How do you keep your water from freezing?

[Runt of the Flock]

What I'm planning to do if/when we get rabbits and /or quail is to use nipple waters and then have a livestock watering trough de-icer in it. I used nipple waterers for one batch of chicks are really how much cleaner they were. I think nipple waterers would work great for Polish chickens.

If anyone has used anything like what I've described, I'd love to hear if it worked or not.

this is what we have. watering trough de-icer in a 5 gallon bucket nipple waterer hanging from the ceiling

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Southern States has a 3 gal. waterer with heat for $28.65

 

[Sipplchicks]

We have used a large heated dog bowl for years, and love it! We don't have any polish, though, so don't have to worry about their heads getting wet; I can see where that could be a problem for you. As for keeping the water clean, we don't have many problems with that. We have the bowl up on a large brick, so it's about 8"-10" off the floor, and not much gets in it. Our chickens seemed to really like when we changed from the large vat with the little drip waterer thingies, to the more natural dog bowl. I would recommend it for chickens without fancy head feathers!

 

[Sipplchicks]

I have the same set up and it works great also. I am in mid Michigan with temps. That would freeze water in one hour for the last few weeks! Guess it depends on location?

 

[pasuit]

After alot of looking locally, and on line, I think I have decided on this heater setup for my 5 gallon horizontal nipple waterers
https://www.chewy.com/kh-pet-products-ultimate-bucket
/dp/148399
But as luck would have it I will probably recieve it AFTER the ultra low temps here in Western N.Y. have passed!!!! Lol

 

[pasuit]

Hope you get it soon.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Okay...update of the water saga at the KettermanHillCoop... Insulation board didn't match up to the prolonged arctic freeze. So...I bought a heated dog bowl and inverted it. Then set the gravity waterer on top of the upside down dog bowl. It worked like a charm.

I'm just infuriated that we all even have to go through all this nonsense of inventing ways to keep the water from freezing. Why can't Farm Innovators (the folks making those heated gravity waterers) just bump up the dang wattage???? They obviously don't work when it gets chuckin' freezing out. Take the design of the dang dog bowl and make it the bottom of the waterer!

Rant over...

 

[cavemanrich]

I think I just might have the answer. The manufacturer of the heated waterer make a product for the average winter condition. There is no one product that will cover all bases. A devise made for 20* temps will freeze way up north in Canada. A device made to handle Canadian sub arctic freezing temperature, when used lets say here in the Midwest makes the water too warm.
Its not like we have to reinvent the wheel, but rather get the correct wheel for our specific need.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I think I just might have the answer. The manufacturer of the heated waterer make a product for the average winter condition. There is no one product that will cover all bases. A devise made for 20* temps will freeze way up north in Canada. A device made to handle Canadian sub arctic freezing temperature, when used lets say here in the Midwest makes the water too warm.
Its not like we have to reinvent the wheel, but rather get the correct wheel for our specific need.

Or....a simple thermostat control would solve that whole regional issue...

 

[CapricornFarm]

I think I just might have the answer. The manufacturer of the heated waterer make a product for the average winter condition. There is no one product that will cover all bases. A devise made for 20* temps will freeze way up north in Canada. A device made to handle Canadian sub arctic freezing temperature, when used lets say here in the Midwest makes the water too warm.
Its not like we have to reinvent the wheel, but rather get the correct wheel for our specific need.

Or make one like a heating pad with settings... low, medium, and high so you can adjust with the weather!