56 Gallon waterer to prevent freezing in the winter

[bevis]

One thing I noticed is that yours is sat directly on the ground. It will be less likely to freeze in winter if you set it up on some bricks or cinder blocks off the ground. You'll need to raise the step but you can just add a couple of bricks on top for them to climb on.

Also, if you site it nearer the building rather than out there exposed and isolated, it will be sheltered from cold and benefit from the radiated heat from the coop overnight.

Thanks for the advise. Im going to wait and see what happens. if it indeed freezes from sitting on the ground, i can raise it off the ground. BUT i think if you raise it, it would freeze faster as now the cold air has access to the underside. Not unlike a bridge freezing before the roadway because there is air movement under the bridge. But i could be wrong.

 

[Krugerrand]

Thanks for the advise. Im going to wait and see what happens. if it indeed freezes from sitting on the ground, i can raise it off the ground. BUT i think if you raise it, it would freeze faster as now the cold air has access to the underside. Not unlike a bridge freezing before the roadway because there is air movement under the bridge. But i could be wrong.

I would expect above ground to freeze faster as well. In fact, this article uses submurged in the ground (along with some composting) to keep water warmer:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

But, for that article, I can't figure out how the water would stay clean.

 

[aart]

BUT i think if you raise it, it would freeze faster as now the cold air has access to the underside. Not unlike a bridge freezing before the roadway because there is air movement under the bridge. But i could be wrong.

You are not wrong.

 

[Chicalina]

I think it's something to do with the bricks underneath it storing heat during the day and then radiating it into the bowl overnight, more so than bare earth. In my run, I have noticed that basic water bowls freeze unless I put them on bricks just above the ground, in which case it is often just a thin bit of top ice rather than the whole bowl. The earth is frozen solid.

 

[bevis]

Update on something that never crossed my mind.

I noticed one day the poop boards were about 3 times worse than normal.
Below the roost boards are flat table like things that i keep filled with sweet PDZ.
Its so bad that its killing the PDZ in about 2 days. They all appear to have diarrhea and i found blood in some of it. The first thing that crossed my mind was " worms ? ". Then I realized that the only thing that has changed is the water.

After inspecting the water, sure enough the top was covered with mosquito larvae and it seemed that hundreds were already actively swimming in the bottom.
So off came the cover and i emptied the entire thing and washed it out and refilled it with fresh water.

So after reading weather mosquito larvae could hurt chickens, i came up with nothing.
I can only assume that since the only change was the watering method, that had to be the culprit. I have no idea if the bugs swimming in the water could bring on a bout of coccidiosis or not.

Now i dont know wether to treat them for coccidia or worms. I need to look closer for worms in their stool.

I wonder if i can switch them to 20% medicated starter food for a couple of weeks and see if the bloody stools disappear or if i need to go back to small waterers and dose the water with corrid. I need to start a thread in the correct forum to get opinions on what my course of action should be.

It would seem that switching them to 20% medicated starter would be the easiest course of action to see if it produced results or not but that may not be the best choice.

I have since ordered a 350GPH danner mag drive pump that will keep the water moving inside the big 56 gallon waterer. That should stop the summer mosquito problem and it would need to be removed in the winter because i think agitating the surface of the water would cause it to freeze faster than normal. Im hoping the surface of the water agitation wont scare the chickens. I suspect they may like it instead.

What a mess..... And my local TSC is now charging $13 a 25lb bag of PDZ. It takes a complete bag to cover all the poop boards with about 1" of PDZ. Changing that out every couple of days would get expensive.

Anyone have any ideas or input ?
I'd appreciate it.


I'll attach pics of how i did the poop boards that get covered in PDZ

 

[RoyalChick]

I don’t think mosquito larvae harm chickens.
I also don’t believe the barley dunks that kill the larvae harm chickens (I am less sure of that so worth doing research).
What I would do is just float a dunk in the container in the summer to get rid of them. Or cover the top with mosquito netting.

 

[bevis]

Anyone have any thoughts about feeding them 20% medicated food for a week or so ?
They are all adult laying hens.

 

[bevis]

I don’t think mosquito larvae harm chickens.
I also don’t believe the barley dunks that kill the larvae harm chickens (I am less sure of that so worth doing research).
What I would do is just float a dunk in the container in the summer to get rid of them. Or cover the top with mosquito netting.

Everything i have read so far indicates that the dunks are safe for ALL animals.

From the manufacturer

Mosquito Dunks​

Kills Mosquitoes before They’re Old Enough to Bite!

The Mosquito Dunks are one of America’s best selling home owner mosquito control products. A product with BTI, a bacteria toxic only to mosquito larvae, that lasts 30 days and treats 100 square feet of surface water.

• Non-toxic to all other wildlife, pets, fish and humans.
• Simply apply Mosquito Dunks to any standing water or water garden.
• Kills within hours and lasts for 30 days or more.
• Highly effective low impact product

 

[Chicalina]

Mosquito larvae are tasty chicken protein treats. Ducks love them even more.

If you suspect coccidiosis then treat appropriately with corrid. The medication in medicated feed is a deterrent to the protozoa not a treatment or cure.

You can spread a thin layer of shavings on the poop boards, and then spirnkle with PDZ. That way you have two things to absorb the poops and will use less PDZ.

 

[bevis]

Mosquito larvae are tasty chicken protein treats. Ducks love them even more.

If you suspect coccidiosis then treat appropriately with corrid. The medication in medicated feed is a deterrent to the protozoa not a treatment or cure.

You can spread a thin layer of shavings on the poop boards, and then spirnkle with PDZ. That way you have two things to absorb the poops and will use less PDZ.

thanks for the advise on corrid. But i dont know how to prove coccidiosis other than just treat for it. I was not aware that adult chickens got it until i started reading up on it.

I go out to the house every day nd clean the poop boards with a reptile sand scoop and throw the poop over the hill by the RR tracks. I bet the foliage love that.