How to keep water from freezing?

[Silkies and succulents]

For the past couple of days our highest temperatures have only been up to 30° F, and as low 10°, and my coop usually stays about 7-10 ° above the temps outside. ( The chickens don’t care how cold it is) And the waterer has ben frosting over the top some times. It never completetly freezes its just frosty crust over the top. It looks like it could be frozen from the angle that the chickens look at it, and the chickens won’t drink it when it looks like that (yet they drink out of frozen muddy pudles that they have probably pooped in). How do you guys keep your waters from freezing? They still drink out of muddy probably pooped in puddles as I said, but it would keep me sane if I new they had clean water to drink out of not mud puddles.

 

[MissE]

I use a heated waterer, but if you aren't able to get power to your coop, that's not an option.

You could build a short box, line it with high density foam, fill it with warm rocks or fire bricks, top with a piece of plywood, and set the water on top of it. Replace the rocks or bricks with warm ones when you bring fresh water. May need to do it a couple times a day. I have a wood stove, so it's easy to warm the bricks.

 

[Lumikko]

For the past couple of days our highest temperatures have only been up to 30° F, and as low 10°, and my coop usually stays about 7-10 ° above the temps outside. ( The chickens don’t care how cold it is) And the waterer has ben frosting over the top some times. It never completetly freezes its just frosty crust over the top. It looks like it could be frozen from the angle that the chickens look at it, and the chickens won’t drink it when it looks like that (yet they drink out of frozen muddy pudles that they have probably pooped in). How do you guys keep your waters from freezing? They still drink out of muddy probably pooped in puddles as I said, but it would keep me sane if I new they had clean water to drink out of not mud puddles.

I have one heated waterer (primary) and then have been testing out a couple of other things with the rest. I have one water bowl that has little plastic Easter eggs in it, the idea being they get moved around by the wind and stop the water from freezing (not working so well). I have a bucket with the side mounted nipples and that is doing well. And then another that I've just been breaking the ice on a couple of times a day. Weirdly enough, they love this one. They seem to like pecking at the ice chunks.

 

[EverV]

I have one heated waterer (primary) and then have been testing out a couple of other things with the rest. I have one water bowl that has little plastic Easter eggs in it, the idea being they get moved around by the wind and stop the water from freezing (not working so well). I have a bucket with the side mounted nipples and that is doing well. And then another that I've just been breaking the ice on a couple of times a day. Weirdly enough, they love this one. They seem to like pecking at the ice chunks.

I've heard the same thing about easter eggs or ping pong balls. Because my run is covered, they don't get much wind to move the water. This may work somewhere with more wind?

 

[Silkies and succulents]

I’ll try the ideas. Thanks fort he suggestions!

 

[Lumikko]

I've heard the same thing about easter eggs or ping pong balls. Because my run is covered, they don't get much wind to move the water. This may work somewhere with more wind?

Yeah, the whole idea requires the eggs to move around to keep it from freezing. The chickens do seem to enjoy pecking at the eggs but, so far, it still freezes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If you are just close to freezing, you might combine the balls idea with partially burying your bucket/waterer/etc if you can get it below the frost line. Will only make a tiny difference, but may be just enough. Offset, of course, by the fact that less water will actually be accessible to the birds, since most will be below the level of the nipples/etc.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I use old kitchen pots for their water, I have one on the radiator in the house, one in their run. When I go check on them I swap out the pots. I check the water temp before I give it to them. They LOVE to eat ice chips, so I may be taking away their fun

 

[Silkies and succulents]

I use old kitchen pots for their water, I have one on the radiator in the house, one in their run. When I go check on them I swap out the pots. I check the water temp before I give it to them. They LOVE to eat ice chips, so I may be taking away their fun

Haha. Mine fight over ice chips too. I’ll freeze friuts in a cake tin in the summer, and throw it on the grounds dn they all chase eachother for the prettiest peice of ice.

 

[Alaskan]

For the past couple of days our highest temperatures have only been up to 30° F, and as low 10°, and my coop usually stays about 7-10 ° above the temps outside. ( The chickens don’t care how cold it is) And the waterer has ben frosting over the top some times. It never completetly freezes its just frosty crust over the top. It looks like it could be frozen from the angle that the chickens look at it, and the chickens won’t drink it when it looks like that (yet they drink out of frozen muddy pudles that they have probably pooped in). How do you guys keep your waters from freezing? They still drink out of muddy probably pooped in puddles as I said, but it would keep me sane if I new they had clean water to drink out of not mud puddles.

Ours learn to drink from waterers that are freezing over. They all peck at the same spot to try to keep it open.

But we just take out the frozen layer, refill.. or if it is frozen solid we pop out the solid ice cube and refill the pan.

If it looks like it is freezing over in a couple of hours then we bring out fresh 3 times a day.

If it freezes over in less than an hour then we hookup the de-icer.