How To Keep Poultry Cup Drinker From Freezing?

[LavvyTaffy]

also, if you are heating the main vessel with a light bulb, can you switch it for a higher wattage bulb? Perhaps if the water is warmer to begin with it will take longer or be less likely to freeze in the cups.

It is a 250 watt red heat lamp bulb approximately 3 feet above the waterer. Like I said earlier this is the lowest I can place it without endangering the chickens.

 

[PirateGirl]

I misunderstood. I saw your reply to the post about the cookie tin heater and I thought that you had made something similar to a cookie tin heater with a light bulb in it that your five gallon bucket was on top of, upping the wattage of the bulb would up the temperature of the water and it would take longer to freeze in the cups.

Unfortunately, I think that because the cups are so small that they will be prone to freezing up regardless.

I used to have a waterer like the one in the link below, but found even with that, the gallon would stay liquid, but the holes and the rim would freeze up so the chickens couldn't get to the water.

https://www.qcsupply.com/420311-pla...EnQRnw7AzXirDA5xS9wj4GPcf4BoAIMMaAqYnEALw_wcB

I have since switched to bowls. Since all the liquid is in one place and there are no small holes or parts or openings the water needs to pass through, it takes much much longer to get to a point where the chickens cannot access liquid water. I know this is not the clever solution you are looking for. For that I offer heat tape? Though I have not tried it myself.

 

[blackdog043]

Unfortunately they will freeze up, there's no way that I know of to keep the cups thawed. You might want to make a horizontal nipple waterer with a stock tank deicer. The deicer must sit on the bottom of the bucket, don't get a floating deicer. Here is an article on the one I built.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ock-tank-deicer-and-horizontal-nipples.74609/