Reddit mentions: The best poultry farm equipment

Edited a bunch of after thoughts into this post.

Depends on the amount of chickens and how cold/hot your area is. Starting out, I'd probably do like 4 chickens unless you don't mind the extra bit of work involved with more chickens. I'd recommend having at least 1 roosting area per couple of chickens, although they'll probably end up sharing one particular spot even if you have like 10. Do keep in mind things like brooding with your chickens if you don't have a rooster. They'll get pissed that their eggs aren't hatching and will eventually get aggressive towards you, you'll need to separate them from the rest of the chickens to help them calm down. So plan for multiple areas (later down the line, depending on how old you get your chickens. They can lay eggs for up to 7 years surprisingly.)

I'd recommend maybe something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N42KXC3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Lve1CbYY5H5N2

It's a good starter coop and is relatively affordable for up to 10 chickens, although I'd say closer to 8 depending on the breed of chicken. It's good to have an enclosed run (the fence type thing that comes with the coop) while they're younger so you can better control their eating area until they're older. You should get 1 big water fountain for them, as it'll reduce the amount of time you need to spend re-watering them. It's worth the upfront cost of getting a big one that's a few gallons as opposed to getting a small one and eventually getting a big one like I did. You can make your own with some buckets and some PVC pipe fittings if you're up to the task, it's worth getting/making a good quality feeder / waterer for your chickens. Obviously, having a big reservoir will reduce the overall work on your part. You should keep in mind that as your chickens get older, and depending on the size of your backyard / lot, you will eventually let the chickens free roam your area and they'll drastically reduce the amount of feed they'll require as they'll eat bugs and random shit (sometimes literally) in your area.

Windows are good for ventilation of your chickens, you should definitely have a window or two to help air out the coop. That's why I recommend that particular coop I linked above because it has a window already and has a decent amount of space for a couple of chickens when first starting out. Also, try to make an area they can sit on. They like to perch on random things like branches on a tree if it can support their weight. I've had my chickens perch on a bicycle in my property.

If you want to be extra lazy, check out some automatic coop door openers. There's some pretty fancy ones that use a Raspberry Pi to control the door mechanisms and are charged by solar panels. Here's one I use and I love it.


http://hentronix.co.uk/mainstore/hentronix-automatic-chicken-door-opener


MIller Little Giant 7 Gallon Poultry Waterer Fount - The Best https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6ZTGSU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1xe1CbYAJ3CX8

RentACoop Chicken Feeder-Holds 20 Pounds-Pellets-Crumbles-Grain in Bucket - for 21st Century Chicken Owners - Inside or Outside of Coop - Use with Nipple Waterer (2 Feed Ports - Corner (4-6 Hens)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016047Q5G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_fze1CbVRJ00G2

I think it is a viable plan and it sounds like you'll do just fine. I am probably different from many people on this sub as I don't spend much time with my chickens at all and they do just fine. My chickens are not pets - they exist to provide eggs. I treat them well and they have a good life but I do not go to the extent that some people do to protect, enrich, cool, or heat their flock. I have never had a sickness or problem other than losing a hen to predators every now and then, which is just a fact of life.

Four hens is extremely manageable. We set up a hanging feeder like this one and a hanging water bucket with nipples like this. The food is refilled about once a week with four hens and the water about twice depending on the size of the bucket. We give them kitchen scrap treats several times a week. Otherwise they are pretty self sufficient. They put themselves in and out of the coop each day, they manage their own needs with the resources they have. I feel like a lot of people don't give chickens enough credit. They know what to do. They've been doing it for tens of millions of years. It is actually cool to watch them do instinctually things that they have no way of knowing how to do.

The one thing I would say to you is not to mess around with ex battery hens. I haven't had them and I know nothing about them but it seems like they would require extra work and care and attention. It seems like you don't want to do that so if it were me I would just start with young yens of a breed that are strong layers like Rhode Island Reds - if you have those in what I am guessing is Australia. They will be less work and hassle which is what it seems you want. Good luck!

This spring I started a garden on my deck in Philadelphia. This was really the first time I gardened anything seriously and I’ve enjoyed myself immensely. Skip to the bottom for the album of it all.

