How to choose the best Chicken Drinker for your flock

All of our customers world wide have different requirements. Some have One or Two Chickens. Some have a larger flock to consider. So it is important to make sure you get their hydration needs right.

When choosing the best chicken waterer system, it is important to think about:

• How many birds you have in your flock
• How much space your chickens have
• The amount of shade/shelter available to your chickens
• The design of your chicken coop
• Access to a water source such as a tap or hose
• Where birds like to spend their time, in particular during the hottest part of the day
• How often you wish to refill your waterer

So let's start with the basics.

Chicken Drinker Lubing Cups - What are they?

Lubing Cups are a cup like water delivery system specifically for poultry. It has a float system so water fills the cup as it is needed. Our Lubing Cups are made by a German Company and are considered the very best. The Company are world leaders in Commercial and Domestic Poultry Hydration.

Lubing Cups provide on-demand access to fresh water and do not become contaminated by dirt and feed as easily as traditional watering systems.

Also, Lubing Cups discourage other animals that bring contamination and disease, such as pest birds and rodents, from using your chicken drinker.

We up-grade all Lubing Cups with our Australian-made Dine a Chook float that allows more water into the cup, ensuring that our drinkers will never run dry while there is water available.

How many drinking cups do I need?

Only one chicken can use a drinking cup at a time, which works well as birds are unlikely to be thirsty all at once.

Generally, we recommend 1 (one) drinking cup for every 8 birds where they have ample room to move around. If your coop is very small or birds do not free range, it is best to make 2 (two) cups available for every 8 birds.

Dine a Chook Chicken Drinkers are available in Single Cup and Twin Cup designs to suit flocks of all sizes.

How many Chicken Drinkers do I need?

The number of Chicken Drinkers that you need will depend on:

• The number of birds in your flock
• The amount of water your birds consume
• The arrangement of your chicken run and climate

Dine a Chook Chicken Drinkers come in one size only, equipped with Single or Twin Lubing Cups to service 8 and 16 chickens, respectively.

As a general guide, a chicken consumers about 500 ml of water per day, so a full 4 Litre Drinker will contain enough water for 2 birds for 4 days, or 8 birds for 1 day. Of course, water consumption will vary according to breed, diet and weather.

In the majority of cases, even when you have a small flock, we recommend a minimum of 2 Dine A Chook Chicken Drinkers. It is better for chickens to have access to water in two locations, in particular where they have a large run or where summers are hot. Having two waterers can be the difference between dehydration and health on hot summer days.

We suggest installing a 4 Litre Chicken Waterer (with one or two Lubing Cups depending on the size of your flock – see above) in two locations in your chicken coop:

• Where chickens roost overnight
• Wherever chickens spend the hottest part of the day.

Do Dine a Chook Chicken Drinkers leak?

Dine a Chook Chicken Drinkers snap together for a leak-free waterer that will keep your chicken coop clean and dry. The no-drip Lubing Cup delivery system is engineered to keep water in the cup and off the floor, even with the thirstiest poultry!

Can I use a Dine a Chook Chicken Drinker for other poultry?

Our Chicken Drinkers fitted with Lubing Cups are suitable for chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl and aviary birds.

Ducks, geese and other water fowl can use Dine a Chook Chicken Drinkers. However, they have a tendency to foul the Lubing Cups more quickly and as such a Chicken Drinker fitted with nipples is preferable.