Best Chicken Waterer in 2021 (Reviews and Comparison)

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When you begin your backyard chicken flock you want to make sure you have the best chicken waterer for their run and coop so we gathered the best ones we have discovered to help you make a great decision for your flock.

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Most chicken owners are unaware that their chickens cannot go longer than 24 hours without any water. In fact, water is even more essential to chickens than food. They can go a few days without food if they have access to their run, but water is not a question for them. Thus, it is so important to have a chicken watering system that makes it really easy to make sure your chickens have water whenever they need it. The following chicken waterers are the best systems out there to help insure that your chickens are never without water. 

We have tried many different options for keeping our chickens with clean and healthy water over the years, but without a doubt the following ones have made it an easy process for us. When choosing these items we were focused on sharing products that were easy and simple to use, kept your water clean, and made your tasks as a chicken owner easy. 

COMPARISON CHART

IMAGE PRODUCT
1. Our DIY Chicken Waterer with Attachable Chicken Nipples
  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Highly Durable
  • Easy Assembly
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RentACoop 5 Gallon/ 4 Automatic Chicken Nipple Water Cup Chicken Waterer (Corner Placement) 2. RentACoop 2 Gallon
  • BPA Free and Food Grade Plastic
  • Horizontal Drinking Nipples
  • 2 Gallons  = 5 Days of Water for 4 hens
CHECK PRICE
Harris Farms Poultry Drinker | Simple and Easy to Use for Any Size Flock | Suitable for Both Indoor and Outdoor Use | 3.5 Gallon 3. Harris Farms Poultry Drinker 6.25 Gallons
  • BPA Free
  • Easy-Fill
  • Sturdy Carrying Handle
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Harris Farms Plastic Poultry Drinker, 5 Quart 4. Harris Farms Plastic Poultry Drinker
  • Constant Full Cups for Ease for Hens and Owner
  • Great for multiple day use
  • Can be placed or mounted in a corner or in the center of a coop or run
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Miller Little Giant 5 Gallon Poultry Waterer Fount - The Best 5. Miller Little Giant 5 Gallon Poultry Waterer
  • 5 Gallon Hold
  • Tough handle for easy transportation
  • Easy to fill jar snaps onto base
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Specification

Water Capacity5 Gallons or any size you would like it to be
Product Dimensions11.91″ top x 14.5″ Hgt.
Item WeightWithout water under 1lb but with water 20 lb

Features

  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Highly Durable
  • Easy Assembly
  • Keeps Water Clean
  • Easily Done at Home
  • Affordable

We tried so many waterers and this was for sure the best way we have done the water system for our backyard chickens. It is a super simple DIY and incredibly affordable. It keeps the water clean and is easy to fill up.

WHAT WE LIKE

This design is extremely affordable. It also makes it easy to make sure your chickens have access to clean water. You can also customize the size to any size depending on the number of chickens you have.

WHAT WE DONT LIKE

The main downside is that it doesn’t come ready. It is a DIY Chicken Waterer that you will have to make yourself.

PROS

  • Keeps water clean and accessible to the chickens
  • Easy to refill
  • Affordable and easy to make yourself
  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Very Durable
  • Easy to Clean

CONS

  • Have to create it yourself

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RentACoop 5 Gallon/ 4 Automatic Chicken Nipple Water Cup Chicken Waterer (Corner Placement)

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RentACoop 5 Gallon/ 4 Automatic Chicken Nipple Water Cup Chicken Waterer (Corner Placement)

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RentACoop 5 Gallon/ 4 Automatic Chicken Nipple Water Cup Chicken Waterer (Corner Placement)

Specification

Water Capacity2 Gallons
Product Dimensions9x9x9 inches
Item Weight1.74 pounds

Features

  • BPA Free and Food Grade Plastic
  • Horizontal Drinking Nipples
  • 2 Gallons  = 5 Days of Water for 4 hens
  • Easy to fill
  • No Assembly
  • Affordable pricing

This is a similar Chicken waterer to the DIY one but it comes pre assembled. This also comes with a No-roost cone, which is incredibly helpful to keep the product cleaner in the coop or the run. You can fill this from above which makes it easy to fill as well. 

WHAT WE LIKE

Being able to top fill the chicken waterer is great. The nipples make it easy to keep the water clean and fresh for the chickens. It also makes sure the bedding in the coop doesn’t get wet because of the nipples. The no roost cone is wonderful to keep it clean and to lower maintenance.

WHAT WE DONT LIKE

Some chickens don’t like to drink from nipples and struggle with it. So some hens may refuse it.

