How do you keep your nipples from freezing?

[woody1]

Chicken watering nipples, that is. I water my chickens outside the coop to keep the water mess, outside. The water is outside the coop proper but in an enclosed covered run. Last winter I believe it hit about 20 below, normally down to 0 or so. I have my waterline heat taped and a metal bucket and valve (float) so it's automatically kept filled. The bucket sits on a homemade heater. The bucket may have a skim of ice on it on the coldest mornings. For continuous extreme cold it gets a heat lamp over it. So..after this long story, how can I convert this setup to use nipples? How can I keep them from freezing up. Most of the set-ups I see use plastic buckets or pipe and I don't see how I can keep that stuff heated. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and regards, Woody

 

[LakeMomNY]

Maybe this would work with you system:

Switch to horizontal nipples in your bucket, drop in a submergible stock tank heater when it gets cold.

 

[PrplHartJarHead]

Chicken watering nipples, that is.

Lol! Good thing you clarified that question, I had a lot of responses queued up in the 13-1/2 year old brain that is trapped in this almost 50 year old body.

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[woody1]

Maybe this would work with you system:

Switch to horizontal nipples in your bucket, drop in a submergible stock tank heater when it gets cold.

After I posted my question, I've done more reading re: horizontal nipples and I believe you may be right. Now to get some. Thanks for the reply. Regards, Woody

 

[Janis R]

I wear a padded bra in the winter. Sorry, I couldn't resist

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I wear a padded bra in the winter. Sorry, I couldn't resist

BWAH-hahaha!
Great minds think alike!
That was EGG-sactly what went through my mind when I read this!

 

[vehve]

I was going to suggest rubbing vaseline on them, but apparently I got the wrong idea from the topic too...

 

[jlynnp]

I wear a padded bra in the winter. Sorry, I couldn't resist

My first response was I put on a sweatshirt.

 

[Sabz]

The horizontal nipples won't freeze why exactly? I don't get it. Because there isn't the last little drop of water that "hangs" on the nipples so it will not freeze as much?!

 

[bluedogsonly]

I currently use 1 lt bottles with a nipple screwed into the lid and a hole in the bottom to fill it. Works great until it gets really cold, they do thaw pretty quick in the sun though. When I grow up I'm going to bury a 50 gal drum with a float valve and run a re-circulation pump so the water is always slowly flowing through the lines. During the winter the warm 55 degree water flowing will hopefully keep it from freezing and during the summer the cool 55 degree water should increase water intake. Seems like a win-win. I was planning on using a solar powered pump to keep maintenance down. I'll have a big inline filter to help keep the nipples from clogging. I think it'll be great whenever I settle to someplace more permanent. Just one of my ideas.