Water freezing

[1muttsfan]

Yes water is a PITA in the winter, but can be remedied with many options presented on this forum.
This topic is posted over and over and over............................

And well worth mentioning again this time of the year - no need to be rude.

Some folks use a heavy rubber feed tub, made for livestock, and just put out fresh water a few times daily. You can flip the tub over and give them a good thump, and the ice pops right out.

Remember that chickens can eat snow too, so if their water is frozen for part of the day they will not die of thirst - just make sure they have water first thing in the morning, and later in the day as well.

 

[jerryse]

And well worth mentioning again this time of the year - no need to be rude.

Some folks use a heavy rubber feed tub, made for livestock, and just put out fresh water a few times daily. You can flip the tub over and give them a good thump, and the ice pops right out.

Remember that chickens can eat snow too, so if their water is frozen for part of the day they will not die of thirst - just make sure they have water first thing in the morning, and later in the day as well.

This is what I use mostly. I have heaters but chicken math struck years ago and the extra pens for each breed or color made it hard to keep enough working heaters. All said it works fairly well but is a pain until april.

 

[nihil]

I'm using a 5 gallon bucket with poultry nipples in the bottom and a bird feeder heater inside.

This morning the water in the bucket was not frozen but the nipples were frozen so no water for the girls

I filled another waterer but need a permanent solution. I was thinking of epoxying the heater to the bottom of the bucket between the two nipples hoping that the heat would keep the nipples thawed.

Alternatively I could make one of the cookie tin heaters and get a regular waterer.

 

[lilchickenz]

I'm using a 5 gallon bucket with poultry nipples in the bottom and a bird feeder heater inside.

This morning the water in the bucket was not frozen but the nipples were frozen so no water for the girls

I filled another waterer but need a permanent solution. I was thinking of epoxying the heater to the bottom of the bucket between the two nipples hoping that the heat would keep the nipples thawed.

Alternatively I could make one of the cookie tin heaters and get a regular waterer.

Where is your bucket located? Keeping it out of the wind might help. Also might try wrapping it with insulation like reflectix (dunno whether pecking at that will hurt them. Mine pecked at it at first then got bored with it I guess when they realized it wasn't food)

 

[Bullitt]

Does anyone have any thoughts to share on keeping the birds water from freezing. Right now I have a heat lamp about 6 feet over the water fount, but just dropped it down to about 3 feet tonight. It's supposed to get down to 18 degrees tonight so I'm worried it still might freeze. It was 24 last night and the water froze solid. My girls were soooo thirsty when I got home from work at noon. Are the heated waterers worth the investment? Have seen negative comments about them, so am unsure if they are worth the investment.

A heat lamp uses a lot of electricity.

Here is a video with good ideas. The idea about keeping water from freezing is toward the end of the video.

You can also get a plug-in thermostat at the hardware store. This will reduce the electricity you use.

 

[Chickens R Us]

Instead of a cookie tin I use a popcorn tin because it is taller the perfect height for my large fowl chickens. I put 3-4 inches of gravel in the bottom so it is sturdy and will not tip over. For anyone that doesn't know what a popcorn tin is, you can usually find them around Christmas filled with 4 different types of popped popcorn at stores like Shopko, K-mart and Walmart. I got mine at Good Will for 50 cents. I use a 40w or 60w bulb and a light kit which runs around $5.00

 

[Rooster Rules]

And well worth mentioning again this time of the year - no need to be rude.

Some folks use a heavy rubber feed tub, made for livestock, and just put out fresh water a few times daily. You can flip the tub over and give them a good thump, and the ice pops right out.

Remember that chickens can eat snow too, so if their water is frozen for part of the day they will not die of thirst - just make sure they have water first thing in the morning, and later in the day as well.

Where you gettin the "Rude" from, just stating the facts. This topic has been discussed quite heavily in the coops section. If anyone does a search on this topic, many,many threads come up, with a wealth of information.
Hey I am not against discussion, but this is a topic that goes on and on, and thats fine, but if you do some research, many times the question one seeks finds an answer. The solutions are as follows, 1) heated building,2) heated water source, 3) haul water as often as needed throughout the day, 4) move south to avoid freezing temps. That's bout it

 

[1muttsfan]

Where you gettin the "Rude" from, just stating the facts. This topic has been discussed quite heavily in the coops section. If anyone does a search on this topic, many,many threads come up, with a wealth of information.
Hey I am not against discussion, but this is a topic that goes on and on, and thats fine, but if you do some research, many times the question one seeks finds an answer. The solutions are as follows, 1) heated building,2) heated water source, 3) haul water as often as needed throughout the day, 4) move south to avoid freezing temps. That's bout it

Thank you so much for clearing that up.

 

[Black wallnut]

Does anyone have any thoughts to share on keeping the birds water from freezing. Right now I have a heat lamp about 6 feet over the water fount, but just dropped it down to about 3 feet tonight. It's supposed to get down to 18 degrees tonight so I'm worried it still might freeze. It was 24 last night and the water froze solid. My girls were soooo thirsty when I got home from work at noon. Are the heated waterers worth the investment? Have seen negative comments about them, so am unsure if they are worth the investment.

Thanks for posting the question!

Check out the link below. I built a version of one of these four years ago for less than $5, and it's still in use in my coop right now. I used a 40W bulb instead of the bulb shown in the article. The store bought heaters cost around $50, and they are a product of "Fine" RedChinese engineering. They may last a day, or years(Rarely), but when they crap out, they are done, throw it out and buy another. The bulb burns out in the cookie tin, it's easily replaced.
But do something, because that heatlamp is dangerous. I've read on here more than a couple of stories about people burning their coops down with a heatlamp. Get it out of there.






https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cookie-tin-heater-for-water

Thanks for linking to an excellent answer, one that I think I will adopt.

Whats the big deal, plenty of viable options have been offered. heated dog bowls, work great, buying a heated base, or making 1 with a light bulb.
Yes water is a PITA in the winter, but can be remedied with many options presented on this forum.
This topic is posted over and over and over............................

Did you get a personal invitation? With a post count of 202 perhaps you don't "get" forums. They survive on fresh members posting fresh questions and getting fresh answers. Sure the same topics keep coming up, so what. If you don't feel the need to reply in a constructive way why bother. I've been using forums for much of my day to day research for years and I seldom use a search function within one. Sorry if that annoys you however many folks are exactly like me and do not wish to search archives for answers to their questions. They and I would rather engage others in cyber conversation. Will you join in that conversation with what has worked for you and why? Water need not be a PITA, heck if water is a PITA then what else in raising or keeping your chickens alive is a PITA? It for me is a labor of love.

 

[Sharon Bee]

I agree totally Black Walnut. These forums are for communicating and asking questions.