Do automatic drinking cups freeze in the winter?

[NuggetTheChicken]

I have some of those red automatic drinking cups in my run. They are attached using flexible plastic pipe to one of those 3 gallon beverage dispensers. I know the water won't freeze in the beverage dispenser themselves, but will it freeze in the pipe or the cups. The pipe runs through their coop to the run outside, so not all of it is exposed to the elements. Some of it is also covered in foam. My setup in the run kind of looks like this except instead of pvc, just some flexible clear plastic tubing.

 

[imnukensc]

Yes, it will freeze in both the cups and the pipe even if the water in the container is heated and not frozen.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Yes, it will freeze in both the cups and the pipe even if the water in the container is heated and not frozen.

Thanks, guess I'll have to lug out water a few times per day

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks, guess I'll have to lug out water a few times per day

You should also drain out the entire system, remove it and put it in your house if you want to resume using it in the summer. Otherwise, the pipe and/or cups will crack when the water in them freezes.
Do you have power in or near the coop? I used a heated dog water bowl last year and that worked but I switched to this for this winter and really like it.

 

[FortCluck]

I have my cups on a 5 gallon bucket and it hasn't froze yet. We saw temps as low as 21 degrees.

When you use the cups on a pipe or tubing it is easier for it to freeze.

I wouldn't use a pipe watering system or a tubing system if I had freezing temperatures in the winter. The tubes can crack when the water freezes in them, then ruins the whole system you made.

 

[Soy Milano]

yes. Water freezes unless its heated or continuously circulating.

 

[wamtazlady]

This is a good article to read. It talks about the freeze resistance of various types of waterers.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/diy-chicken-waterer-3-compared.72579/

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Thanks everyone, I'll keep this in mind

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When they freeze, it ruins them.
And unless you use a pump and keep the water in the pipe circulating, the pipe will burst too.
Even if it just gets down to about 30F, they'll still freeze unless the drinkers are in constant use, which they aren't because chickens sleep.

 

[Dinogrrl]

In that sort of setup yes, they will freeze.
However I use one in a short (~2') and wide (3") vertical PVC pipe, which I have a submersible heater hanging down into, and mine have done fine in the cold. I've kept them both inside and outside the coop without them freezing. (That being said, I live in the South and we don't often get long stretches of below freezing weather.)