Harris Farms Large Flock Easy-Fill Poultry Drinker, Made with BPA-Free Plastic, Top Fill Design, 6.25 Gallon

Just to establish that I know a thing or two about poultry founts, I've been raising chickens for over 25 years in addition to the fowl menagerie we had growing up on a farm. I've used just about every fount imaginable. Galvanized lose their ability to hold vacuum with any kind of dent or when they inevitably become rusty. The worst are the large plastic founts that work by vacuum alone, especially the ones that require the lid to be twisted on super tight in order to create vacuum. They won't unscrew without the jaws of life. The second worst are the ones that require you to fill the upside down bucket, put on the base, and turn it over. You lose much of the water and you get wet no matter what way you try to do to avoid it. All founts that rely on vacuum are disgusting. Chickens defecate in their water which gets sucked up into the clean water on vacuum waterers, requiring daily dumping and refilling, almost making the idea of an automatic waterer pointless.I have been using the Harris Farms (owned by Manna Pro - for those that know the name from livestock feed) waterer for 4 years and just ordered a second one. There are a number of things that make this the best waterer ever, however, it is finicky. I am shocked at the number of negative reviews, so I'll address the problems one might have first.Honestly, if you have trouble figuring out that the nipple on the float needs to fit into the corresponding recess in the bucket, this might not be the waterer for you. The tub needs to be secured tightly to the base, otherwise it will all leak out. It matters which direction the plastic screw and nut go (the assembly instructions shows you). You only have to do this when assembling it, which you'll rarely need to do because, outside of a float problem, you never need to disassemble it. Getting one hand into the bottom of the deep bucket while keeping the other hand at the bottom of the base can be tricky, but again, a tight connection is paramount. That red cap that sits on the nipple in the bucket needs to be taken off so that the waterer works. You don't really need that red cap. I just leave it sitting (floating) in the bucket. Every once in a while (like maybe once/yr), enough water would seep into the float to not allow it to rise and shut off the water supply. When this happens, the water will all flood out. You can check if there's water in the float by shaking it. Unsnap the two sections of the float, drain the water, and snap back together. Fixes the problem until the next time, or do what I eventually did, which is fill the float body with a $5 can of expanding foam and snap the lid back on. If you don't have a good feel for how much the foam will expand, it would be a good idea to drill some holes in the top of the float to allow excess foam room to escape. Once the foam is dry in a few hours, the excess is easily cut off with a serrated knife or fine toothed saw. The foam might distort the float as it expands if you put too much in without having the holes. The foam is 100% waterproof when dry, so the now foam-filled drilled holes will not effect float performance. Water infiltration into the float is the only real weak point to this fount, and yes, the manufacturer should put styrofoam in to begin with, however, it is still, hands down, the best fount ever!Now, on to why this deserves 5 stars! No more crappy water! The float mechanism does not allow dirty water to be mixed back in with the clean water. The tray is much larger than most trays and, because the inside is rounded vs. angular, there are no crevices to clean out. Cleaning this thing is a breeze. The lid comes off and on easily. At 6 gallons, this holds a lot of water, and because the fresh water remains fresh, I feel okay about filling it and forgetting it. I have had no problems with the waterer on a galvanized heated base (upstate NY temperatures). The water at the top of the bucket will freeze, but the area at the bottom remains liquified. Lastly, I rarely ever keep this thing perfectly level and it does not overflow. I'd say that if it's overflowing, it may have nothing to do with being level (within reason) and is more likely is related to one of the aforementioned possible oversights or float problems.

So much easier to fill than the screw-top tanks that use suction to hold the water in.Also, last one of that _other_ screw-top style broke after just a year due to the force needed to unscrew it (after a year of sunshine weakening the plastic, admittedly)._This_ style of water container (this product) doesn't use any suction, so the lid just rests on top and pops off without too much force (chickens can't open it), making it last quite a bit longer than other types (I bought one of this style back when I purchased the other screw-top type, at a Tractor Supply store.) Now both of my water containers are of this type. Makes refilling my chickens' water so much easier.Sometimes the last inch or so of the water doesn't dispense, btw, so don't wait until it's completely empty to refill it.Make sure you still have a water heating pad if the temperature drops below 32°F where you are; ice will still freeze the outlet, just like a screw-top style.

The product leaks and runs the water onto the floor, no matter how level I try and put it. I like the idea of the watered, but it soaked my area for my chicks. I need a solution, I hope the company will reach out to me to fix the situation. Thank you. Sincerely, Dion Flaming

I have had chickens for many years and tried about every waterer on the market. This one by far is the BEST and the only one I will ever buy again. I love it so much that I ended up buying one for my bonus daughter after she was pet sitting and saw how nice it was. So easy to fill, I just use a watering can to haul water to the barn. No more hauling a messy water container. No more containers that come apart when hauling and full of water (soaking my pants and shoes). Simple to clean, works well also with the Harris Farms heater in the winter. Can not say enough good about this product.

Nice sized water feeder even for smaller flocks. I like the large capacity and the lid-style so I don't have to flip it over or take it apart to refill like a previous style I had. The plastic is thick and well made so it doesn't seem like it's going to crack any time soon. The built-in float works well too though it took me a second to figure out the red plastic on it needed to be removed (it looked like it belonged there).

This is by far the easiest poultry waterer I've had. It works via a float that does not allow dirty water to back flow into the holding area. It holds up to 6 gallons of water. I can remove the lid with one hand to fill. No more struggles to add water. I don't have to worry about a vacuum system failing and letting all water drain out. It works on my heat plate in the winter. No frozen cups. It does require regular cleaning to keep the float operating smoothly. It says not to hang by the handle so I have it on bricks to elevate to keep dirty feet out of the drinking area. Both my ducks and chickens use it. It is white plastic, so I don't know how bad algae growth will be as it warms up this summer. So far it's working great.

Works well.

We have good luck with these waterersJust make sure it’s level or the water will leak out