I just realized ...

[3KillerBs]

That I'm down to only 1 waterer that doesn't leak (homemade horizontal nipple waterers made from food-grade buckets repurposed from the grocery store's bakery).

With this cold snap coming I will have to rotate waterers to thaw them so I'm adding "make two new waterers" to my chore list today.

I was planning to replace the ones with the slow leaks after all the craziness of Christmas was over.

 

[3KillerBs]

Well, I don't have time to make waterers, but I found 4 new nipples that don't require me to pull them off the leaking waterers and my DH asked if he could help with any of the Christmas food chores.

I'm good with the kitchen work, so I marked a bucket and assigned him the task of making a new waterer so that we have two available to rotate.

Tomorrow is going to be the difficult time -- a very rare day in my climate where it never goes above freezing, with an expected high of 29F -- because I'm leaving at 7:30am for work, putting in 4 hours there, then going to church for another 7 hours (I ASKED for the day off, explaining that I was church staff (volunteer), but my manager refused since her notion of fairness is that everyone is going to work a half-shift on Christmas Eve instead of some people working and some off). I probably won't get home until 8 or later since we'll have dinner out at the Chinese buffet.

My family won't leave the house until nearly Noon so I'll have them put out a fresh waterer before they go.

I haven't felt it was worth the investment in a heated waterer when this happens only a handful of days in a year at the most with many winters never having a daytime high below freezing.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Well, I don't have time to make waterers, but I found 4 new nipples that don't require me to pull them off the leaking waterers and my DH asked if he could help with any of the Christmas food chores.

I'm good with the kitchen work, so I marked a bucket and assigned him the task of making a new waterer so that we have two available to rotate.

Tomorrow is going to be the difficult time -- a very rare day in my climate where it never goes above freezing, with an expected high of 29F -- because I'm leaving at 7:30am for work, putting in 4 hours there, then going to church for another 7 hours (I ASKED for the day off, explaining that I was church staff (volunteer), but my manager refused since her notion of fairness is that everyone is going to work a half-shift on Christmas Eve instead of some people working and some off). I probably won't get home until 8 or later since we'll have dinner out at the Chinese buffet.

My family won't leave the house until nearly Noon so I'll have them put out a fresh waterer before they go.

I haven't felt it was worth the investment in a heated waterer when this happens only a handful of days in a year at the most with many winters never having a daytime high below freezing.

Don't know if this would apply in your situation, but I fixed a couple of leaking waterers with a bead of silicon.

And don't freeze. And tell Repecka I said hi.

 

[NatJ]

I haven't felt it was worth the investment in a heated waterer when this happens only a handful of days in a year at the most with many winters never having a daytime high below freezing.

Something I accidentally discovered one day:
if you add water to chicken feed to make a wet mash
and then it freezes
and then you break it up into bits
the chickens like to eat those bits.

I realized that provides some "water" in a form they can pick up even when it's frozen, and it doesn't stick together as long as it stays cold.

I've read of people doing something similar with whole grains, soaking them and then draining off the excess water before letting them freeze.

I know it's best to provide liquid water, but I'm mentioning these because they might be worth offering on those rare days when you have a cold snap but you can't be available to replace the water.

(Although since it's just one day, the chickens will probably come through it well enough, even if they get a bit thirsty on that day. A single cold day is very different than an entire winter of cold days.)

 

[Sally PB]

@3KillerBs, this won't help you, but I'll throw it out there in case anyone else can use it.

It's really cold and windy today, like 7 degrees with 30+ mph winds. The chickens can come out to get water, but I don't think they have. So I put a bowl of snow in the coop with them, in a corner where it's less likely to get tipped over. They can nosh on the snow if they need to. I do have food in the coop during the day, but take it out at night. I never keep water in the coop, to avoid spills and/or humidity issues.

 

[3KillerBs]

Don't know if this would apply in your situation, but I fixed a couple of leaking waterers with a bead of silicon.

And don't freeze. And tell Repecka I said hi.

