When we first arrived at the farm, we were fortunate to be following in the footsteps of my older brother, HighTrail. He had read extensively about grass-based farming, and was eager to share what he had learned with us. He saved us a lot of time and heartache by sharing his knowledge and experience with us.
When we were ready to get our feet wet with chickens, he introduced us to the Plasson poultry drinker. With this waterer, or “drinker,” we were able to go on weekend trips and know that our chickens wouldn’t run out of water while we were away. It can be used with chicks, young fryers, or full grown layers.
The tubing can be attached to a low pressure (not house pressure) hose or a 5-gallon bucket so that gravity feeds the trough. (We used a bucket.) An adjustable, internal ballast controls the water flow/level.
The dome shape keeps birds from roosting on top of the drinker and fouling the water. It’s an ingenious device. Highly recommended.
I bought a chicken waterer for chickens. It is the dome shape waterer that twist into
the bottom. When the water leaks down into the tray, it runs over. Can you tell me
how to stop it from running over? The waterer holds 3.5 gallon of water.
Elizabeth
Hi, Elizabeth,
When the Plasson waterer is assembled and adjusted correctly, water flows into the tray/trough, and then the weight of the water causes flow to be shut off. This is why the waterer needs to be set on a smooth, flat surface, or (better yet) hanging. If I remember correctly, it is the second largest threaded black twistable piece that controls the cut-off point by putting pressure on the spring inside the bell. Adjust that piece to slow down (or speed up) the flow of the water. I hope this helps. If it doesn’t help, let me know.
I’d like to know of a supplier online. I have a Plasson that is the next size up. It works reasonably well in my chicken tractor, but I’d replace it with a smaller one like your in a heartbeat if I could get one….Any ideas?
Scott,
Seems like the Plasson drinkers are poorly marketed to the small farm/homesteading crowd. Most of the Plasson products I see online are for large production poultry farms. Here are a couple of sites that seem to carry the smaller size we used to have.
https://gillisag.com/store/product.php?productid=16144&cat=258&page=5
http://www.oec.biz/plasson.htm#rhd
I hope this helps. If you find a good source, please let me know, so I can pass the word along when others ask.
Thanks,
Bethany