Heated Barrel Waterer

[mofrecker]

Hello everyone. This will be our first winter with chickens. We live in New England so it does get cold here. We have a barrel waterer that goes through a hose and attaches to pvc. We have bought a tank de icer to go inside the barrel and will wrap the pvc but we are wondering how to keep the hose from freezing. We are trying to avoid using a pump if at all possible.

 

[roonster]

you could probably wrap the hose in a heating coil used on roofs??

 

[Alaskan]

You would have to wrap the hose in heat tape then pipe insulation. Wrap the insulation with a couple of layers of duct tape, or the chickens will eat the insulation.

However...... you will need to check every morning to make sure water is still liquid/flowing freely.

I had the darndest time making sure chickens had enough water, and liquid water... unless it was easily clear to me.

So.... now I use open water pans, with a de-icer tossed in if needed.