I wonder if that will work on the big one that has a visible crack? I can't try it today, but it would be worth fixing if I can fix it since the labor of getting the nipples in is a bit of a pain.

Something I accidentally discovered one day:
if you add water to chicken feed to make a wet mash
and then it freezes
and then you break it up into bits
the chickens like to eat those bits.

I'll keep that in mind for the future if we have multiple days of freezing temperatures in a row.

What do you bust it up with?

So I put a bowl of snow in the coop with them, in a corner where it's less likely to get tipped over. They can nosh on the snow if they need to.

Yeah, I don't have snow. All the precipitation for this storm came as rain before the temperatures plunged. But useful info nonetheless.

 

[NatJ]

I'll keep that in mind for the future if we have multiple days of freezing temperatures in a row.

What do you bust it up with?

If it's spread thinly in a dish, it's easy enough to break up with my fingers.

My "dish" is usually the bottom of a plastic milk jug, or the plastic container some kind of food came in. That makes it easy to flex the dish so the frozen mash comes out and I can break it up.

Yeah, I don't have snow. All the precipitation for this storm came as rain before the temperatures plunged. But useful info nonetheless.

Be aware that snow usually has a lot of air and not much water, so the chickens might eat large amounts and still be thirsty. If you get a bowl full of snow and bring it indoors to melt, it generally makes enough water to be a thin layer in the bottom of the bowl.

 

[Wendy Bee]

Hey there ~

About those leaks/cracks . . . Duct Tape will work .

Determine which nipples are leaking.
Empty your bucket.
Unscrew the nipple(s).
You will see a crack, maybe two, where there's a leak.
Dry the area inside and out where the crack(s) are.
Place a small square of Duck Tape (Gorilla Tape, if you have it), both inside and out on the crack(s).

Screw the nipple(s) back in.

Problem solved, and super easy!

I repaired two watering buckets that developed several, separate leaks last year with 100% success doing this. I got new buckets this year - a bit bigger (3.5 vs 2 gallons, and translucent so I can see water level), and prophylactically put Gorilla Tape where I've seen cracks tend to happen. Cracks tend to happen more in the Winter, too and I just didn't feel like dealing with it this year! Two months into really cold weather, and so far, no leaks .

Example of crack in old bucket:

New Buckets with tape before cracks happen - so far so good!

 

[Wolfie2]

I've just about sworn off nipple waterers. I have tried 4 different brands and they have all leaked internally. I think htey are all made in the same factory in China!The last one I made was with 4" pvc, 7'total length which I guess is around 5 gallons and I had to fill it every day due in part to the nipples leaking. A 5 gallon bucket airlock type will last almost a week with 10 hens.
I think it may be that screwing the nipples into an undersized hole (Which has to happen for the threads to grip and seal) causes the eventual split.
To maybe help you out, Could you find PVC fittings that will fit your nipples. Drill the bucket holes the size of the fitting, glue them in place with silicone and screw the nipples into the fittings. Or maybe just put some silicone around the nipple both inside and outside the bucket to cover an eventual split in the bucket.

 

[3KillerBs]

I've just about sworn off nipple waterers. I have tried 4 different brands and they have all leaked internally. I think htey are all made in the same factory in China!The last one I made was with 4" pvc, 7'total length which I guess is around 5 gallons and I had to fill it every day due in part to the nipples leaking. A 5 gallon bucket airlock type will last almost a week with 10 hens.
I think it may be that screwing the nipples into an undersized hole (Which has to happen for the threads to grip and seal) causes the eventual split.
To maybe help you out, Could you find PVC fittings that will fit your nipples. Drill the bucket holes the size of the fitting, glue them in place with silicone and screw the nipples into the fittings. Or maybe just put some silicone around the nipple both inside and outside the bucket to cover an eventual split in the bucket.

I've had good luck with Rent-a-Coop horizontal nipples.

Getting the hole exactly right is important -- too tight will definitely put a long-term stress on it.

My buckets are the ones that frosting comes in to the grocery store bakery. The plastic is a little softer and more flexible than the hard buckets you get at the home improvement store (as well as being a little smaller so that I can actually carry them.