RentACoop 2 Gallon Chicken BPA-Free Plastic Bucket Waterer Set with 4 Horizontal Nipples - Center Placement

UPDATE: 03/28/2016Well this has been a bit of a journey for me. I purchased this water pail with four nipples when my chicks were about a week or so old. Long story short, at first it was just a total flop as you will read below. I took it away and returned it every week or so to see if they would adapt it with age as they grew bigger and stronger. Now the chicks are 6 and 7 weeks old and miraculously, they just all of a sudden took to it and began pushing the nipple in to access the water. It is a very good device as I had anticipated it would be. But since it did not work for my 1 through 5 week chicks, I had to rate it poorly. I have now upgraded my rating to 5 stars. There are a couple of changes I might suggest, but since the chicks are drinking from it liberally and there is no mess or leaks I rated it a 5. Also, the seller was very responsive and concerned that it was not working for me and sent me personal emails encouraging me very nicely without "selling me" on the product. So I might have rated it as a 4 star for the early problems with my baby chicks but the sellers customer service was so good, I gave it the 5th star.As for suggested improvements, they are minor but could make it even better. First and most importantly, The lid is a pain in the butt to remove. The inside should be cleaned periodically just to remove sediment and buildup from what is in the water that accumulates on the interior and some will use water heaters for winter and need access. This is common to most pail waterers and I get it. I would like to see a lid that just screws in or has a lip to sit on the rim without the snap attachments. These are real finger nail breakers. I will probably just use a grinder or a dremel tool to remove those. Not sure if this is a real problem but the lid attaches very tightly and may not allow air in the pail as they water is released. I punched a few small holes in the red cap that sits over the lid hole to allow air in so a vacuum doesn't prevent water from come out the nipples. Lastly, I think it may work a bit better when placed on bricks so the pail doesn't swing around from the pushing and pecking of the birds pushing in the springs on the nipples. The problem is that when it is stationary on bricks, the birds like to perch on it and poop either on the birds drinking below or onto the top. A dome or something that can not easily be perched on would solve this. I put a plastic vinegar bottle (refilled with water for weight) on mine (looks weird, but works), but a small dog (clown) collar could be a solution (as an example). I can now recommend this device whole heartedly, and it is a very good replacement for the usual messy watering containers with the round well around them that need to be cleaned several times a day.ORIGINAL REVIEW:Well it arrived and with great anticipation I went to my chicken brooder and placed it in following all the instructions to the letter. I left it in the brooder box for about 4 hours with not other water sources. The included instructions and the Q&A under the item description say it is good for chicks as young as a week old. I have 20 Wyandotte Chicks, 5 two week old and 15 one week old. I tapped to start the flow and show them the water in the little lip under the nipple and used a laser which really got them interested in pecking at the nipples, but try as they could, they could not release the water. The buttons offered greater resistance than they were capable of. They pecked and pecked and pecked and even went into a frenzy to try and get water out, but no water could or would come out. I again started the water flow with my finger and they went crazy trying to drink what came out but could not follow through by getting the water to release with their pecking at the nipple. I let some of the water out of the bucket to be thorough so it was just above the nipples to see if the water pressure might be the problem although I did not believe the to be the case and I was right. I could push the nipples in with my finger but there was significant resistance and I can understand why the chicks could not master this. It was just too darn hard to push. I believe the springs are wound too tight for small young birds. This may work for older birds although I can not test it, but if you have young chicks, forget about it. I will keep it and re-try again in a week and continue every week there after until they are grown. if they do start to use it, I would be willing to change my review score, but for now it's a total no go and will sit in my basement unused collecting dust for the time being. Not sure if mine were defective but they looked okay and I could release it with my finger although it did require some relatively hard pressure.Follow up: 02/29/16. My chicks are now 2.5 and 3.5 weeks old.Well unfortunately at 2.5 and 3.5 weeks it is still a no go. I removed other water sources and placed the bucket on square bricks that brought the nipples to just about eye level and pumped the nipples to extract some water. They went into a frenzy trying to get the water I pumped out and I followed this up with a laser pointer to attract them to the nipples which worked well, but they just kept grabbing it with their beaks and trying to pull it as if they were grabbing a bug. Some got lucky and pecked a bit of water out which made them keep pecking and grabbing, but they could not seem to duplicate the straight forward motion to squeeze the spring in and allow water to flow. They walked away frustrated and kind of just gave up. I continued trying to induce them back with the laser and using my finger to “peck” at the silver button hoping they would copy my motion, but no luck. After about 6 hours of watching and teasing them with the laser and my example of pecking and waiting for them to get thirsty enough to go back and peck at it since it did offer water they finally just abandoned it all together and stopped trying. I finally just gave in and put the old water source back in and they all charged it at once, pushing for a position around the water well and drinking for an abnormally long time.I wish it were different, but I can not seem to get them to push in the nipples to allow water to flow. I know they are strong enough since I saw some of them actually do it. They just could not or would not follow up by repeating the correct straight in motion and just walked away in frustration that the water would not come out for them.I am kind of disappointed because it seems like such a great concept. I don’t like the vertical nipples since they leak and make bucket placement difficult. But at least for now, I am stuck with the old fashion gravity water dispenser and cleaning out wood shavings and poop every few hours. I will try again in a week or two and see if they get better with age and growth. So I have not given up entirely, but from my experience, this is not for chicks at least up to about a month old. Will let you know if and when I am able to use your product if and when it happens.I did change my review from one star to two stars. Even though it was a frustrating failure for me despite the description that these were for one week old and older chicks, I think that they may actually work for mature birds and if it does, it will solve many problems. So, I don't think that the device is a one star for it's potential, but can not rate it higher since it has only frustrated me and my chicks and not worked at all for me. I will again update in a week or two.