I primarily started my plants from seeds without researching how they grow:

• Sugar Baby Watermelon
  
  
• Burpless Cucumbers
  
  
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
  
  
• Campari Tomatoes
  
  
• Spaghetti Squash (purchased plant)
  
  
• Green Bell Peppers (purchased plant)
  
  I quickly realized that I needed to be creative about how to manage these plants as a lot of them grow out instead of staying compact. Once the plants outgrew their medium sized pots, I needed a different solution. The major unlock for me was finding CaliKim's container gardening videos on YouTube that recommended planter bags. She also has a great method of making cage trellises that work perfectly in the bags she recommended.
  
  
• Container Gardening Video (there are more!)
  
  
• DIY Cage Trellis Video - I followed this one almost exactly
  
  
• Welded Wire fencing for the cages
  
  
• VIVOSUN 20-gallon planter bags were a major unlock to getting this system to work. The mobility is awesome. The red one with the spaghetti squash is a different brand (Root Pouch?) and is only 15-gallons. I strongly recommend getting 20-gallons for vegetables as they like deep routes for the most part. My squash is doing fine, but it’s definitely been slower than the bigger bags
  
  
• Half-Pallets I got for free from work to help get my plants off the ground and avoid rotting and promote drainage
  
  With this starting point I was able to get these plants into a compact space and still be able to thrive. Because I’ve got everything on top of each other there is some inter-mingling but for the most part things stay in their cages.
  
  My deck faces south and with the egregious Philadelphia summer I sometimes have to water twice a day to keep everything happy. I have done a lot of pruning to keep the plants reigned in and not way overgrow their plot.
  
  As the project progressed I realized I needed bamboo stakes to stabilize the cages and my non caged plants, and a few other random items listed below:
  
  
• Bamboo stakes for stability
  
  
• Velcro ties to guide plants where needed
  
  
• Shears for pruning
  
  
• Garden Netting used to make watermelon hammocks
  
  The watermelon needed hammocks to fend off gravity in this system, pole around YouTube for different ways people have done this
  
  In my research I got disheartened several times because many said growing watermelon or cucumber or squash in a compact space is extremely challenging and arguably not worth it. At that point I had already started the plants and I decided to give it a try anyway. To my delight things have turned out very well, and I wanted to share with any other urban gardeners who think they don’t have enough space for veggies.
  
  Next year I would grow more cucumbers and cage them instead of stake them (or maybe both). For the winter my plan is to leave the bags and soil outside and see how they hold up. It seems like they are able to handle snow / excess moisture without too much issue.
  
  https://imgur.com/gallery/jCqiEQH

Reading a book about chickens may make it seem harder than it is. Silkies are great birds. Here is some practical advice. If you are buying hatching eggs that will get shipped through the mail, make sure that you get at least 6 if you want three birds. If you cannot have roosters, then get even more eggs. My experience is hatching eggs get damaged in shipping, so the hatching rate could be very low. I recently got 10+ Japanese hatching eggs. Only one shows signs of life. I opened some of the bad ones and the yolk was broken.

Chicks will need a feed that has higher protein and no calcium. Most commercial feeds will explain the ages to use what feed. Go to a local store that sells chicken supplies and look at the feeds.

The nipple type feeders are nice, as stuff doesn't end up in the water. Birds can easily learn to use them, but you may have to nudge and show them a bit. This one has worked well for me: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00JXUAD0K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_tLauzb7DRFWVV

Silkies can easily handle below freezing conditions. They have a pea comb so aren't prone to frostbite. They also have great feathers. I don't do much of anything to make things cool or warm. Make sure they have access to shade and water. They will pant kinda like dogs to cool off. They also use their comb to regulate body temperatures.

A 3-4 chicken sized coop will work for easily six silkies, as they are a small bantam birds. Good ventilation is important for a coop, as a build of ammonia from chicken poop can damage chicken lungs.

Bantam birds are especially vulnerable to hawks. If you are keeping the birds in a restrained run, make sure it's also covered.

These have worked for me against raccoons and other night predators: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01EAFNFJ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_FUauzbZVNP87B

Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens!

We are DIY'ing much of our wedding. Buying booze and food and hiring the DJ etc. were easy, but now we have to figure out decorations!

