Winter water?

[jerrey]

that is a lot of brids

 

[DTCchickens]

You can get an electric heater for your current water container. You would just drop it in. There are also water containers with built-in heaters. It is much cheaper and safer than heating the coop.

 

[bruceha2000]

@DTchickens !

Location has a lot to do with what one needs to keep unfrozen water for their animals. I don't know at what temp a heated bucket ceases to be functional. I will find out (or hopefully NOT!) this winter. I got 2 gelded alpacas about 6 weeks ago from a neighbor who will be moving to Florida. They have a thermostatically controlled water bucket. I don't know if it will keep the water liquid at -10F or -20F.

My chickens have a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler connected via clear tubing to a 3/4" PVC pipe built into the bottom of the nest box with only the nipple pins sticking out. There is a SMALL reptile waterfall pump that runs continuously to circulate the water through the pipe and back to the container. Above 15F I use a stock tank heater in the container. Below that a submersible aquarium heater set at about 70F. That works to about -20F though sometimes a nipple will still freeze. I've heard that horizontal nipples are better at not freezing. I'm sure it doesn't help that there is a greater distance between the pipe and the pin in my saddle nipples than in the kind that screw into the pipe or bucket. Less chance for the heat to transfer down to the pin.

 

[RezChamp]

Lots of good ideas here.
Gonna try something different (for me) this winter.
A heated dog water bowl for the co-op. It only cost $27&tax.
Probably need to fab a "cap" and a "catch basin" so the birds can't get in there to bath and "slobber" all over the floor.
Thanks y'all

 

[minihorse927]

 @DTchickens
 !

Location has a lot to do with what one needs to keep unfrozen water for their animals. I don't know at what temp a heated bucket ceases to be functional. I will find out (or hopefully NOT!) this winter. I got 2 gelded alpacas about 6 weeks ago from a neighbor who will be moving to Florida. They have a thermostatically controlled water bucket. I don't know if it will keep the water liquid at -10F or -20F.

My chickens have a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler connected via clear tubing to a 3/4" PVC pipe built into the bottom of the nest box with only the nipple pins sticking out. There is a SMALL reptile waterfall pump that runs continuously to circulate the water through the pipe and back to the container. Above 15F I use a stock tank heater in the container. Below that a submersible aquarium heater set at about 70F. That works to about -20F though sometimes a nipple will still freeze. I've heard that horizontal nipples are better at not freezing. I'm sure it doesn't help that there is a greater distance between the pipe and the pin in my saddle nipples than in the kind that screw into the pipe or bucket. Less chance for the heat to transfer down to the pin.

heated buckets here have helped to -25 without issue

 

[RezChamp]

Cookie tin heater and such types don't work good for me. The heating causes pressure in the font causing "flooding". You know like a kettle with whistle on it. Well not that much pressure but same process. Heat expands.....

 

[hooktontravel]

I have a bucket with horizontal nipples on it. only 7 birds, and the bucket is a 2-gallon. I figure i'll just bring it inside at night and take it back out in the morning. And for the ducks, one rubber bucket with fresh water in the morning so they can wash their little duckie faces. the pen is big enough when they splash it doesn't mess things up much (lots of leaves there). No water inside the house. I want to keep it dry to help prevent frostbite. Some winters it goes down to -18 or so here for a few days, and sometimes with windchill lower than that. Other winters it doesn't get much below freezing. We'll see what this one holds!

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

my problem is a much larger version. I've got a stock tank deicer in the barrel which keeps it thawed but still working on a solution for the pipes without having to use heat tape.

Make the stand shorter (or put a platform under it) and attach the nipples to the bottom of the actual barrel.

 

[minihorse927]

Make the stand shorter (or put a platform under it) and attach the nipples to the bottom of the actual barrel.

ducks can't get enough water from the nipple so that a no go plus I don't want holes punched in the barrel other than the bulk fitting hole. I've since wrapped the pipes in pipe insulation 4 times over and it is staying thawed. Thanks for the thought though.

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

ducks can't get enough water from the nipple so that a no go plus I don't want holes punched in the barrel other than the bulk fitting hole. I've since wrapped the pipes in pipe insulation 4 times over and it is staying thawed. Thanks for the thought though.

I had thought about using pipe insulation at one point and was told that the chickens would eat it. I don't know if that's true but you might want to watch out for that.