In my many google searches, I ran across this blog from three years ago on Natural Chicken Keeping: Comparison of Poultry Cup Drinkers
300 Poultry Drinking Cup |
Step One - Supplies: I started with ordering eight 300 Poultry Cup Drinkers from Cornerstone ($22.14 with shipping), enough for two buckets. Then I grabbed two 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot. I got one that was white ($4.97) and an orange one (2.89) as well. The orange is cheaper than the white, but the white looks a little nicer.
5 gallon bucket, drill with 11/32" drill bit, 4 poultry cups & a tape measurer. |
Now we're ready for action.
Step Two - Measure and mark: The bucket is 33" around. With 4 cups I measured about every 8 inches around where I wanting the cups to be located. As far as the vertical placement, the water is pulled through the holes using gravity. So you will want them low enough to get as much water out of the bucket as possible, while still being high enough to let the bottom of the water hold any sediment that would float to the bottom. You don't want anything that falls into the bucket to clog the cups. Also, I learned that you want to place the cups high enough that when you set the bucket on a flat surface, the cups hover above the ground. If they extend below and the bucket has water in it, they'll snap right off.
Here is my placement |
So, the short story is - 1 1/2" inches from the bottom and every 8" around the bucket.
Step Three - Drill the holes.
Step Four - Holding the Poultry Cup at an angle I press it firmly enough into the drilled hole that it stays held itself. I then turn the cup, screwing into place, twisting it a little past when it is flush against the bucket to ensure it doesn't leak.
My steps to inserting the cup into the bucket. |
The final placement of the cup. |
The orange one is hanging for the large hens to drink from in the main area of the run and the white one is balanced on boards for the 10 week old chicks to have in their area. Mike has been the only one I've seen drink from one of the cups so far, but I'm watching and hoping they all figure it out.
I did throw a water bottle full of salt water into the orange bucket to help with the freezing. I've found that it keeps the water from freezing for about another 5-10 degrees lower and the water around the bottle does not freeze, so it's not ever a solid block of ice.
Final Note - Total cost was about $17 for the white and $13 for the orange waterer. Worth every penny.
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