Heated water dish (or other methods) reviews wanted!

[song of joy]

Potential downsides of using bowls in winter: 1) more likely to tip over, 2) more likely to get filled with bedding, 3) chickens more likely to get their wattles wet when they drink, causing the wattles to freeze in really cold temperatures.

 

[song of joy]

In addition to an increased risk of tipping over and getting filled with bedding material, it's more likely the wattles will get wet when the chickens drink and then freeze during really cold temperatures.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I've never had my bowls tip. I do raise them up onto broad, flat, board stacks to keep the bedding out, which really helps. (Could be anything...raised bricks, pavers, whatever is flat and stable and above bedding level).

As to wattles, that may be an issue. I don't get long, hard, cold winters, so I can't speak to that.

I tried a nipple water system, but I had a horrible time with those freezing, so I went back to my dog bowls.

LofMc

 

[Impatient]

In addition to an increased risk of tipping over and getting filled with bedding material, it's more likely the wattles will get wet when the chickens drink and then freeze during really cold temperatures.

In MA my chickens never had a problem with their waddles in the winter, it's was their combs that occasionally got a touch of frostbite, and just the very tips which would heal over come spring.

 

[Laurel Meadows]

In addition to an increased risk of tipping over and getting filled with bedding material, it's more likely the wattles will get wet when the chickens drink and then freeze during really cold temperatures.

In MA my chickens never had a problem with their waddles in the winter, it's was their combs that occasionally got a touch of frostbite, and just the very tips which would heal over come spring.

X2 Impatient's comment. Here in Ohio we see frequent sub-freezing temps throughout the winter days and teens and single digits at night- sometimes much colder. I've never had frozen wattles due to waterers or the heated pet bowls. What we have to watch here are the "warmer" days with rain/ drizzle when the birds go out of the coop and get wet and then those combs and wattles freeze at night when the temps drop below freezing.

 

[R2elk]

The heated dog bowls do work and I even use heated 5 gallon buckets. I have created an article on my Alternate method to prevent freezing. This method does not require electricity and in the coldest weather I normally get (-20° to -30°F) it only requires removing the ice from the bucket once a day. This method is based on the principles of a hot bed that gardeners use.

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm not sure what brand it is, but I have the heater dog bowl also. The lady we bought our first coop (small, but built solid) from gave it to us with the coop. She also gave us the pan she used in it, it's a Bunt pan made of some kind of oven safe plastic. It fits right in the bowl and is easy to take out to clean if it gets poop or shavings in it. The silly girls will stand on it, but it has never tipped over.

This sounds like a good adaptation, a pan inside the dog dish, I've got so many random stainless bowls, I bet one would fit!

 

[BantyChooks]

I use a high tech method called "smashing ice several times daily".

I like R2elk's idea, especially for those of us that have a hard time running electricity to the coop safely.

 

[MuffMom]

I've used this heated "dog" bowl for 2 winters so far. It is used in a bantam cage and I place a one gallon plastic milk container right in it. This does two things for me: 1) the birds can't perch on the edge, 2) cut a slit at water level and it becomes an extra reservoir. Not a huge amount of water, so not practical for lots of chickens!

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovat...840593&sr=1-2&keywords=square+heated+dog+bowl

 

[MuffMom]

Also, take a used water bottle, the "cheep" plastic ones. Add salted water to it and put it into whatever vessel you use. Won't help with the hard freezes, but buys me some time before I have to go electric! I use it inside my cup dispenser bucket until the cups start to stick.