Automatic Chicken Drinkers
These are the wall-mounted chicken waterers most New Zealand coops start with: a 2 litre or 4 litre sealed container with one or two Lubing drinker cups on the front. The cup holds a little clean water, the float tops it up as the birds drink, and the rest of the supply stays shut away from feet, droppings and sunlight. Nothing to press, nothing to learn, and nothing standing on the floor to be tipped over. Every drinker is Australian made and ships free to any New Zealand address.
Call it a chicken water feeder, a waterer, a dispenser or a drinker: this page is the 2L and 4L range. For a drinker you fill once a week, see the 20L drum drinkers; for one you never fill at all, the mains pressure drinkers.
Which size, and how many cups?
- 4L twin cup drinker: the one we would put in first. About two days of water for four hens, and two cups so two birds drink at once. Also in red, and in red with pink floats.
- 4L single cup drinker: the same 4 litre body with one cup, for two or three hens or a pen where the birds drift over one at a time.
- 2L twin cup and 2L single cup: compact 375mm drinkers for brooders, small pens, bantams and aviaries. About a day of water for four hens.
- 2L medication drinker: two Lubing nipples instead of cups, so a measured dose of wormer, vitamins or supplement is delivered without the birds diluting it with feed and dirt.
- Twin pack and three pack of the 4L twin cup: two coops, a bigger run, or a second drinking station so the quieter birds always have a cup.
Litres and cups are two different things
The litres decide how often you refill. A hen drinks around 500ml a day, and up to a litre when it is hot or she is laying hard, so 4 litres is roughly two days for four hens or a day for eight, and 2 litres is half that. The cups decide how many birds can drink at the same moment. Neither number is a flock size. For eight or more hens, use two drinkers in different spots, or step up to a 20L drum.
Why the water stays clean
An open bowl is dirty within the hour: a hen stands in it, scratches litter into it, and the sun grows algae in it. Here the water sits in an opaque, sealed container and only ever reaches the bird through the cup. The cup is a genuine Lubing cup, made in Germany, fitted with the Dine-A-Chook float upgrade so it refills itself as the level drops. Rinse the cups when you refill and the flock is drinking what came out of your tap.
Built for a New Zealand backyard
- UV-treated ASA thermoplastic: it does not go brittle or crack in the sun the way PVC does, and it keeps light off the water.
- Lead-free and BPA-free, with no glue, no adhesives and no internal screws to rust.
- Top filling in place, with a lock-on lid and carry handle.
- Mounting kit included: moulded hooks on the back plus two steel brackets and four screws for timber, sheet metal or masonry. For wire mesh, contact us about the stainless mounting kit.
- 3-year warranty on the drinker components Dine-A-Chook manufactures, 12 months on the Lubing cups and nipples.
Where to mount it
Set the cups about level with the back of your smallest hen's neck; taller birds dip down. Put the drinker in the shade if you can. Cool water is what the birds want on a hot afternoon, and shade slows algae. On the coldest mornings check that the cup itself has not iced over, as you would with any outdoor water.
Frequently asked questions
Do the chickens have to learn to press the cup?
No. The upgraded float keeps water sitting in the cup at the same height, so there is nothing to push. Most flocks are drinking from it within the hour.
Does it leak?
Not when it is mounted level with the weight across both hooks. The cup only lets water in as the level drops. If a cup ever overfills, check for grit or bedding under the float; that is nearly always the cause.
Can ducks use a cup drinker?
They can, but ducks foul a cup quickly. For ducks and geese we recommend a nipple outlet: see the duck waterers.
What about spare cups and floats?
Contact us with what you need and we will send it with your order.
Setting up a coop from scratch? The feeder and drinker kits pair a 4L drinker with a Small Feeder in one order.
These are the wall-mounted chicken waterers most New Zealand coops start with: a 2 litre or 4 litre sealed container with one or two Lubing drinker cups on the front. The cup holds a little clean water, the float tops it up as the birds drink, and the rest of the supply stays shut away from feet, droppings and sunlight. Nothing to press, nothing to learn, and nothing standing on the floor to be tipped over. Every drinker is Australian made and ships free to any New Zealand address.
Call it a chicken water feeder, a waterer, a dispenser or a drinker: this page is the 2L and 4L range. For a drinker you fill once a week, see the 20L drum drinkers; for one you never fill at all, the mains pressure drinkers.
Which size, and how many cups?
- 4L twin cup drinker: the one we would put in first. About two days of water for four hens, and two cups so two birds drink at once. Also in red, and in red with pink floats.
- 4L single cup drinker: the same 4 litre body with one cup, for two or three hens or a pen where the birds drift over one at a time.
- 2L twin cup and 2L single cup: compact 375mm drinkers for brooders, small pens, bantams and aviaries. About a day of water for four hens.
- 2L medication drinker: two Lubing nipples instead of cups, so a measured dose of wormer, vitamins or supplement is delivered without the birds diluting it with feed and dirt.
- Twin pack and three pack of the 4L twin cup: two coops, a bigger run, or a second drinking station so the quieter birds always have a cup.
Litres and cups are two different things
The litres decide how often you refill. A hen drinks around 500ml a day, and up to a litre when it is hot or she is laying hard, so 4 litres is roughly two days for four hens or a day for eight, and 2 litres is half that. The cups decide how many birds can drink at the same moment. Neither number is a flock size. For eight or more hens, use two drinkers in different spots, or step up to a 20L drum.
Why the water stays clean
An open bowl is dirty within the hour: a hen stands in it, scratches litter into it, and the sun grows algae in it. Here the water sits in an opaque, sealed container and only ever reaches the bird through the cup. The cup is a genuine Lubing cup, made in Germany, fitted with the Dine-A-Chook float upgrade so it refills itself as the level drops. Rinse the cups when you refill and the flock is drinking what came out of your tap.
Built for a New Zealand backyard
- UV-treated ASA thermoplastic: it does not go brittle or crack in the sun the way PVC does, and it keeps light off the water.
- Lead-free and BPA-free, with no glue, no adhesives and no internal screws to rust.
- Top filling in place, with a lock-on lid and carry handle.
- Mounting kit included: moulded hooks on the back plus two steel brackets and four screws for timber, sheet metal or masonry. For wire mesh, contact us about the stainless mounting kit.
- 3-year warranty on the drinker components Dine-A-Chook manufactures, 12 months on the Lubing cups and nipples.
Where to mount it
Set the cups about level with the back of your smallest hen's neck; taller birds dip down. Put the drinker in the shade if you can. Cool water is what the birds want on a hot afternoon, and shade slows algae. On the coldest mornings check that the cup itself has not iced over, as you would with any outdoor water.
Frequently asked questions
Do the chickens have to learn to press the cup?
No. The upgraded float keeps water sitting in the cup at the same height, so there is nothing to push. Most flocks are drinking from it within the hour.
Does it leak?
Not when it is mounted level with the weight across both hooks. The cup only lets water in as the level drops. If a cup ever overfills, check for grit or bedding under the float; that is nearly always the cause.
Can ducks use a cup drinker?
They can, but ducks foul a cup quickly. For ducks and geese we recommend a nipple outlet: see the duck waterers.
What about spare cups and floats?
Contact us with what you need and we will send it with your order.
Setting up a coop from scratch? The feeder and drinker kits pair a 4L drinker with a Small Feeder in one order.
