Help! 11 degrees ºF outside and need some water!

[Drewberry Jungle Fowl Boy]

My water heaters are working fine but the water cups are frozen. So I am manually giving them water in bowls but I have to go out there every 30 minutes and get out the ice and refill. Can I use Snow for them to drink?

I exclusively use snow all winter. It all depends on the breed of chicken but I have actually experienced MORE vigor and performance from my birds each season and generation by challenging their tolerance. I do that by using snow as their water source and radical air exchange with an uninsulated coop that is left open all winter on one side. I'm in zone 5a.

All you need to do is focus on giving them fat and protein when the nights are cold. I make suet blocks to hang in the coop. They are better at retaining heat than we are. It's better to feed them right than heat their coop or waterer

 

[Folly's place]

I can't think that having snow as the only water source for chickens is a good plan, or good management.
Mary

 

[gtaus]

Yes, because they may have to turn their head side ways to drink because of large comb thus wattle dippage can happen...same would go for any bird with a larger comb, regardless of gender.

Thanks.

 

[Drewberry Jungle Fowl Boy]

I can't think that having snow as the only water source for chickens is a good plan, or good management.
Mary

I haven't had a single case many of the common ailments I see people have and I've been feeding snow for 5 years. Beautiful feet, beaks, combs, wattles and feathers with no supplemental heating or water. I used to switch water once or twice a day during 0 degree weather but not anymore. I just make sure they have a pile of snow in there and a suet block and an otherwise balanced diet. They create their own heat with the food and the snow is distilled so it actually has therapuetic effects. My birds have actually had marked improvement since feeding them snow and not coddling them.

With that all said I do not know how ALL breeds would respond to this. Some heritage breeds genetics are bottle necked considerably and they are less on the wild side so they might not be resilient enough to adapt to what I'm doing

 

[gtaus]

I haven't had a single case many of the common ailments I see people have and I've been feeding snow for 5 years. Beautiful feet, beaks, combs, wattles and feathers with no supplemental heating or water. I used to switch water once or twice a day during 0 degree weather but not anymore. I just make sure they have a pile of snow in there and a suet block and an otherwise balanced diet. They create their own heat with the food and the snow is distilled so it actually has therapuetic effects. My birds have actually had marked improvement since feeding them snow and not coddling them.

With that all said I do not know how ALL breeds would respond to this. Some heritage breeds genetics are bottle necked considerably and they are less on the wild side so they might not be resilient enough to adapt to what I'm doing

First of all, welcome to the BYC forums

What you say is very interesting, but runs contra to everything I have been told. I know wild birds find ways to winter over in the snow, but I wonder how our domesticated chickens could survive. Is your success due to the breed(s) of chicken you have in your flock? If so, what breed(s) do you have?

We have spent 40+ posts on how to provide fresh water to our chickens in winter, and now we hear from someone that all they need is snow! So, please don't get too offended if you get challenged on your statements. It took me completely by surprise.

 

[Drewberry Jungle Fowl Boy]

First of all, welcome to the BYC forums

What you say is very interesting, but runs contra to everything I have been told. I know wild birds find ways to winter over in the snow, but I wonder how our domesticated chickens could survive. Is your success due to the breed(s) of chicken you have in your flock? If so, what breed(s) do you have?

We have spent 40+ posts on how to provide fresh water to our chickens in winter, and now we hear from someone that all they need is snow! So, please don't get too offended if you get challenged on your statements. It took me completely by surprise.

No worries I completely understand how what I've said would come across. Honestly it took me a while to venture out into the pioneering realm because there are so much advice that leads you towards products. Corporations readily manipulate curriculum to suggest products. Sounds like some looney conspiracy but they don't even hide it. It's blatant. Some advice is true but alot is coaxing people, thru fear of harm, to purchase unnecessary products.

I have Icelandics and I ration feed them. I find the exact amount of feed that keeps eggs coming regular and then crank it down by about 10 to 20% and then select for the healthiest birds each year. Even the ones I don't select aren't sickly though just not as robust looking. I'm very hands off and allow them to self select for the most part since the hens know what a real man is anyway. What do I know? lol

Cold therapy, radical air exchange and ration feeding make for resilient tough breeds that have more efficient assimilation of nutrients and converting it to body heat. I've never had bumble foot or frostbite and the temps get low. You just have to keep moisture in the air way down with radical air exchange. Oxygen, fat and protein heat the bird not electricity. I do understand the logic that jungle fowl originally came from south america though. It's an understandable conclusion. Kind of like tomatoes. You can only grow them so far north before you can't stretch the species adaptive qualities

 

[gtaus]

I have Icelandics

Well, I think that's the most important point right there. I had to Google Icelandics because I have never seen any, but it sounds like they were bred for over a 1000 years to survive the harsh winters of Iceland.

"Norse settlers brought their home flocks to Iceland in the ninth century. For more than a thousand years, the only chickens in the country were of this robust landrace."

So, yeah, I guess you might be on to something there at least with that breed. Here is a very nice article I found on Icelandic Chickens: A Heritage Chicken Breed for Modern Homesteads. Very nice article.

I don't know if your no water - eat snow - method would work for my small backyard flock of various breeds of chickens. But you may be on to something there with your flock. Thanks for stirring the pot.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm glad that your Icelandics do well with that management plan, but I wouldn't recommend it, or try it myself with my birds of other breed types.
Mary

 

[Almosta Farm]

Ok thanks for all the feedback. I'm going to break the ice every hour or so.

I use bird bath heaters ... just plop them in and they keep the water an even, semi-warm, temperature.

 

[Quail_Kid]

I use bird bath heaters ... just plop them in and they keep the water an even, semi-warm, temperature.

which one do you recommend?