Alternate method to prevent water freezing.

I use something similar. But that particular setup would not work for my chickens. It would be full of crap before the end of the day. Yet, it's still a great idea.
I have my water buried in mounded wood chips. But I have other methods and they only climb up to drink out of it if the others are frozen.
I take those three or four gallon waterers from TS and put them around the coop and outside. They don't freeze except in the cups. And I put a little mineral salt in there and that seems to keep them from freezing. It also gives 85 vitamins and minerals to the chickens.
I also have some of the old dome type waterers. I set them on top of an old lawn mower tire and then cover the top with one of those black greenhouse pots. So that, if it does freeze it won't stay frozen very long when, the Sun hits them.
And also my coop is passive solar heated. I managed to get my hands on some of this industrial poly sheets that used to have rubber on them. I built a giant solar collector wall. I got my hands on some black plastic shipping crates/pallets and I set those directly behind the poly sheet. And the only time the Sun hits it is in the winter when the leaves are off the trees.
I pile leaves or straw on the floor of the perch and it gets quite cozy in there.
There is a doorway to a run and I just hang chicken feed bags over that and it helps retain heat.
Science!

Thank you for posting this. I have been pondering the heat of compost and freezing weather for a while, just never put the two together. I get that this wouldn't work for everyone, but hey, just like recipes we can adapt as needed. Hopefully others will come back to share if they hit on ideas that work for them! WE are all learning, and we are all learning from each other! Headed out to work on my version right now

How do you keep the water clean? Lots of stuff would get into it. Also, the hens could only drink from the first couple of inches.

No one said it would be perfect but if it's perfect for one's needs - then it's perfect!
I quit having chickens after getting a friendly, non-aggressive peck & ended up in the hospital (long story but also a LONG illness. Now I stick to ducks & geese. But I have to control myself when I see the ads on the chickens.)
Was wondering . . . I used the deep litter method (LARGE shavings) in my coops which has the same effect of heating up & my 'girls' snuggling down into the warm shavings on the coop bottom. If it kept my girls from freezing, wonder if it would work for water.
I kept several large coffee pots of water atop the wood stove in cold weather. The coops & run is close to the back door so I snag a pot on my way out & pour enough on top of the water if needed.
The geese/ducks seem to do a good job of keeping a hole going - with one punch the hole is completely out with a small hammer or melt out with a little hot water. (Never had a 'burn' issue. They learn easily to wait til I'm done but what little hot water is used cools instantly anyway. )

Genius! Thank you! I'm going to try it.

I like this idea. I will probably use a 3 gal and maybe have it 4" above the ground. Yes I know they will kick some dirt in it, but not much as they free range all but several days a year. I will try it with straw around the top/over the dirt. I can pick out the straw. Not worried about the dirt as they get it in their bowls now and think it yummy.

I agree with other reviewers. While apparently this seems to work for you, it wouldn't work for me and my flock. The water would be filthy in short order. Even their raised heated water bucket gets dirty and I have to clean it at minimum every other day. Not sure how it works for you but it's a great idea otherwise.

Great idea using manure to create heat in the winter. Terrible idea having the water container so low to the ground where (any of the chickens I've ever owned) scratch the ground and kick anything and everything here, there and onto and into everything in the coop.

If you've go enough shit to fill a much larger hole, I imagine you could bury a 25' hose in the shit and circulate your water through it with a small solar powered pump. People with horse sell manure in large enough quantities to handle such a pit - you might also create the equivalent of the 25 foot hose using 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings.

I kept looking for the instructions to keep smaller birds from falling in an drowning. Especially when there are chicks around and them always running away from bullies.

OK you've followed the instructions above (horse manure OK too?) and now have your in-ground bucket. There is no way to refill the bucket with CLEAN water by lifting it from the hole without dirt collapsing into the hole. So I assume you must bring in a gallon jug of water to top it off. CHICKENS LOVE TO SCRATCH IN THE DIRT. How many days would this work before the water is permanently filthy? Only solution would be to cut a bucket-size hole in a large piece of plywood that allows the bucket to sit tight inside and surrounds the bucket by about 18" on all sides. If you have another solution to this I would like to see it.

Great article but now I've got to get a horse! I've got 5 chickens. Lots of poop but doesn't seem like it would be enough. Other ideas for generating natural heat? Vegetable clippings ?

Wow! What an awesome idea! No need to have electricity to heat the water. I will definitely try this!

This is a wonderful idea, using something every chicken keeper has lying around.

Extremely informative article. Great use of natural resources and the composted manure can be used as fertilizer in the garden the following year. Win-win all around. Thank you!

Wow! Great article!

This is a great idea, very scientific. Unless your chickens are as messy as mine, and the water will get full of manure and dirt

Wonderful article! Very detailed.

Clear, concise instructions. Very effective photos. I appreciate the science.

What a great idea!