Chicken waterers winter

[B_Chickle01]

I was looking for some input from other chicken owners and what seems in their experience to work the best as far as keeping the chickens waterers from freezing in the winter!! Read in an article(Added link to article below for reference)how a woman uses and swears by... filling up a 20oz empty bottle putting a quarter cup of salt in the bottle and fill the remainder up with water and to put top on the bottle tight And then inserting the whole thing inside of their waterer!! Has anyone ever tried this method if so is it sufficient?

https://www.achickandhergarden.com/chickens-water-from-freezing/

 

[muddy75]

I use heated waterers but here is a cool article on other methods https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

 

[B_Chickle01]

I use heated waterers but here is a cool article on other methods https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

Thank you! I’ll def read more about it!! I have a heated metal based to put under metal waterer but looking for other ideas! What brand do you use for heated waterer? And does it work well?

 

[wamtazlady]

I've read about that salt water in a bottle thing but have never tried it. Can not think of any reason it would work. Call me a skeptic. Yes, salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, but the salt in that bottle is not getting into the fresh water. I can understand the water in the bottle not freezing but can't figure out why the water outside the bottle would not freeze. To keep the water thawed that bottle would have to be generating heat. Not saying it does not work. Anyway, you could easily test this out in your own freezer to see if it works.

For winter water I use a 13 gallon clear tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a 250 watt stock tank deicer. Of course you have to have electricity that can reach the waterer. I live in NW Montana and my waterer has not frozen yet after 5 winters of use. Gets down into the -20s F during a normal winter here sometimes.

 

[B_Chickle01]

I've read about that salt water in a bottle thing but have never tried it. Can not think of any reason it would work. Call me a skeptic. Yes, salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, but the salt in that bottle is not getting into the fresh water. I can understand the water in the bottle not freezing but can't figure out why the water outside the bottle would not freeze. To keep the water thawed that bottle would have to be generating heat. Not saying it does not work. Anyway, you could easily test this out in your own freezer to see if it works.

For winter water I use a 13 gallon clear tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a 250 watt stock tank deicer. Of course you have to have electricity that can reach the waterer. I live in NW Montana and my waterer has not frozen yet after 5 winters of use. Gets down into the -20s F during a normal winter here sometimes.

Honestly I was/am skeptic myself. I cannot seem to grasp the whole concept and how salt water that is sealed and not coming into contact with drinking water could keep it from freezing! I do have electricity that can reach my coop i use it now. Just was wondering if there is some easier alternatives then running several leads all over. Their waterers froze last few nights but stuck them In outside Run under sun and they melted rather quickly. Just worry with them being babies.

 

[wamtazlady]

Honestly I was/am skeptic myself. I cannot seem to grasp the whole concept and how salt water that is sealed and not coming into contact with drinking water could keep it from freezing! I do have electricity that can reach my coop i use it now. Just was wondering if there is some easier alternatives then running several leads all over. Their waterers froze last few nights but stuck them In outside Run under sun and they melted rather quickly. Just worry with them being babies.

After you posted this I did a little research. Someone put a bottle of salt water in a bucket of water and left it out on the porch. They said in the morning the water was frozen solid.

 

[B_Chickle01]

After you posted this I did a little research. Someone put a bottle of salt water in a bucket of water and left it out on the porch. They said in the morning the water was frozen solid.

Thank you so much for looking into that for me!! The whole concept was confusing and made no sense to me!

 

[wamtazlady]

You're welcome. I love to do online researching.

 

[Carson213]

On Amazon you can get a Thermocube for $10...plug a submersion heater in their water. I put a “nightlight” on it so I know when it’s on. I dropped the submerged heater into a 50 gallon plastic barrel with metal nipples. makes it easy if you don’t have plumbed water.

 

[B_Chickle01]

You're welcome. I love to do online researching.

Me too!! I like forums like this because the information provided is based off of others personal experience! A lot of times you get a lot of contradictory info and you don’t know what to do. So I appreciate and value all the help from everyone on this site.