Dealing with frozen water

[LynneP]

I have a base heater for my 3 gal double walled galvanized waterer but I found the whole apparatus awkward in the coop. I had purchased a 1.5 gal electric dog water bowl for the barn cats, and ended up trying it in the coop. It's far better and the cats like the poultry setup. it has wire around the cord to protect from biting/pecking (Farm Innovators brand).

I keep a catch bucket in the coop porch and a plastic measuring cup to ladle the old water, then wipe it with a rag and refill from a jug- much easier! No lugging waterers in and out of the coop. When it's above freezing I continue to use it but unplugged.

 

[Bigboy's Chicks]

Quote:
What's that? I'd be interested in a simple solution--I'm tired of hauling a kettle of boiling water out in the morning.

Can you please explain the light bulb in the cookie can method . l would be interested in this way to keep the girls water not frozen. Tahaks in advance

 

[damselfish]

I don't know about the cookie tin, but I think what we do is similar...light bulb in a concrete block.

This would be one of the blocks with a hole in the middle. We have half sized ones with one hole, but you could just as well use a full-sized one and put the lightbulb on one side.

Anyway, the block lays so that the hole is vertical. The wire for the bulb fixture runs under the block, and the fixture and light sit in the middle of the hole. Set waterer on top. Our waterers are the galvanized double wall ones. Voila, no more frozen water.

Make sure you don't have litter in the hole, don't want to start a fire. We use regular light bulbs, don't remember the wattage. Good down to 0 deg so far.

Hope this helps.

 

[rooster0209]

I used a heated dog dish, its about $12 at wal-mart

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, I got the idea from someone on here, but can't find the link... but I got a cookie tin from Walmart $2.00 and I had a bulb socket from an old lamp (free). My hubby cut a hole in the side and fed the plug end through and Wall -ah. Hubby said he could have got a bulb socket from home depot for a couple bucks, but then remembered we had one. I started out with a 40 watt bulb, but the edges were still freezing. Anything under 20 degrees the 75 watt bulb has done the trick. You could also use a rabbit heat pad from www.cozywinters.com its about $20.00 and that keeps the water from freezing also. I couldn't take going out with the boiling water anymore either! This is only my second winter with the chickens and ducks outside and last year was not half as bad. Good Luck!!

 

[digitS']

Jody's (hinkjc) cookie tin water heater

I think it is easy to make life difficult by using large waterers during freezing weather. My chickens were drinking about a pint of water each during the Summer. Even with 10 chickens, a 2 gallon water can is an unnecessarily large chunk of ice to deal with twice a day.

They gotta have it but it can be fresh and liquid, 2 or 3 times a day.

Steve

 

[Whispering Winds]

Explain to me about the light bulb in the cookie tin used to keep water from freezing? I know i am going to have to have some type of deal to use next winter, and want to get a jump on it early!

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Quote:
The link came up on the recent posts and on the reply before you on this thread. It explains it better than I do..

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

60 watt bulb in a flower pot turned upside down under the water bowl. Over night on a few nights that it was in the single digits I still got ice around the edges, but still enough for them to drink and no more solid nice blocks!

 

[siz8003]

the cookie tin works great!! We had -20s here and the water was ok