Heated Waterer

[Haazegirl]

I have the electric metal base for heating the galvanized water founts and it only works to 10 degrees. We are at -13 and it's not working. This is a very cold week and my DH is gone. I'm in a small town and have to leave to get to a fleet store that actually has anything. I'm going to take some hot water out and hope that tides them over for a while. And if I can find everything a heat lamp to hang next to the waterer.

Is there anything else I can do? I know we borrowed a heated dog bowl, but don't know where he's kept it. I've worked my but off for the flock since Scott left we've had raccoons wrecking the coop and getting into the feed. I brought a trapper out and there's a skunk waiting in the barn right now. And all the repairs have been done in 0 or below weather, my new snow boots haven't arrived yet so I'm wearing his. And it's only day 3 out of 8. For some reason the egg production has doubled we got 8 eggs yesterday. I think the wildlife is scaring it out of them!

 

[chicmom]

Hello! I'm here in Ohio, and it gets very cold here. It hasn't been below zero this year (other than wind chills). I use the rubber buckets, and that way you can pop out the ice. I have two sets, so I take a fresh one out in the morning, and bring back the frozen one, then after work, I do the same.

One thing I discovered, is that if I hang a light above the bucket, and then I pile some hay around the bucket, it sort of insulates the bucket, and the water doesn't freeze. Maybe that would work for you.

Maybe you could use a rubber bucket atop your heated bases, and if the base doesn't really get hot, you could put pile some hay around the bucket? (I don't know if that would be a fire hazard though.....not sure how hot those bases get.....)

I hope you find something that works for you!
Sharon

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hang in there. Sometimes all you can do is give liquid water several times a day. I have an electric dog waterer that only works to +20 - what a waste of time and money.
The thing that works best for me are birdbath heaters. The one in the shape of a mini racket ball racket without the strings has never had frozen water and I put it in a rubber waterer. The kind that is a coil inside foil I wrap in aluminum flashing and put on top of bricks under a small galvanized hog waterer.
Warmup coming here this weekend.

 

[Haazegirl]

Thanks, I'm going to the store now. I found the heated dog bowl and it's broken. I also found the heat lamps but have to get a connector with multiple plugs to use it. They don't seem too desperate yet, but I have 2 or 3 more days before the warm up.

I'm going to buy that multiplier and look for dog bowls and birdbath heaters. And insulated work gloves, I can only take about 15 minutes out there before I'm frozen. My boots should come in the mail today for sure. And the trapper got rid of the skunk we caught so I can go about my business without worrying about getting sprayed. Even if it is a little stinky. What a week.

 

[HEChicken]

Yeah, I've found the heated water bowl doesn't always keep up. I bring the water bowl inside at night so in the morning it is at room temperature and when I take it outside to them, it stays unfrozen for a little while. Throughout the day I take them out bowls of mash every couple of hours (boil some water and add a scoop of their crumbles to it). Since the mash contains liquid it makes them less thirsty than if they ate the same food dry. Plus it gives them a little moisture whenever they eat. At the same time I take the mash out to them, I take a kettle of boiling water and pour it onto the frozen water in the water bowl. It cools down SO fast when pouring it onto ice. If any of them act like they're going to rush the bowl and drink, I hold them back for a second until its cool enough to drink. Its a little labor intensive but gets us through the winter storms.

Dreaming of Spring.....

 

[dottysfarm]

check out this thread for an easy to make, inexpensive water heater.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107951

 

[spartacus_63]

I use the metal heater and the only time my water froze was when it got unplugged. It was -9 this morning and the water was still liquid.

 

[Haazegirl]

Thanks for the link to cookie tin heaters! I wish we had thought of that before buying the heater last year!

I'm pretty handy and creative, but without my husband to tell my where all the parts and tools are it's a cold and time consuming process. I've been going between the house, garage, shed, new house, and barn for 3 days now over and over trying to fix the damage and catch animals. I'm pretty much worn out and tired of bad luck.

There was some water poking through the ice in the metal fount. The temp got up to 5 degrees now. I found one of those big blue heated dog bowls at the store in town and hooked it up if that doesn't work I'll put the heat lamp up. I didn't have any hardware with to hang it right away. But there is an open plug for it now. It sure was smelly! My kids will come home and ask why our entry smells like a skunk!

 

[HunterWilson]

I have been using a bird bath deicer like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-Aluminum-C-50-150-Watt/dp/B0002DHBDY

This year we have had some temps around 0-F and it has worked perfect.

I have a 3-gallon bucket with poultry nipples on the bottom. I cut a small hole in the lid to run the cord for the deicer.

 

[snowflake]

If all else fails they will eat snow you could probably put a bowl of snow in with them. Tide them over till you get thawed water to them