electric waterers

[kyrose]

has anyone tried the new heated water fountains?i just got one and started using it today.i got so tired of bringing in the heated water bowls and cleaning them daily.my bigger kids are dirt balls.:0) my bantams are pretty clean.im not sure if i like this one either.its hard enough to take care of the chickens in the winter without adding to it....i wish someone would come up with a better method.

 

[MidnightChickenLover]

I havn't bought one. For the winter we use a heated outside dog dish as an open feeder. I have had problems with heated bases and waters, they never kept them warm enough.

 

[dacdeihl]

I have no problem with my base heater for my metal waterer. But if you find a water system that easy...please share!!

 

[patandchickens]

If you're talking about the plastic 2 or 3 gallon (I forget) jobs with the heating element built into the red plastic base, I have one, used it all last winter, like it fairly well. It did a good job (although my coop doesn't get terribly cold) and I felt good about its safety. The attachment mechanism for getting the base back on after you've refilled the water was very very annoying -- I ended up using a dog bowl to steady the filled reservoir, upside down, and put magic-marker lines on the base and reservoir to make it a *bit* less challenging to get things lined up and clicked together properly. It isn't horrible, but I do wish it could be redesigned. From other peoples' comments last winter I am under the impression that some are made with a hose refill hole in the top, so you don't have to take the whole thing apart every time you refill, which sounds like a good feature as long as it doesn't make the waterer leak.

I have never tried a metal heated base, tho I am considering trying to make one for one of the pens this winter. I have used heated dogbowls, but that is only practical for less than 6 hens (unless you have a bigger dogbowl than mine, I suppose

) and ends up wasting a lot of water since I have to dump and clean it daily since so much crud gets kicked in, even on a raised platform.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[LittleFeat]

I've been debating getting a 5 qt heated dog bowl for my 5 hens but for now it seems easier to just take the water in at night after they go to roost and put it back out in the morning around 7 am. It's not too often it will be too cold during the day for it to refreeze then.

 

[wildorchid053]

i ordered two of the big heated waterers and one leaked all the water into the coop and shavings.. and now the other at 18 degrees has frozen water.. i am not pleased at all.

 

[ninny]

I just save milk jugs fill them up with hot water and walk it out to fill the bowls with. Can't wait till i get my dream coop. Someday.

 

[aussieheelr]

I'll let you know... I ordered one and it came broken! Little peeved about it but I guess all I can do about that is send it back and hope it doesn't get replaced by another broken one!

 

[fiberart57]

Up until Tuesday night I liked those 3 1/2 gallon waterers with the red electric base. It was tricky to manage at first but once I got the hang of it, things were okay.

Then the temperature went below 10 degree. Lots below, it went to -4 last night and it simply isn't strong enough for those temps. A scrim of ice forms on the top of the waterer while underneath the water is liquid.

It only heats to 35 degrees and the air temperature kept the surface frozen. I got a dog water dish that kicks in at 41 degrees and when I checked it today there was no ice in it. I have a small house and the girls use it for sleeping and laying eggs. I put their water outside under the raised house. (It's a variation of the Playhouse Coop.)

Mary

 

[fldiver97]

I have one of those 3 gallon heated plastic water fountains. The lowest temp we've had is -3F one night, tonight it is about 5 F. I have the waterer inside the coop, according to the min/max thermometer in there the lowest temp inside the coop was 20 F. The waterer works fine as far as keeping the water rom freezing. It is the newer type that has a plug on the bottom to refill without unscrewing the base. The base has the plug-in. Water does not freeze overnight as I kee it plugged in. The only time I had ice in the bottom part was when the plug came out....either I stepped o the cord and unplugged it or my girls somehow managed to wrestle the plug out. I now keep a 100 watt bulb a safe distance away above the waterer.....just in case and only during the day. The waterer is not perfect though, I can't fill it completely as it becomes more difficult to manage. And it will easily overflow if not level. once I figured out the weak spots I decided it will work for me until someone comes up with a better version.....