Oasis Fountainhead, On-demand Poultry Waterer, Sanitary Water for up to 12 Chickens, Turkeys, Geese or Ducks

I'm not sure it was necessary, but I purchased and installed a pressure gauge to make sure the psi was controlled. I also hard-plumbed into the water supply to the coop with a shut-off valve so I can remove the Oasis Fountainhead to clean the filter screen easily. Right now, I am having an issue with one of the nipples constantly dripping, but I want everyone to know that this company has been incredibly responsive in helping me resolve the drip- issue! They are sending me extra nipples to change out the one that seems to have a problem AND they are sending me an entire replacement unit just to be certain I have a back-up; THIS is response to my questions regarding trouble-shooting a little drip issue. Their communication has been FANTASTIC!The only other issue I had (very briefly) was my own fault in not understanding that I had created an air-lock when I first installed the unit. Water SHOULD spray/flow readily when one presses sideways on the nipple ...... at first, I wasn't getting any water flowing until I disassembled and reassembled, thus clearing the air-lock! WHEW!!Chickens figure the unit out in about two minutes (they are so curious, they will peck at anything). I love the low-profile and clean water supply! Next Spring I am planning to buy at least two more of these Fountatinheads for our outer property where the Chicken-Buddies forage so I don't have to constantly clean & refill watering containers!

First, the item is a great idea - continuous feeding of water for my chickens without having to constantly put a water feeder in the run. Unfortunately the item is not intented to hook up to house pressure and you need to get a pressure reduction value down to 10 PSI to get this to work. One would think the manufacturer would "get this" and offer a unit that has this built in since most people want continous water fed into unit and not from a "water tank" that you have to keep filling. Kind of defeats the purpose don't you think?Amazon was difficult to deal with since they insisted that I had to request a refund from the manfacturer. Nice - get a commission for the sale and then "wash you hands" from a customer service perspective! That is why I brought a pressure reduction value from E-FOWL (over $30) and now the unit works properly.Amazon should be ashamed of themselves

SUMMARY: Came quickly; clean install. Could do with a built-in pressure regulator.PROS: Solid construction. Came quickly; clean install. No leaks.CONS: Pressure required on nipple to produce a sip of water is highly dependent on the water pressure feeding the device.My domestic water pressure is such that even the most minimally opened tap feeding this device delivers pressure so strong that a bird's beak cannot press the nipple hard enough to get a sip. I'll put another tap in line in hopes of regulating the pressure downward, but the makers of this must already know about this problem. They could/ should have installed a local pressure-regulaor on the device, and it would have been perfect. Minus one star for thoughtlessness in the design; minus another star for my having to drive/ buy/ install an additional item just to make it work properly. (FYI, this what I am going to try as a pressure down-regulator: http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-Garden-Connector-Shut-Off-03V/dp/B0006U66B6/ref=sr_1_11?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1369277645&sr=1-11&keywords=hose+coupler)

The design is sound and does the job but one of the mini valves leeks constantly. But the chickens like the wet spot to keep cool on those hot days so I'm not bothering to return for a warranty replacement. This thing is designed to be feed by a 5 gallon bucket, but if you connect to the faucet you will need to install a valve governor to reduce water pressure to similar gravity levels.

Our chickens were a year old and we were worried that they would be too goofy to figure out how to get water from the nipples, but we tried anyway! As soon as they saw me pressing the metal fixtures in the waterer, they were there, trying it for themselves. We have two 3-nipple waterers, one on each side of a 25' x 10' movable fenced run that is part of our improvised chicken tractor. They supply plenty of water for eleven hens. We change the water in the 5 gallon pails that are suspended on each side of the run every 4 or 5 days when we move the "tractor" . This has greatly decreased the work involved in keeping the chickens, without sacrificing water quality.

Extremely convenient and chickens love it. It did take several attempts ( and a few ruined plastic buckets) before hubby finally resorted to using a galvanized bucket for the reservoir supply. We live in the mountains and had problems with it freezing very quickly. Once he wrapped it with a special insulated, heated wire wrap, it works great, but it did add an additional $30 to the cost of the system.

I gave this a one star, as I bought a package of two, and ended up with one being completely unusable. I was unable to get the hose connector PVC fitting to stop leaking. It came with a "O" ring which seated fine, but the fitting leaked on the outside between the pipe and the fitting. I tried a number of things to save this as I really did want to finish installing my waterers, but nothing, not even silicon seal on the inside with a flat rubber gasket worked to stop the leak. I'm returning the DEFECTIVE item. Interestingly, the one that did work came with black zip ties, the one that did not came with white zip ties. I don't know if they are sourced differently but what they are getting back is the fitting with my connector firmly glued in the end as after the silicon dried, it was impossible to remove it.