PROS

  • Easy to refill
  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Very Durable
  • BPA Free
  • Smart Design
  • No Roost Cone

CONS

  • Small size and not for all hens
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Harris Farms Poultry Drinker | Simple and Easy to Use for Any Size Flock | Suitable for Both Indoor and Outdoor Use | 3.5 Gallon

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Harris Farms Poultry Drinker | Simple and Easy to Use for Any Size Flock | Suitable for Both Indoor and Outdoor Use | 3.5 Gallon

Check Price

Harris Farms Poultry Drinker | Simple and Easy to Use for Any Size Flock | Suitable for Both Indoor and Outdoor Use | 3.5 Gallon

Specification

Water Capacity6.25 Gallons or 3.5 gallons
Product Dimensions17 x 17 x 21 inches
Item Weight3.3 pounds

Features

  • BPA Free
  • Easy-Fill
  • Sturdy Carrying Handle
  • Indoor or Outdoor Use
  • Simple Assembly

This chicken waterer comes in two different sizes and it fills from the top which makes it incredibly easy to refill for your flock. Harris Farms products are made in the United States and designed by experienced farmers that know how to make tasks simpler and easier. 

WHAT WE LIKE

The top filling ability is huge for a chicken waterer. This one is very sturdy and easy to use, which is essential in making watering your chickens a simple task every few days.

WHAT WE DONT LIKE

The main downfall is the exposed water tray. It collects dirt and makes your water dirty very quickly. So you have to make sure you regularly wash it for your chickens.

PROS

  • Easy to refill
  •  Gravity Fed Design
  • Very Durable
  • BPA Free
  • Smart Design
  • Easy to Clean

CONS

  • Pricey
  • Needs some maintenance in between uses
Harris Farms Plastic Poultry Drinker, 5 Quart

Specification

Water Capacity5 gallons
Product Dimensions10 x 12 x 14 inches
Item Weight2.44 pounds

Features

  • Constant Full Cups for Ease for Hens and Owner
  • Great for multiple day use
  • Can be placed or mounted in a corner or in the center of a coop or run
  • No Roost Top keeps the waterer clean
  • Holds 5 Gallons of Water
  • Optional Strap can be added for hanging.

This chicken waterer offers a more unique option for getting water to the chickens. It uses a cup sort of feeder that provides a small pool of water for the chicken to access. It also has a cone on top to keep chickens from roosting on top of the waterer.

WHAT WE LIKE

Top fill makes it easy to get chickens the water. Less to mess with. The gravity feeding design is wonderful to make sure the water is constantly available for your hens. Easy to assemble and has plenty of options.

WHAT WE DONT LIKE

Though the cups for the chickens is nice to access plenty of water, in the winter these will easily freeze for the birds and won’t be accessible. Also the cups will need individually cleaning more often.

PROS

  • Easy to refill
  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Lots of options for positioning in the coop
  • BPA Free
  • Smart Design

CONS

  • Pricey
  • Needs more cleaning potentially
Miller Little Giant 5 Gallon Poultry Waterer Fount - The Best

Specification

Water Capacity5 gallons
Product Dimensions16 x 16 x 16 inches
Item Weight2.5 pounds

Features

  • 5 Gallon Hold
  • Tough handle for easy transportation
  • Easy to fill jar snaps onto base
  • Durable with Heavy Duty Plastic

This plastic water container holds 5 gallons of fresh water for you chickens. It uses gravity feeding to keep water in the trough for your backyard chickens.

WHAT WE LIKE

This large capacity waterer is really great because it makes it easy to use and refill and it is easy to clean because of the design.

WHAT WE DONT LIKE

It has to be on a completely level surface to not continue flowing because of how the system works. This can be hard in a coop. Also hens can land on it and roost which can make it messy to clean!

PROS

  • Easy to refill
  • Gravity Fed Design
  • Smart Design
  • Heavy Duty Plastic
  • Easy to Transport

CONS

  • Not BPA Free
  • Needs more cleaning
  • Chickens can roost on waterer
  • Needs a level surface

Conclusion

As a final wrap up, the best session is to make your own waterer for your chickens using our DIY chicken waterer or to consider purchasing the RentACoop 2 Gallon – Nipple Drinker if you do not want to make your own chicken waterer. This one is extremely similar to the DIY one and just as simple to use. Also it can easily converted to a heated chicken waterer if you need a system for that you can see our list of best heated chicken waterers.

Need to learn more about Raising Backyard Chickens:

Winter Ready Chicken Check List

Hello! I’m Megan Gilger,

A strong believer that nature and the seasons are our greatest teachers. We live on a hill in Leelanau County, Michigan just a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan. This land we are responsible for is where we are focused on building a life around the seasons and intention. We spend our days here building a regenerative model of living and focusing our garden on native plants and intensive polyculture planting styles. My focus is less on self-sufficiency and more on community-sufficiency through how we grow and connect through the seasons.
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