Preparing to use a water heater while away on winter holiday. Feedback? Extension cord danger/tips?

[aart]

I would think that it is thermostat controlled so water or air won't matter.

The one I have (different kind) the instructions said to put it in the freezer for a while then plug it in. The heater should come on for a couple of seconds then click off, this test is done out of water.

When I changed from the messy waterer you see in the farm stores to a nipple waterer I took the waterer out for a couple of hours then placed just the empty red bottom under the nipple. Within 5 minutes they all had it figure out. Most were pecking at the red bottom till one pecked at the shiny thing.

JT

I would want to test it dry....to be sure.

Great nipple training tip!
Horizontal or vertical nipples?

 

[jthornton]

Great nipple training tip!
Horizontal or vertical nipples?

Vertical nipples. I'll get a close up of the one I used in the brooder when I come back from town.

JT

 

[aart]

Vertical nipples. I'll get a close up of the one I used in the brooder when I come back from town.

JT

No need for pic I remember now your miniature 'water tower'

Horizontal nipples work much better with heaters, especially where it gets really cold. The valve seals on the inside of vessel, they tend to drip less too.
But they are a bit harder to train to I think.

 

[VeggieGoneEggie]

Wonders if this one will turn off if it's not covered in water....even tho that is not mentioned either way in the product description.

@VeggieGoneEggie are your birds using nipples now?
It can take a while for them to catch on, I've seen some catch on in two minutes, and others a take up to two weeks to 'get it'. I advise against training from open waterers to nipples when weather is extreme(hot or cold) when dehydration can have dire consequences.

Good question. My original flock has been using the horizontal nipples since they were a few weeks old. Teaching them was easy with some persistent monitoring next to the brooder - I poked the nipple(s) to create the big drop of water in the well, waited for them to drink it and slowly figure out they could make it happen with their own little beaks. Smart girls! BUT... I recently adopted adult hens and to err on the side of caution I've been using an open waterer with them. Can't tell if they know how to drink from a nipple. Hmm, I guess I could ask the folks I adopted them from. Or I need some time during the warm hours of the day to sit out there with them with only the nipples and just do what I did with the chicks...

When I changed from the messy waterer you see in the farm stores to a nipple waterer I took the waterer out for a couple of hours then placed just the empty red bottom under the nipple. Within 5 minutes they all had it figure out. Most were pecking at the red bottom till one pecked at the shiny thing.

JT

That's a brilliant idea!!! I think I will try that with these new hens...

No need for pic I remember now your miniature 'water tower'

Horizontal nipples work much better with heaters, especially where it gets really cold. The valve seals on the inside of vessel, they tend to drip less too.
But they are a bit harder to train to I think.

Yup. I started with vertical nipples inside the coop, and was aghast at how the bedding/ground was always SOAKED. I moved the vertical nipple waterer outside in the run, and then got this 5-gallon horizontal nipple drinker for the coop.

______

I'm definitely nervous about the idea of the waterers running low on water and somehow creating a hazard/malfunction in the heaters. We'll be gone for 7 days, and I have 9 total pullets/hens. I plan to use 2 of the 5 gallon waterers heated, and there will also be a 3 gallon waterer with vertical nipples (no heat) as a back-up. I think most days it will thaw by the afternoon. Do you all think that's enough water (13 gallons total) to avoid running out of water?

Also, I do have a few of these watering cups on hand -> https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Feeders-and-Waterers/Poultry-Watering-Cups-2-Pack-p2221.aspx .... Does anyone think these will be easier to teach older hens to use than the horizontal nipples?

 

[lazy gardener]

The time to set up a heated system is LONG before your scheduled for a trip. Same with any new equipment. Too much can be left to chance when doing a quick new set up right before a trip. IMO, any extension cord should be rated for outdoor use, and hooked up to a GFCI outlet, and water proof at each end of the hook up!

 

[VeggieGoneEggie]

The time to set up a heated system is LONG before your scheduled for a trip. Same with any new equipment. Too much can be left to chance when doing a quick new set up right before a trip.

I hear ya! It's just the opportunity hasn't arisen as this is my first year ever with chickens, and the temperatures only just now started dipping below freezing. :-( Everything is supposed to get here a week before we leave for the trip, so I'll be getting it set up right away and have it run for a week before we leave... if anything feels iffy, I agree with you that it's risky, and I'll just have to ask my friend to haul water. Daily workout!

 

[aart]

Your existing birds should 'teach' the new ones, eh, are they fully integrated?

Not sure if that amount of water will be enough.
I know about how much mine drink per day as I top off the waterer every day.
My 17 birds drink about 3/4gal per day, pretty easy to carry a gallon of water out and it's good to keep a daily eye on it. I just use an old milk jug and use warm water. Mine's set up to be easily topped off, maybe yours could be too?

Those cups will freeze pretty easy..and be a bear to thaw out.

 

[VeggieGoneEggie]

Your existing birds should 'teach' the new ones, eh, are they fully integrated?

Not sure if that amount of water will be enough.
I know about how much mine drink per day as I top off the waterer every day.
My 17 birds drink about 3/4gal per day, pretty easy to carry a gallon of water out and it's good to keep a daily eye on it. I just use an old milk jug and use warm water. Mine's set up to be easily topped off, maybe yours could be too?

Those cups will freeze pretty easy..and be a bear to thaw out.

Good point re: the cups - I guess I'll stick with the horizontal nipples and just make sure the new girls are trained before my trip.

The old and new girls completed the one week of "see, no touch" and have been officially housing/free-ranging unobstructed for a couple of days. But they've been largely staying separate in the yard because the pecking order is cruel. So I'm not sure they've had an opportunity to learn from each other. But I hope that would happen!

 

[Hokum Coco]

So I have two questions:

(1) Just wondering if anyone has used this particular water heater before and has any feedback (I'm realizing now I should have asked BEFORE I ordered, but alas...)?

Never used I would give it a thumbs up looks like an excellent product,

(2) I was well aware that heat lamps are big fire risks, and I do not heat my coop - but I just stumbled upon something that insinuated it's the use of an extension cord itself that creates a potential fire risk. The water heaters will have to be plugged in via an extension cord reaching from our garage (that's the only outlet within reach). Are there any tips to making sure this arrangement is not likely to result in any fire/electrocution concerns?

First I would "NEVER" use such a contraption.

I plug into a GFCI outlet or GFCI extension cord
My method for dealing with winter is quite simple one extra feeder of whole corn. I live in Canada subject to -40º. I have 67 trips around the sun. I have raised various types of chickens and birds for decades.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I use extension cords. No other choice really. Use them to run to the horse water too so that doesn't freeze into an ice cube. Get a good high quality one, they are spendy. I try to cover the places they plug into so they stay dry. Previously I've put a board over the top of a connection, and I also will hang the connections up so they are not on the ground and keep them as far away from the actual water sources as possible. Use a zip tie to stick them to a fence or something so they don't find their way in. Ours light up on the ends when they have power, and we use one to run to the truck as well (in very cold weather, diesels require a cord run to them to keep the heater blocks warm so they start).