best waterer for winter?

[opiyfz450]

Just a simple question, what would be the best type of waterer for my almost finished coop that is 8 x8 that you can walk in? I need something that will not freeze in the cold winter, at least 4 gal and a way to keep pine shavings out. I thought about one of those galvanized hanging containers and lower it to a heated base in the winter, i just want to make the right choice. Thanks for any help.

 

[rodandbrandy]

I have used the steel with the heated base to put under, I will never use them in winter again, the water still froze and it was hard to get apart to fill. (we have an 8x10 coop and the water was inside) I now use these plastic feeders with heated bases that I found on McMurray, they work great!! We have had a very long cold winter and they have not frozen once!! You need an extension cord and they can be hard to line up and put together at first but practice makes perfect!! Don't waste your time on steel if you have long cold winters, they are expensive and just do not work as well as the plastic!!

 

[rodandbrandy]

Oh- I also put my water on a cinder block and that is high enough to keep the shavings out and the chickens do not poop in it or knock it over.

 

[opiyfz450]

Quote:
Can you use the heated base with the plastic water feeder?

 

[silkiechicken]

I just use the round rubber pan bucket things. Too far from electricity to keep water from freezing, and I can just take this tub and pop out the ice cube in the morning.

 

[FarmGirl01]

Yes, those rubber tubs are great. They come in so many sizes. I put my rubber tub on top of an electric base. The base and bowel are on top of an cinder block.
You should be able to use a heater with a plastic fount. It really doesn't get that hot.

 

[living2ride]

I use rubber pans or even the smaller plastic horse feed type pans on top of cinder blocks with a heat lamp hanging above them. That way it helps keep the coop warmer as well. I had a friend use those heated base things, and she also said they didn't really work, so I've never bothered to try one.

 

[willheveland]

I have a heated metal base platform and use it with a plastic fount.I don't really like metal.If you put apple cider vinegar in your water, metal gets funky.The electric bases are pretty big around,it works best if you use a short stocky fount rather than a tall thin fount.I have booth and the tall skinny ones tend to get ice in the very top of the waterer,where the stocky one uses more of the heated surface area.
I try to keep the heater and fount up off the floor so they don't kick pine shavings in them.I use a block of wood or make a wooden box to set it on.I also use a water heater catch pan under everything(fount,heater,block)so that when they drip water it stays in the catch pan and doesn't spread out into their floor space. will