Poultry Nipples.
Yes, it’s a thing. A useful thing that I saw in my local feed store’s chick brooder, my first year raising chicks.
Now I use one quart honey pails and poultry nipples in all the brooders. With lids, a small hole drilled in each top to prevent a vacuum as the water level drops.
The first couple years, I spent lots of time picking up chicks and tapping their little beaks against the nipples. Now I don’t bother, their natural curiosity and intelligence leads them to tap the nipples anyway, and they teach themselves. If I get a slow group, I add a few couple-day older chicks from the next brooder up, they soon teach the sluggards.
The label says “adult birds only”, but I don’t know why they are x-rated, they work great for my chicks.
Keeping waterers clean is a losing battle in the chick brooder, one I’m glad I don’t have to fight.
I sold my first house chicken the other day, a tiny day old White Silkie. The late twenties woman and her partner have a very small yard, and wanted an unusual, indoor pet. They have done their research and were ready for the little one. And they don’t much care if it is a girl or a boy, that’s also a first, usually chick gender is the top concern.
After several weeks in quarantine in the barn with the ponies, bantam Polish rooster has joined the flock. He is a feisty little bugger, spending much of his time chasing poor Earl, who is twice his size, around the run.
Muddy Valley Farm 