Beer? Vodka? Molasses? Water additives to keep water from freezing.

[alpinefarm]

Yes, good idea...but we are homesteading and don't have electricity yet!...we'll do hydro/solar hybrid system eventually to create our own, it is just a ways down on the priority list!

I do miss my electric waterer warmer from 'back in the day' when I lived on the grid...but have found it is possible to live perfectly well, or at least reasonably well, without it!
Plenty of water running year round so I just need to figure out a gravity-flow design for piping that I can bring into and out of the coop to give a trickle all the time and which won't get dammed up with litter.

 

[rays123]

Quote:
you could use some 2" cpvc and cut the peace that runs through coop or wherever youll be watering in half leaving the bottom kind of like a trough but leave the ends of the pipe whole to connect to the rest of the pipe. just an i dea to go with but it all depends on your water source

 

[rays123]

actually instead of a trough you could take a hole bit and just drill like a 1-2" hole in the pipe so they could just dip there beak in and that way little to nothing would get in the system. this system has began to intrigue me. i may have to try it.

 

[EliteTempleton]

Quote:
From my dog's heated water bowl!!!

It's a good thing we went with the 5 gallon heater because he is sharing his water with many other creatures...