Frozen waters

[rosemarythyme]

I use votive candles

How do you get it to not melt the plastic? I specifically use votive candles to soften plastic.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How do you get it to not melt the plastic? I specifically use votive candles to soften plastic.

What plastic? I thought she said she puts the candles under a cooking pot of water.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What plastic? I thought she said she puts the candles under a cooking pot of water.

Something like this, just leave enough space between the bricks that the flames get enough air, the candles are in a plastic case

 

[BigBlueHen53]

the candles are in a plastic case

Oops! Missed that! Thanks.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I imagine it must be really hard to keep thawed water always available in cold weather without electricity. I don't have any suggestions for that, but I'm appreciating the suggestions people are offering, few though they be! Providing water twice a day has been the most amazing one to me so far (@21hens-incharge) but unfortunately, not very useful for working folks who don't see their chickens in daylight during the winter.

My best suggestion is very long, heavy-duty extension cords and heated dog dishes. Works for us.

 

[Banana01]

So for no electricity and no flames of any kind, any sort of insulated box around the waterers would help. Wind chill is what will freeze it faster. If you can have an enclosed water with a small opening in top would be better than a fully open top. An underground insulated box with a small circular opening on top would almost be ideal.

-Spray foam insulation around the waterer, at least an inch or more
-Increase the volume of the waterer
-Dont have any tubes or hoses, they freeze fast

If you did any of these, the water would not freeze for at least 24 hours if it was fresh in the morning, even in the most extreme temps. I worked on water systems in extreme winters, and above ground tanks that were insulated were resistent to freezing, where uninsulated metal tanks froze solid.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

The votive candles are in a plastic container which does not melt if you light them up, they burn for about 24 hrs, so should last at least 2 days
my chickens loved eating styrofoam, if that is healthy?! So I try not to put it where eager beaks can touch it

 

[rosemarythyme]

The votive candles are in a plastic container which does not melt if you light them up, they burn for about 24 hrs, so should last at least 2 days
my chickens loved eating styrofoam, if that is healthy?! So I try not to put it where eager beaks can touch it

Glad the candle set up works for you but I'd be very cautious about it still because the chance of fire is a lot higher than other water heating methods.

A lot of chickens love styrofoam for some reason. I don't think it's directly harmful to them (?) but if they ate enough of it it could cause nutritional deficiency as they'd be filling their bellies with styrofoam instead of feed.

 

[Banana01]

I was trying to think of battery operated solutions, but not even a 10000 mah battery would be enough for any heating solution. But one idea that doesnt use electricity or fire may be try hand warmers. They arent exactly cheap ($2/each) but they are fairly environmentally friendly (ingredients are rust, salt, water) and supposedly can heat for 18 hours. If you constructed a box around your waterer, a hand warmer would last 18 hours supposedly. $2 each for 18 hours. But again insulation is key, because 18 hours is advertised for heating a human body, not a frozen water vessel. Water is extremely energy intensive to heat, so i would be surprised if a hand warmer lasted 8 hours, however with an insulated box setup around the waterer, it would work for sure 24 hours without freezing.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The votive candles are in a plastic container which does not melt if you light them up, they burn for about 24 hrs, so should last at least 2 days
my chickens loved eating styrofoam, if that is healthy?! So I try not to put it where eager beaks can touch it

No, I think it will only last one day, maybe a little longer, but I would not gamble on 2 whole days. No matter how many candles you have, if they only burn 24 hours, then depending on the temps, your water will start to cool off as soon as the candles go out. I don't think the residual heat would be sufficient to keep the water from freezing for another 24 hours. I wouldn't bet my chickens' lives on it anyway.