After doing a lot of research, I chose this waterer for the backyard chickens we don't have yet.I wanted a water source that wouldn't be depleted quickly in the summer or be quickly soiled and need continual cleaning.The nipple system of water delivery seemed like the best solution.We'll be placing the feeder and water bucket in a run that we'll move periodically, so I didn't want anything too heavy to move and clean regularly. I won't be hanging it, but I can easily place it on something inside the run to put the nipples at the right height.Thanks to another reviewer (Molly) who mentioned bringing the waterer inside at night to prevent freezing. Since our future small flock will be in our backyard, I can easily bring the water bucket into the laundry room or garage during cold weather and put it back into the run when I let the chickens out of their coop in the morning.I tested the bucket right away and found that one of the four nipples leaked a little. After a lot of fussing with it, it leaks less now but still seeps a little water when not being pressed. It's not enough to drain the bucket quickly, but I'll see if I can eliminate the seepage before I need to use this bucket.Update: I found that after letting the bucket dry again, I could turn the problem nipple another turn and the leaking stopped.Update in December of 2016:Our girls have been outside since early spring. They figured out how to get water quickly with only a quick demonstration from me.During the heat of summer, I would add bottles of frozen water to the bucket to keep the water I'd added electrolytes to cool longer.Now that we're having below freezing temps, I just bring the bucket inside for the night and put it back out in the run before I let them out of the coop for the day.We have five hens and I've noticed that whichever nipple one of them goes to, another one will be drawn to drinking from the same nipple.This bucket has worked so well that I ordered another one to keep as backup.The horizontal nipples are easy to clean with a dish brush and even though I seldom put more than 1 gallon of water in the bucket, I can leave it in place for a couple of days except when the weather is hot. I change the water every day in hot weather, just to be safe.It's easy to carry, easy to clean and easy to fill.Ours isn't hanging, but it sits on top of an enamelware dishpan that rests on good sized patio slabs in the main run. I've placed a lid from a 5 gallon bucket over the top of it with a brick to keep the girls from soiling the top of the water bucket. The main run has a tarp over it that protects the feeder and water bucket from rain and sun.Received my second bucket yesterday and was surprised that the seller included an extra horizontal nipple. My first bucket that's still in use did not include an extra nipple. I don't fill my bucket using the hole in the lid. I take the lid completely off each time I clean and fill it. In the heat of summer, I usually add electrolytes to their water and frozen bottles of water to keep it cool longer. When it's not overly hot, I add ACV to their water and periodically, I add BOB to their water. I have one of those bucket opening tools and it works great to break the seals on the bucket lid. Once they are opened up a bit, it's easy to remove the lid completely for cleaning and filling.After receiving the backup bucket, I used the bucket opening tool to remove the lid and tested it to see if any of the nipples were leaking and none leaked at all.My first bucket had one nipple that leaked, but I found that giving it an extra turn solved the problem.I'm so glad I chose this method of providing water for my chickens. The water stays clean and it's easy to manage.During the winter, I just bring the bucket inside for the night after I close the coop door and it's easy to make sure the girls are getting clean water with or without additives.If you have a nipple that leaks, try giving it an additional turn. That solved my problem with my first bucket.

The perfect solution for your hens. 4 separate spots for them to drink so no fighting/multiple chickens can drink comfortably at the same time. Works on their natural pecking and prevents water from sitting out/providing water for 'unwanted visitors'.. The washers are not metal so they will not rust like others. The top is coned which prevents the from sitting on top and making a mess. Multiple ways to position this, either suspended or like we did raised to their height off the ground w a cinderblock. A++

Helped with the chicks. They did roost on top so I was surprised at that. Otherwise it was good training for the big waterer. They figured it out pretty quick

I have two of these they work great clean easy and the water inside never gets dirtyI would recommend for anyone with chickens

The bucket needs to be made out of thicker plastic. It has cracked around where two of the drinking nipples are screwed into the bucket and leak. They do not appear over-tightened which was my first thought, it just looks like the water pressure bulges out the bucket when it is full and the flexing of the plastic where the holes were drilled for the nipples is brittle enough to crack under the strain of the water pushing outward. The nipples work really well so I'll just remove them and install them on a 5 gallon bucket from lowes made from thicker plastic. A thicker bucket from the factory would likely prevent this issue. I really wanted this to work, the design is clever and the chickens figured it out almost immediately how to get water from it.

This is a good waterer. I like that it keeps the chickens water clean. I feel like chickens enjoy being able to dip their beaks in water in the heat of the summer. I also think the water doesn’t come out fast enough when chickens are hot.

I love how it works with no issues and doesn't leak and my ex battery hens love it. It's easy to use. Easy to clean........ But where is the dome top and the square box in the picture? I paid 27 pounds for four nipples that cost 11 pounds and I could have got the food grade from any industrial kitchen that has mayonnaise for free...As that's all it is. No dome. No square tub.Get the nipples and do it yourself save the money.Sure it works but I bought this specifically for the square tub and dome.

Great product! Older and newer hens alike took to it immediately. Everything has been thought out with this product, easy carry, easy fill, love the lid, and the cone is a great addition and comes with small chain for hanging. As my number of hens grows so will the number of this waterer!

As stated by previous reviewer, this is a round container not square and came with no roost proof cover - so it’s just a mayo tub with three drinking teats. Not worth the price!

Merci