We have this vision for wall art throughout the venue. The idea is that we take lights (for example, fairy lights) and some kind of grid (for example, chicken wire) and make huge "light murals" of Chicago and New York skylines, where we are both from. So the lights form the outline, using the chicken wire as a grid system so it's uniform -- and also easy to transport, roll up, unroll, and hang.

I made a proof of concept in Illustrator: http://imgur.com/8X3it39. It's about 8 feet by 4 feet and uses 2 inch chicken wire. I measured the length of the path already, and it's about 33 feet. Luckily, they sell fairy lights in 33 foot increments which is perfect.

Don't mind the gaps in the lines in the image. I made a custom brush/pattern in Illustrator and I'm not very good at it. But it would be one continuous string of lights.

We don't know how many we'll have, and if we'll do a separate one for each skyline, or combine skylines on the same grid and distinguish between the two with different colors.

But I wanted to get /r/DIY's thoughts on the general concept first. Do you think that will look nice? Is this doable? Is there a better way that I'm not considering? Maybe different lights, or something other than chicken wire? I haven't really been able to find examples on the Internet.

I have 4 chickens (I got them from Wardle Feed). I also got a nice used coop from there as well (about $300).


Feed is cheap, at about $20 a bag, which lasts a month or so for my 4 chickens. I put up a small fence around about 30sq/ft of yard space to let them free range a bit, but the coop has a full run underneath, so I can keep them somewhat locked up. I also have a light (about 60 watts) that I keep on a night in the winter, which serves two fold:

One to keep the coop slightly warmer (though it rarely gets cold enough to need this, chickens are hardy), and to keep them laying eggs over the winter, which they don't naturally do due to low amounts of light. I also have a 5 gallon bucket waterer (http://www.amazon.com/GALLON-Poultry-Waterer--Up-Chickens-/dp/B00F9A4976/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1457209610&sr=8-9&keywords=5+gallon+chicken+waterer)

And a water warmer for the winter (http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-C-50-Aluminum-Birdbath/dp/B0002DHBDY/ref=pd_bxgy_86_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SECCZMNSYKE2Y3P9TGF). 5 gallons of water lasts for several weeks, and the warmer only turns on if the water gets to freezing point.


The eggs are awesome, make great gifts, and can be colorful! I get green, brown, and white eggs.

you could get an automatic coop door:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TONTHRG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have a coop run that is highly secured, and a main coop that is also secured. We close the coop run manually, and the main coop house closes automatically. All it took was closing the girls in the main coop run then letting themselves get locked out overnight a few times for them to learn to get in the house. Now we have gone down after dark more than once and all the girls are in the house and the door closed.

you would need to secure the main run area better to use our approach though. Our run is enclosed on all sides (including bottom) with 1/2" hardware cloth. Right next to the main house door (where the girls tend to sit if they get locked out) is #8 mesh. All mesh is secured between pieces of cedar framing with screws running through the cedar and the mesh.

We use the slide type doors which I feel are more secure than other options. one I made myself with diamond plate aluminum (if you can get flat aluminum I recommend it) that slides between rails of flat bar aluminum that have a gap created by washers. You can also buy a very similar design if you want to:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018KIVUC0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The biggest thing you need to do to secure your coop/run area is enclose the entire thing in hardware cloth. It needs to be the small 1/2" hardware cloth like here: https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Galvanized-Chicken-Supports-Poultry/dp/B015PD9F52/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1499439834&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=hardware+cloth&psc=1.

When I say enclose, I mean fully enclose on all sides including top and bottom. The cloth must be screwed/anchored in place (not just stapled). If you use larger cloth then animals such as racoons can reach through and grab the chickens. You should include the house in the enclosure. If you do not secure the bottom then they will just dig under and in.

I've had animals try and fail to get into my coop. I came out one day to find blood all over one side of the coop where an animal had tried to scratch its way in and lost claws. I also have come out to find that animals had tried to dig under the coop only to find hardware cloth there as well. you MAY be able to get away with just putting a hardware cloth skirt a few feet out from the coop but I prefer to just have the floor be hardware cloth.

