Heating Chickens Water

[bufforpington42]

I'm thinking about using a bird or aquarium heater in my 5 gallon nipple waterer bucket. How many watts would I need to keep the water from freezing?

80 watt? 150? I'm assuming I would need around 20-25? Would that keep it in our cold winter months?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What are your cold winter months?
What is your climate/ location?

 

[bufforpington42]

south dakota

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd go with a bird bath heater. Higher wattage. You can power it with a thermocube that only comes on when it is cold.

Are your nipples horizontal or vertical?

 

[bufforpington42]

nipples are located on the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket...how many watts should be the minimum?

I found a 200 and 250 watt water deicer....good reviews with lots of people putting it in their 5 gallon bucket with water. I think ill be getting this... around $30-$40

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I use one like this
http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+bath+heater+and+de-icer

The vertical nipples under the bucket can still freeze.
The horizontal ones can take lower temperatures because the seal is inside the bucket.

http://www.amazon.com/Horizontal-Si...=1442569990&sr=8-1&keywords=horizontal+nipple