Hot Summers and Poultry Drinkers

Hot, dry summer days brings a new set of challenges when providing water to your poultry. Fiona and Hugh Osborne describe how they have solved some of these issues.

- Fiona and Hugh Osborne

DRINKER TYPES Hot summer days have meant we have had to carefully think about the drinkers we deploy in the chicken enclosure. There are many different drinkers available on the market. The type we choose is dependent on what we want to do with them. For example, when we have young chicks in the flock high tripod drinkers are not appropriate and in summer, we have many different ages of chickens from day olds to adults.

The photograph below shows some of the different types, but let’s go through some of the advantages and disadvantages so you can choose the right drinker:

1. This is a 1.5l plastic drinker that has a small capacity so isn’t very suitable for adult hens but it’s a great size for our chicks as a first drinker. We ensure all of our chicks have access to a drinker inside the coop on hatch although, don’t panic if you don’t do this. They don’t need water until 24-48 hours after hatching as they continue to be sustained by the remainder of the yolk from the egg for that period.

2. This is a nipple drinker which again is a great drinker for chicks and can be used for adults but a large capacity reservoir would be advisable.

3. This is a drinker that we love. It’s sustainable as it’s not oil based plastic but made from plant products. It has an internal reservoir so is easy to fill. Not suitable for chicks, but great for point of lay and adult chickens.

4. A galvanised drinker has great longevity. Plastic can degrade over time in the sunlight and is more likely to generate algae as they let sunlight in but galvanised drinkers will last much longer. The downside is that if you choose to add cider vinegar to the water to support gut health, the acid will react with the zinc coating on the steel which will leech from the drinker and can be toxic.