Frozen waters

[lovesfarms]

Just don't let them see styrofoam cause they love to eat it. The bowl I use for water is smaller on the bottom then top.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Here's the link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

Thank you! This method seems very practical for people who don't have access to electricity! I was going to try this in my Silkie coop. I do keep a heated base with 2 gal metal waterer inside their coop but they never want to drink out of it. Instead they prefer the water bowl in their run which always freezes solid. I thought about trying this just to see if they would use it

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Mine freezes regularly.

I provide water in the morning and again when I get home. I have been doing it that way for years and years. So far no one seems stressed or suffered for just having me tend it twice a day.

This is what I do in Southeastern PA for my ducks. (I had chickens but recently sold the flock to start new again in the spring.) I go out in the morning and fill with hot water. By the time I get home from work @ 4pm, usually one of the rubber bowls is nearly frozen. The other two are cold, but not frozen because the ducks constantly dunk their faces/beaks in. I don't put food or water in the coop, just in the run all day. So far it has been working. I also do the same for my sheep. I fill with hot water in the morning and then again in the late afternoon after shoveling out any ice or frozen chunks. Looking forward to spring for sure though! Hauling buckets of water out there down a large hill multiple times a day in the bitter cold isn't very much fun. But, it is what it is and winter doesn't last forever...thank goodness.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Just don't let them see styrofoam cause they love to eat it. The bowl I use for water is smaller on the bottom then top.

Thanks.

 

[SaltyHen]

If you can't get electricity you could bring water in bowls. Maybe the black rubber bowls. Try to leave them where sun could warm them. Do that just before you leave and when you get home. I would imagine that the chickens could peck through the developing ice. In NJ you probably don't get long lasting cold like some of our northern neighbors.

^ This. I'm in Atlantic Canada, particularly cold. I use thick black rubber livestock bowls. The bigger the better, as it takes longer to freeze. I place the bowls on concrete blocks to raise them up off the ground so they don't make as much of a mess in their water. They do peck through the ice as it starts to develop, but it does eventually freeze solid on the coldest days here. I provide warm water first thing in the morning and check it to break up any ice forming on top (or dump out the ice if its solid and add warm water) at noon and again at the end of day. This has worked so far. @Annalyse I realize you can't do the midday check, but if NJ doesn't get as cold as Atlantic Canada, this method should suffice?

 

[MaddChickens]

@MaddChickens Usually that only works if there's a good wind to blow the balls around.
Got pics, please?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

Here's my waterer. The ping-pong balls are inside the container. There's not much I can do about the rim, though.

 

[curlycropchics]

Welcome to the ice block drinking fountains. I live outside buffalo in NY. Most of my days from nov-march/April our nights freeze and mostly our days. When we didn't have electricity, I was also one in the morning and one before I put them to bed. You can try insulating the watering Pails in an old tire or ping pong balls to not let it freeze and the chickens will have a ball chasing those crazy white bouncy things in the water.

 

[McChooky]

Today in nj it was now cold enough to turn the chickens waterers into ice cubes. Even the horizontal nipples froze. I have two waterers. Ine that sits on the ground (3 gallons) and one that hangs with horizontal nipples. How can I keep them from freezing without any electrical source.
Every morning before I leave I have hot water for them. By the time they get out of the coop itll be warm. (I give water at 5:30 am before I leave)

Empty plastic soda or water bottles.Fill 1/5 full with salt then fill almost to the top with water. Don't fill the water bottle all the way to the top with water.Allow room for it to expand if icy and severe cold. Put the lid very tight then drop it into the waterer filled with water (you don't want the salt water leaking out into their drinking water!)Salt lowers the freezing point of water and prevents the water in the waterer from freezing. I have used this method all winter in Zone 6.I empty their waterer at night, clean and refill each morning .It gets a little slushy sometimes but has only frozen once when temps dropped around zero F. If I change the water midday it doesn't try to freeze solid. I use the 1/2 gallon size waterers for my chickens .If you use larger waterers you might want to add 2 bottles of salt water in their water. This video illustrates how easy it is to make and how good it works.(not my video!)

 

[aart]

Salt lowers the freezing point of water and prevents the water in the waterer from freezing.

Yes it does, but will only apply to the water in the bottle, not the water in the waterer.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes it does, but will only apply to the water in the bottle, not the water in the waterer.

But won't the salt water bottles help keep the water in the buckets from freezing as the bottles move around in the buckets? Hmmm. I feel an experiment coming on. I'm not wording this very well.