Ask the Expert: Waterers
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Electric Water Heaters for Poultry
Can you tell me what you recommend as the best electric water heater for chickens?
Dale
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I always prefer the nipple bucket method, but unless you have the headroom in your coop and your birds are all about the same height, it likely won’t work for you. The next best alternative is the metal double-wall water dispenser. They don’t last as long as they used to, but they last longer than the thin plastic water dispensers I’ve used in the past. It’s far from an ideal system, but it does work. Be sure to set the height of the lip of the dispenser to the match the level of your bird’s back. This will reduce the likelihood of your birds fouling the water trough as easily. And the brand is largely irrelevant; they’re all made about the same and to the same mass-produced quality.
Jeremy Chartier
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