Several years ago, I read that you shouldn’t give your chickens water that you wouldn’t feel comfortable drinking yourself. I was using a double-barreled metal waterer, and judging by the liquid cesspool of filth they were expected to drink, I knew I was falling way short in the water cleanliness department. But no matter how many times I changed the water, they would poop in it, kick dirt in it, etc.
I thought I should try some “chicken waterer nipples” (for a lack of a better word) to address the cleanliness problem. However, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put them on a bucket like it recommends. A bucket would be frozen solid in the winter. Having already gone through several winters with my chickens, I knew that the least fun thing about having chickens is making sure they have non-frozen water in the winter. I don’t have electricity in my coop, so electric heat was out of the question. I was using a rubber feed pan that I could turn over and stomp on to dislodge the block of ice and refill every morning.
Since I was looking to improve my winter watering system as well as the cleanliness issue, I wondered if I could install horizontal chicken nipples on an insulated cooler instead of a bucket. Would that help to keep it clean and unfrozen?
I soon found that the horizontal nipples weren’t made to go through insulation; I needed a way to make them a little bit longer. I designed and 3-D printed a tube to go through the insulation and receive the nipple—and with a few rubber washers and a bit of silicone to seal it, I had a 5-gallon cooler waterer for my chickens.
How does it work in the winter?
But how would it fare when the thermometer dipped down? I was certainly hoping it would solve all my winter watering woes. When the temperature dipped far below freezing one night (14° F to be exact), I tested the nipples, and no water would come out. DARN! I opened the cooler and saw that the water inside was still liquid. Hmmm. I reached my hand into the icy cold water and felt along the inside of the cooler. I felt a small block of ice behind each nipple. Of course! The ice had formed where there was no insulation. Then I had an idea to pour hot water into the cooler to melt those small patches of ice. I poured in hot water and waited. I poured in more hot water and waited. Finally, the ice behind the nipples thawed, and water started flowing again.
Outside of January, I didn’t really need to pour in hot water that often. When the weather dipped down into the teens—the water stopped flowing for sure. But at 25°, the water still flowed. In January, since it was often in the teens at night, I found it easier just to revert to my trusty old rubber pan rather than waiting to make sure the water started flowing again. But for the most part during the winter, it worked just fine. It really depends on how cold it gets at night. Since Utah winter’s lows are often in the upper 20s and 30s, it flowed pretty well.
How does it work in the summer?
I was amazed at how the water inside the cooler was always nice and cool for the chickens, even when outside temperatures were over 100°. The cooler acts to average the daytime and nighttime temperatures. In Utah, the nights are quite a bit cooler than the days, so the chickens’ water never felt warm, even on the hottest of days. (In climates where it doesn’t really cool off at night, it might be helpful to add some ice to the cooler.)
How often does it need to be filled?
I was pleasantly surprised by how little I needed to refill this cooler. I’m guessing that since the water doesn’t evaporate into the air, it lasts quite a bit longer than other waterers. In August, when the weather was in the high 90s, my six chickens didn’t need a refill for ten days. In October, my chickens went 20 days before they needed a refill. TWENTY DAYS! (However, don’t play chicken with your chickens and assume their water doesn’t need to be refilled; make sure to check it often!) It’s possible that my chickens need less water than usual because I give them a daily tray of fodder as well as greens from my garden.
I’ll be the first to admit this system isn’t perfect, but after using it for about two years, it is sooo much better than my old waterer. It is 100% clean, 100% cool, and about 90% unfrozen.
Cooler Waterer Conversion Kits
You can purchase a cooler waterer conversion kit. It comes with two horizontal nipples, two dripper housings (the white tubes), four rubber washers, and a 10 ml container of silicone. You need to provide a cooler (I recommend one that holds at least five gallons), a drill, and a 1/2″ drill bit. Here is an instructional video on how to put it together.
