With the winter months right at our doorstep, there's also that slippery stuff that we have all taken slips and falls on. ICE. how do us chicken keepers take care of this cold monstrosity in our hen waterers? I tend to just step one snow boot in, and my weight will break the ice. but sometimes we end up having huge chunks of ice in our frozen buckets. Thankfully for me, my chickens L O V E ice, so I can just go at that block hammer and tongs (literally). But not everyone is lucky like me. I have good chickens that are adapted to these freezing New England winters, but sadly, not everyone does. how do you keep the water in a liquid form, and not have it turn into a solid? Please comment below!
A while back, when money was really tight (and may be again real soon), I had a setup that worked so well, I used it for a few years (btw, I live a few miles from the Canadian border)… I took a cinder block, and cut a 2”x8” about two larger all around. Then I mounted a ceramic light fixture to the board (conduit or pvc mounted to the floor->no snags), and wired the cord to a dimmer switch. With the light facing up, put the cinder block over it (chipped a little groove at top and bottom so some air could circulate). I used a metal cocktail tray over the light bulb with some holes drilled around the edge, just in case of a leak, which never happened, and put the galvanized water on the tray… I lucked out and found the cocktail tray was a perfect fit for the bottom of the waterer, but it wasn’t needed-it never leaked. Use a low wattage bulb b/c you don’t want a dimmer switch turned way down, b/c they sometimes go off, if turned way down, I think I only used a 25 watt bulb, maybe 40… Remember, you’re not looking to warm the water, just keep it over 32 degrees. Also, I had a really cheap, wired, battery operated, indoor/outdoor thermometer that I Velcro-ed to the top of the lid, and the probe ran down to the trough—not necessary, but nice to know the temp in the coop and the water

…. Eventually, I figured out the correlation btwn the outdoor temp, coop temp, water temp and where I needed to set the dimmer switch—Yep, I’ma nerd



… Also, I’m just sharing a story here. I am “IN NO WAY” recommending anyone do this, ESPECIALLY if they don’t know how to do the electrical… It was a cool setup and a fun project. Before making this set-up; I had several “water-ers”… carry two full cans out to the coop and bring two slightly frozen ones back to the house to thaw, and repeat this several times per day.
Good Luck

,
+Blessings