Finally, all latches that allow us to get into the coop are safety latches since racoons can figure out normal latches. we mostly use hook and eyes like these (I use stainless though): https://www.amazon.com/Zinc-Plated-Wire-Safety-4-Pack/dp/B01LYNKFIL/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1499440049&sr=1-1&keywords=hook+and+eye+safety+latch

Though our main coop door does have this sort of latch (which we intend to add a padlock to if there are signs of animals getting in through it): https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-National-Hardware-CD1271-Sliding/dp/B009YNW3QS/ref=sr_1_12?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1499440093&sr=1-12&keywords=gate+latch+lock

Think a lot about how you're going to clean out the coop in your design. Nice big doors with good access will make your life a lot easier. Also, keep in mind that chickens will attempt to roost literally anywhere they can manage to fly and perch to, and will manage to get poop into any of those spots, so make sure you design well for that eventuality especially where food and water are concerned. And don't underestimate predators. Be thorough with your security.

Edit: Also worth mentioning: I dropped $100 on an automatic door opener (this one), and it's seriously the best $100 I've ever spent. My ladies get to go out right at the crack of dawn every morning and I don't have to be home to shut them in in the evening. Of course, if you build a super secure run you might not have to worry about that in the first place, but still, chickens are generally safer in a coop at night no matter how secure you make the run.

I use one and it works great, you do have to get a separate timer and build a sliding door with little to no friction but it’s cheaper than all the others I’ve see and we just had our second light snow today and it’s still going strong. Good luck!

https://www.amazon.com/Add-Motor-Automatic-Accessory-D20-120V/dp/B007IZJWNQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=automatic+chicken+coop+door&qid=1573611131&sprefix=automatic+chi&sr=8-7

I've really come to like spiral CFL bulbs (6500k color temp) in a reflector, pointed downward toward the substrate, as cheap and effective planted tank lighting. I've never run CO2, but I imagine a couple of 27 watt bulbs would do the job just fine.

But I've actually been considering a switch to LEDs for my 55g, the Finnex Ray2 or Planted+ in particular, since they seem to get a lot of love here and on plantedtank.net. So not to derail the thread, but I'm curious: Doxlee, may I ask what kinds of plants you have in your 55g, and whether you run CO2?

I made a watering bucket for mine. Got a food-grade plastic bucket with lid (for free from Sam's bakery, they go through tons of those icing buckets), cleaned it well.

Ordered chicken nipples from Amazon (way cheaper than getting them through a poultry supply place); drilled four holes in the bottom of the bucket, and put the nipples in. (here is a link to the type I got)

I mounted a hose reel to a post in the run, hung the bucket handle over it, and voila! -- clean water on demand!

It took them about five minutes to figure it out -- now they prefer that to a bowl of water. Only down-side is, I can't use it during the winter due to freezing temperatures. However, from spring through fall, it saves me a ton of work, and means they always have clean fresh water.

There are some cool Arduino kits that are pretty easy to combine into something cool. SOme people suggested working on mechanical things, and projects like putting together an Arduino car combine mechanical, electrical, and software disciplines and you get a pretty neat thing out of it.

This kit is $50 but there are plenty of cool things you can do with Arduino for much cheaper!

I tried the cups, but my chickens couldn't figure out how to get the water out and almost dehydrated. So, I got the sideways chicken nipples and those have been working great. I have three of them on a 5 gallon bucket lifted a few inches off the ground. Then, I have a PVC pipe that goes into the lid on top and out of the run, so I can fill it without going into the run. There's a minor problem of the chickens roosting on the bucket and pooping on the lid, but I'll solve that pretty soon by just putting something up there.

how much money do you want to spend?

Amazon sells a 100 foot by 50 foot net. Unfortunately the gaps in the next are about 2 inches. If you fold the net twice i reckon it'll catch ping pong balls. and it will a more manageable 50x25 feet.

A net will be by far the best tool.

its 80 dollars though. https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Bird-Netting-Aviary-Poultry/dp/B00CDL3LXC/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=netting&qid=1555431651&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-9

this one has a half inch mesh. Might be better. https://www.amazon.com/BEST-BIRD-NETTING-Bird-Net/dp/B01GUJBF3U/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bird+net+half+inch+mesh&qid=1555431919&s=pet-supplies&sr=8-1

With a large enough net, and enough friends you should be able to catch all the ping pong balls.

I got a little ahead of myself posting the video. I'm excited it works! I've still got some more to do, at which point I'll do a complete post about the process.

