[Blobbs]

Hi. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a plastic drinker or one of the galvanised steel type that  is a bucket and lies on it's side. We are getting 6 hens. Any thoughts ?

[ManicMum]

We have 7 hens at present & have 2 of the plastic drinkers, each holding about 3 litres I think.  Sometimes I put ACV in one - then they have a choice.

Having 2 reduces crowding & having smaller ones means that it's not too water-wasteful to empty them each night so it's always clean water in the morning.  Occasionally, one is empty by evening, but never both.

Also, they do stay cleaner if you stand them on a breeze block or similar - and they need to be absolutely level or they empty themselves!

[Prod]

Plastic are cheaper but the colour fades and they can crack in extreme frosts however you can put garlic and ACV in them which you cant with galvanised ones....

[Blobbs]

I wondered how successful the bucket type were as they seem to be on their side. -'m looking at the ones on the Regency website.

[Sassy]

I use the small plastic buckets that equine supplements come in. They cannot be tipped over and you can clean them properly which you can't with your average plastic one. Oh and they're much cheaper and you are recycling

[rileyfin]

If you feed CAV in the water you will have to use plastic containers, the green and white containers are best quality and do not crack in the frost or fade.

Cider apple vin corrodes the metal. 

[rcf100]

I also have a plastic one, it's 3 lts and attaches to the wall so that you can't knock it over and it's less likely to be pooped in.  I can link it for you if you like.  It works nicely as our feed hopper also attaches to the wall and we have a little cup for grit on a wire there too.  Looks very neat.

I only have 3 hens who all get on well though, I think I'd have to have 2 stations if I had more as wen one decides to have some food and drink they all want to do so at the same time

My reasoning for the plastic was as the others have said, due to ACV, I have a galv steel feeder though

[Blobbs]

Ok. Thankyou.
So now I should get a horse    Still not sure though as the one fixed to the wall won't do as they will be moved every week to a new area. No one seems to have an opinion re the funny bucket which lies on it;s side. Why do they want apple cider vinegar ? Seems weird an unnatural to me. They wouldn't get it in the wild.

[rcf100]

I saw the bucket things you are talking about, and I think the design is to limit the amount of dirt that gets into the water.  Which, considering how filthy their feet get, can only be a good thing.  I also think that they look reasonably sturdy, so shouldn't get knocked over easily.

However, they are hugely more expensive than the plastic ones, so you would have to go through a number of plastic ones for them to be cost effective.  For the 6 hens you would need more than one.  My 3 hens go through about a lt, to 1.5 lt each day and as I've said before, they do what the others do.  I would seriously suggest getting at least 2 stations for your hens.

Finally ACV has lots of great proven health benefits.  I won't go into them all here, I would miss some.  I though the same as you, did lots of research on the matter and decided that I would def be supplimenting their water with it.  After all layers pellets are made to give the modern breed of egg laying chickens what they need, suppliments and all and are a far cry from what wild chickens would get.

I'm not saying you should add ACV, but you should def search and read up on it, before you limit your choice on whether you will provide it based on an expensive drinker.  If you do then decide on no ACV, and the price per drinker doesn't put you off, then go for them, they seem sturdy and well designed.  This, for me, will always be an issue of being overpriced though, when you compare them to the price of galv steel feeders or hoppers, the price for the drinker doesn't seem comparable.

Perhaps that's just the accountant in me!

[tosca100]

We have two plastic ones, they come apart to clean. I have one in the small run, hanging up, and one with acv in the big run, so there should always be some clean. I'm not really bothered if they crack next winter, or fade, they are cheap enough to buy if I need to replace.

[Blobbs]

Ok. Thankyou to all for your thoughts.
 I have a couple of  plastic drinkers from when I  had hens before so I think I will use one as an extra drinker but from experience they do seem to get very muddy. I am also going to buy one of the pail types that lay on the side as I think that the water may stay more clean. I've chucked ( chuck ? haha ) so much money at this project a bit more makes little difference.
Finally I need to buy the horse in order to justify buying equine suppliments to provide
 me with a cheap recycled bucket    . Seriously I will talk to my horsey friends and see if they have any to spare.

Thankyou to everyone for the advice. Think I'll be selling the spare eggs at 50p each to try to recuop the vast expenditure !!

[JaK]

I started out with the plastic ones but went on to buy the galvanized bucket drinker which is fab, really glad I bought it. It is just the right size for me to tuck under the ladder that leads into the chicken house, a space that would otherwise go unused.
I still have the plastic ones in the shed in case I need them in the future though.

[Blobbs]

Aah. At last someone who has tried one, thankyou. What a good idea to put it under the ladder.
If I move the run area weekly are they clever enough to remember  thet the drinker is there rather than in the run. Simalerly I was going to move the feeder weekly but it could always be by the run. How clever are they?

[Blobbs]

I mean by the house, duh.