How to Heat Water with No Running Electricity?

[joclovesbirds]

We are moving and will be turning about half the existing 8x10 shed into a coop for 6 hens. There is no power running to the shed. How should I heat their water bowl for the winter? I am in southern MN, winters can get cold here. And water will definitely freeze. Solar power won't give me enough power I don't think, but what about a generator? Too loud and/or expensive? I would rather not run an extension cord across our yard. We'll be on a quarter acre lot and the shed is on the other end of our backyard. Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I don't have experience with freezing waterers but sometimes keeping the surface of the water moving/agitated helps. However, this likely won't help the further it gets below zero.

The two options I've seen are heated dog bowls and fish tank heaters. But both will likely need a power source.

 

[DobieLover]

We are moving and will be turning about half the existing 8x10 shed into a coop for 6 hens. There is no power running to the shed. How should I heat their water bowl for the winter? I am in southern MN, winters can get cold here. And water will definitely freeze. Solar power won't give me enough power I don't think, but what about a generator? Too loud and/or expensive? I would rather not run an extension cord across our yard. We'll be on a quarter acre lot and the shed is on the other end of our backyard. Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated!

How far from your electric panel is the shed? I would just send a hard wire out to the shed from a circuit without much load or put a new circuit in your panel if the distance is 70' or less.

 

[saysfaa]

If you can get out to the coop in the morning and the late afternoon then you don't need to heat the water. An insulated bucket (like an ice bucket for chilling wine) will hold enough for six hens and stay unfrozen all day even at temps in the teens. It freezes pretty thick overnight when the chicken aren't disturbing the surface so I got two buckets to switch them at chore time.

There are several kinds of ice buckets. The vacuum-sealed stainless steel ones work best.

After a couple of winters, I tried building an insulated box to put the bucket in. Actually, it was a five gallon bucket with 2" foam insulation rather than a box. That made a very noticeable difference in how long it took the water to freeze but it still didn't last all of 24 hours once the temps dropped under the twenties.

 

[Sea51Dog]

We are moving and will be turning about half the existing 8x10 shed into a coop for 6 hens. There is no power running to the shed. How should I heat their water bowl for the winter? I am in southern MN, winters can get cold here. And water will definitely freeze. Solar power won't give me enough power I don't think, but what about a generator? Too loud and/or expensive? I would rather not run an extension cord across our yard. We'll be on a quarter acre lot and the shed is on the other end of our backyard. Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated!

Have you ever thought about a solar or AC rechargeable portable power station like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B8...d_r=ebb355b4-2bb6-42e8-862b-f793f9091950&th=1

Read the reviews and watch the videos. I had the same problem as you here in Idaho and one of these was enough to run my recirculating small water pump and keep the water in my 55 gal plastic drum from freezing. Depending on how many amps your heater and pump require the charge should last at least a week and it is so portable you can carry it to an AC outlet and fully recharge it in about an hour... your mileage may vary...

 

[Yardmom]

I use black rubber bowls like sold at tractor supply. They are flexible so on really cold days the solid ice can be broken out and new water added. It my not be about heating, but about making sure the chickens can drink a couple times a day.