It's pretty easy though. Everything runs off an extension cord right now. The security camera is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Zmodo-ZM-SH75D001-WA-Camera-Two-way-Monitoring/dp/B00ZZ4HX1K

The coop motor is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Add-A-Motor-Chicken-Automatic-Motor-D20/dp/B007IZJWNQ

and we turn it on and off using a WeMo Wifi plug:

http://www.amazon.com/WeMo-Enabled-Electronics-anywhere-Compatible/dp/B00BB2MMNE

What is the build cost on this? With the cost of the motor, pulleys ($70 per video), fingers ($60 per video), wiring/electrical, and miscellaneous materials, you're probably approaching the price of [this](Yardbird Chicken Plucker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BI5D0MK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mePYzb3PHBBBY) which is listed for $425 on Amazon. And that thing is stainless steel (much easier to clean and sterilize, and we are talking about meat processing) and it's fully waterproofed (which is necessary, I know someone who got electrocuted using something like this that was not). It's a cool DIY and I give you props for that, but I'm wondering if it's actually cost effective in comparison.

Aviary or bird netting over the area they 'free range'. The link below is for 100x50 but they come in all sizes. fence in the area and then cover the top with these. Put a few together and you can end up with a pretty large area for them to run in. If you use T-post for your fencing you can move it around once a year or so if you want too. My personal plan if for 200x100 area covered that I can just leave them in forever.

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Bird-Netting-Aviary-Poultry/dp/B00CDL3LXC/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1409076747&sr=1-2&keywords=bird+netting

I would HIGHLY recommend that you consider getting a Heat Plate Brooder. For example, this one.

The year I used Heat Bulbs like you are, I witnessed one explode into the brooder (sitting quietly on the couch when it happened), and I had another nearly start a fire despite being bolted into the frame I built.

When I upgraded to my Brinsea Heat Plate Brooder for my latest chick batch....I kicked myself in the ass because I did not buy it sooner!

Not only does it provide better warmth and overall coverage for a larger group of chicks....it is almost completely safe! The only thing you must watch out for is if they get unplugged accidentally....resulting in very cold chicks!

There are a few options on Amazon for cheaper or more expensive/larger ones. It may be an investment, but it is worth it! Especially due to the potential of fires happening while you are away!

Edit: Here is a cheaper option. You might find used ones on Ebay/Amazon, elsewhere!

Kinda, that one would be great if you're doing 4 or 5 birds. I have a bit bigger one, that works really nice

https://www.amazon.com/Yardbird-21833-Chicken-Plucker/dp/B01BI5D0MK/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1526785603&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=chicken+plucker&psc=1

This is pretty useful for the lazier folks.

Works great. Just add a zwave switch.

That really tripped me up at first also.
I went to Home depot thinking there would be an attachment for this type of thing. The only thing they had was a union. After some research I found out what I was looking for was a BulkHead Fitting. I did not even use silicon. There are no leaks and the [yellow nipples] (http://www.amazon.com/Poultry-Nipples-Sanitary-Chickens-Turkeys/dp/B006LAVDLI/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1381852214&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=poultry+nipples) work pretty well. They still leak a bit, but with a gutter under the dispenser it seems to take care of it.

Like one of these?

What about hooking up something like this?

I would never, ever, encourage anyone to break the law, so get a permit before taking, cleaning, cooking, and eating a delicious wild turkey. It would be against the law, if there was a turkey in your back yard, to quietly catch one (https://www.amazon.com/CHICKEN-CATCHER-CATCHING-POULTRY-TURKEY/dp/B01MZ06EMB), then clean it, (https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/article/how-to-clean-wild-turkey), and cook it (http://www.wideopenspaces.com/tips-cooking-wild-turkey/) and then eat it, perhaps with a nice merlot, without getting a permit first. A permit is required to avoid having the turkey police come into your quiet suburban subdivision, and somehow catch you taking one of the wild turkeys that stand there in your back yard (acting like they own the damn place), or in your driveway (pecking your SUV), and give you a citation for unlicensed turkey depredation. The turkey police could be watching, so I urge you to get a permit, to avoid the extremely slim, almost non-existent, very very slight, teensy weensy, microscopic chance that you might get busted.

