuum drinking bowl with your own hands, for this you need:
- a large five-liter bottle;
- plastic bottle of 1.5 or 2 liters;
- lids from both containers;
- knife or scissors;
- self-tapping screws;
- wire.
The whole process of making a vacuum chick drinker can be easily described in a few paragraphs:
- From a five-liter bottle, you need to cut off the neck - somewhere around a fifth of the container.
- The lid of a small bottle is inserted inside the large lid and fastened together with a self-tapping screw with a nut.
- A one and a half or two-liter bottle is screwed into a previously fixed cap.
- In a small bottle, a hole is made with a diameter of about 5-8 mm, it should be located in the upper part of the bottle so that the cut edge of the large container passes above the hole.
- Water is collected in a whole bottle, screwed with a lid.
- The drinker is turned over and fixed in pre-prepared fixtures on the cage wall.
The principle of operation is based on the pressure difference - water will flow into the cut bottle when the hole in the small bottle is above the liquid level.
Important! The advantage of a vacuum drinker is that several chickens can drink from it at the same time, which is the best suited for large poultry houses.
Nipple drinker for chickens
The main advantage of a nipple drinker is that the chicken will not be able to get wet or choke in any way - the water will flow out in tiny doses and only when the bird needs it.
You can also make a nipple drinker from a plastic bottle. In addition to the tank itself, you only need a drill, a nipple (sold in markets and stores) and a sealant (water tape, sealant or other tool).
The whole procedure for making a drinker is extremely simple:
- The bottle has a screw cap.
- A hole is made in the cap with a drill, the diameter of which corresponds to the size of the nipple.
- The nipple is inserted into the hole and sealed in any way.
- The bottle is filled with water and turned over.
It remains to fix the drinker on the wall, and the chickens can drink fresh water.
The main disadvantage of nipple-type drinkers is that only one chicken can drink from them. This can cause a crush near the water source, so the number of such drinkers should correspond to the number of chickens.
conclusions
Breeding poultry is a profitable business, but modern prices for feed, electricity, veterinary drugs can nullify all the efforts of the poultry house. This is what makes us look for ways to reduce the cost of the process, one of these methods is the independent production of drinkers and feeders.
To achieve optimal performance of laying hens is possible only if the norms of watering and feeding are observed. There should always be clean water in the coop, and feeders should be replenished regularly. To build an automatic drinker simply from improvised materials.
In order to assemble such a structure, you need:
- Cut off the neck of a 5 liter container. For a drinker, you need ¼ of the container on which the lid is screwed.
- Unscrew the cap from the 2.5 liter bottle and fix it inside the lid of the 5 liter container. A 7 mm hole is made in a 2.5 liter bottle.
- Screw the lid onto a 5 liter container with a 2.5 liter bottle cap attached.
- Place a 2.5 liter bottle on top of the cut part of the 5-liter container and screw it onto the cap. Subsequently, when it is necessary to pour liquid into a 2.5 liter container, it is disconnected from the lid attached to the 5 liter container.
- The structure is fixed to the wall or on a stand.
Such devices are easy to use and do not require effort when cleaning.
From a ten liter bottle
The design made from a 10 l bottle is constructed according to a simple scheme, which is also used for the design from a 5 l bottle. First, a hole of 7 mm is made in the container at a height of 5 cm from the bottom. Then the container is installed in a vessel from which the chickens drink.
The bottle is then filled with water and the lid is closed. The fluid will stop flowing as soon as it reaches the hole.
Nipple
If you need to create a nipple drinker, prepare the following materials:
- nipple;
- pipe with a plug and a branch;
- drop catcher;
- water container.
It is better to give the chickens settled water. A PVC pipe of the required length is connected to the tank 10 cm from the bottom. If one element is not enough, then with the help of connecting elements it is extended.
A hole is drilled separately for each nipple. If a drip catcher is used, it is placed near the nipple.
One end is designed to crimp the pipe, the other has the shape of a spoon - liquid from the nipple will drain into it. Assembling such a do-it-yourself automatic drinker for chickens is quite simple.
From a plastic pipe
The structure is constructed from a pipe from 10 to 15 cm in diameter. The sequence of work is as follows:
- Holes of 25-35 cm are made in the pipe. They serve for birds to access the water. Holes are made rectangular. The extreme ones are performed 20 cm from the ends of the pipe. 20 cm are set aside between the holes. It is easier to cut them with a grinder.
- Clean up the edges of the holes.
- Tees equipped with plugs are mounted on the edges of the pipe. This design is often connected to the water supply network.
- In a chicken coop for adults, the pipe is fixed 15 cm from the floor. It is mounted at an angle of 2 degrees.
In this device, the water becomes contaminated in less than a day, which requires constant flushing of the pipe. For chickens, this design is not suitable.
drinker requirements
The chick is able to drink twice as much water as it eats feed. A chicken needs 0.5 liters of water daily. Birds often climb directly into the cup while drinking and feeding. This leads to the fact that the feed is compacted, and the water splashes and becomes contaminated.
On poultry farms from 100 heads, nipple structures are equipped, which are also suitable for summer cottages. They replace ordinary basins of water.
The principle of the device of drinkers is to limit the capabilities of the chicken - she can only dip her nose or catch drops. This condition is met when creating the following structures:
- nipple. In their manufacture, nipples and drop catchers are used;
- siphon are based on the flow of water into a drinking bowl from a large container;
- cup: water enters the cups through a pipe system;
- vacuum: water in a storage container is held by rarefied air.
In the presence of such products, chickens do not walk in the water. The liquid becomes contaminated only from submerging the noses of chickens. Automatic drinkers for chickens meet the following requirements:
- Water distribution occurs automatically. Throughout the day, there is enough water in a saucer or trough to quench the thirst of all chickens. It is good if the structure is raised above the ground or fixed to the wall.
- The drinker is made strong and light so that if it falls, it does not cause injury to the bird.
- For chickens, devices made of food-grade plastic are chosen. They are performed without sharp edges to eliminate the risk of injury to laying hens.
- The container is washed from sediment.
- Laying hens can always quench their thirst.
- The water is constantly kept clean.
- Sanitary standards are observed.
Such requirements are mandatory, since only in this case it will be possible to make a convenient and practical design.
floor drinker
The use of a vacuum type automatic drinker allows you to keep the water clean. Its entire volume is contained in a container that the birds cannot reach. Water falls into a small trough, automatically filled with water. Externally, a similar design is a closed container, installed upside down on a flat saucer. The volume of air penetrating through the neck regulates the flow of water into the trough.
Manufacturers of agricultural equipment offer several options for such pallets. They are designed for different categories of layers, taking into account their dimensions. The height of the structure and its dimensions are chosen based on the age of the chickens.