Cozy Products CL Safe Chicken Coop Heater 200 Watts Safer Than Brooder Lamps, One Size Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX9K1JI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oNiTCbQ2FATS4

Found it from this site, and we have 3 Ameraucanas. My plan was to keep straw on the ground in the run, and in the coop.

For when it gets very cold, we were going to have this heater in the coop, and also a heated water bowl.

Any other suggestions you all have would be greatly appreciated.

First start your cast iron cookware bubbling with some peanut oil.

Whisk an egg white and make a wash.

Blend flour, corn meal, and seasonings to your taste.

Finally acquire the chicken. Get your running shoes on, get you one of these: https://www.amazon.com/CHICKEN-CATCHER-CATCHING-POULTRY-TURKEY/dp/B01MZ06EMB and roll around St. Matts, Nulu, and the Highlands lookin for coops.

Now combine the ingredients in the obvious fashion, fry till golden brown, and enjoy.

I use a rapid feeder or a chicken watering bucket.

https://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Farms-Galvanized-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B006ZJHBRU/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

The former is in a medium empty super on the top of my hives. I added a few 1-1/2" screen holes to the inner cover to keep it ventilated and set the feeders over the center opening.

The chicken feeder can get exciting to be around in the fall. I have a pulley system and run it up about 20 feet in the air on one of my pine trees. It also works for watering during the dry season. I just lay some poly rope in the bottom of the tray to avoid drowning bees when it is crowded.

What ever you do you have to worry about drowning bees.

btw. check out this feeder: https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Feeder-Holds-Pounds-Pellets-Crumbles-Grain-Bucket-Placement/dp/B016047Q5G/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1522849960&sr=1-5&keywords=chicken+feeder while it is a pipe feeder I don't expect it to clog and its probably easy to build diy

You already have a vertically-sliding door, so you're halfway there. All you would need to do is buy the motor-kit. I've installed one a while ago, very easy to DIY with instructions. Some of them require a power outlet, some of them use solar, but almost all of them will let you power them off a 12V battery

example: https://www.amazon.com/Add-Motor-Surface-Chicken-Automatic/dp/B007IZJWNQ/

While I was researching for my automatic blinds project I ran into this:

http://www.amzn.com/B007IZJWNQ

Which, aside from the webcam server would allow you to do what you're looking for without the raspi

I had a heating plate that was fine in the coop.

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Incubators-Chick-Heating-Brooder/dp/B018KIPZTE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=chick+heater&qid=1565146615&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I bought some vertically mounted nipples on Amazon and made a waterer for inside the coop out of a 5 gallon bucket (http://www.amazon.com/Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Nipples/dp/B00JXUAD0K/ref=pd_sim_sbs_86_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51wPoZtroXL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1HVBH3D9JJJRP8X9ZAK3)

I like the use of nipples inside the coop because it keeps them from getting their water continuously dirty. And using a 5 gallon bucket saves me the work of the extra complexity of running water through the wall and into the coop.

I have not had to do it yet, but I am planning on fashioning a side mount nipple waterer with heater.

the parts:
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-250-Watt-Heater-Floater-Safety/dp/B002QXN1EQ/ref=pd_bxgy_86_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002QXN1EQ&pd_rd_r=4BE7ZKH6Q8G5V12XNS8K&pd_rd_w=VeR0H&pd_rd_wg=MuKt0&psc=1&refRID=4BE7ZKH6Q8G5V12XNS8K

with your own bucket and side nipples
https://www.amazon.com/Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Nipples/dp/B00JXUAD0K

or buy a bucket with the side nipples.

my current bucket is bottom nipples but I understand those freeze even with a heater since the water runs down and freezes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018KIPZTE?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

These?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00846NTRI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lzJ8Ab7A2YFEC

https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Poultry-Water-Nipples-Pack/dp/B00846NTRI

http://www.amazon.com/Add-A-Motor-D20-Chicken-Coop-Motor/dp/B007IZJWNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410702792&sr=8-1&keywords=automatic+coop+door

I think it could be a poultry waterer of the double-wall variety, missing the top piece. The pipe is hooked up to a hose for refilling (edit, or for the vent?). But I’m not sure the top lip would be covered by water allowing this to work.

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Farms-Galvanized-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B006ZJHBRU#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1520471474997