INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Finnie]

I use a kitty litter bucket with horizontal nipples and a small fish tank heater mounted inside. I plug it into a thermocube so the heater only turns on when it's needed. I also have a blue heated dog water dish that perfectly fits a chicken water fount. Blue dish is from TSC, green waterer is from Amazon or Petco, depending on which has the better price. It also comes in a taller size which has the same diameter green part, but holds more water. I love both of them.

Did you have any issues with the water freezing inside the jar where it sticks above the bowl?

Most of the time not. Usually just being in contact with the melted water at the bottom keeps the whole thing melted. Sometimes the very top surface of the water would freeze and stick up there while the rest of the water continued to get drank. And if it gets really cold enough, there can be a whole block of ice up in there, but I don't remember it happening enough times that it was a problem. With that size waterer, it needed to be refilled once every day or two anyway, so I think it worked out to just needing refilling a little sooner when it froze up. I've been surprised at how well the reservoir stays melted. It basically doubles the capacity of the blue bowl, which I sometimes use without the reservoir.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I also use my heated bowls with a waterer inside.

I use the chick waterers in the bowel instead of an open bowl of water due to the risk of birds stepping in an open water source and getting frostbitten feet. I know people that have had that happen so I try to prevent frostbite by only offering "restricted opening" waterers for winter.

Hereare a couple posts from last year:

I have used this system for 2 years now. The water jar is a 5 lb honey jar - holds appx 1/2 gallon.

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Put grit into a heated dog bowl deep enough to to form a stable base and raise the waterer up to the rim level; put water in the grit to conduct heat. Place one of these 2 kinds of waterers on the bed of grit depending on which sizes you have.

Quart size heated bowl fits the chick sized water bases which cost about $2 and can be used with any regular mouth canning jar or a 5 lb honey jar which holds 1/2 gallon. This photo shows the 5 lb. honey jar (apx. 1/2 gal. water). (I used this size all last winter successfully with all age birds.)



The 5 quart larger dog bowl fits a 2 gallon waterer:
Photo by @hoosiercheetah

Quote: leahs mom

 

[Leahs Mom]

@racinchickins

Re your question - When it gets VERY COLD...say less than 12 degrees.... I sometimes direct a light onto the top part of the glass waterer when I go out in the morning to keep the topmost part of the water from freezing. I have it on a dimmer switch (when I use it) and have it dialed down pretty low so it doesn't take much heat to keep the top from freezing when it's very cold.

ETA: I put the light into a "heat lamp deflector" so that the heat from the bulb is directed right onto the glass. I'm thinking it was a 60 watt dialed down lower with the lamp dimmer switch.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have also used horizontal nipples with complete success with a submersible heater in the bucket.

The birdbath/stock tank heater is 250 watts and way too much wattage really.
Have also used a fish tank heater in the buckets with success And...the fish tank heater is only 50 watts compared to 250. I used a bag of marbles to weight it down to keep it under the water. Fish tank heater MUST BE TOTALLY SUBMERGED.



The horizontal nipples don't get frozen. But...it is a learning curve for your birds to learn how to use the nipples and if you use them be absolutely sure that they're all trained and using them way before winter comes.

When I used the fish tank heater I had to keep it submerged...use the marbles for weight. (Please note that the cup waterers on the bucked DO NOT WORK for winter. Posting this photo for illustration purposes.)

This is the deicer I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precision-BDT250-Multiple-Thermostat/dp/B000TZ745A
allied Precision BDT250 Bird Bath De Icer Multiple Thermostat, 250-Watt


The fish tank heater I've used:

Got it at the local PetSmart.

 

[Leahs Mom]

And...PS: I really don't care for nipple waterers. I prefer my birds to have a regular water source. Just posting the horizontal nipples as an option as I KNOW they work for winter - and work well.

Again...if you use them you must be sure ALL birds have learned how to use them well before winter. Some catch on very quickly; others not so quickly


ETA: This type of waterer will also help prevent frostbite on large wattles...and definitely on feet since you can't step in water. You must keep the top "ajar" a little on the bucket so that the water can flow when needed. Need to be sure it's secure enough to not come off (or so a bird can't get into it by mistake), but have just a little air opening so the nipples will work. When using in winter, the cord of your heater coming out of the top of the bucket will accomplish the air needed.

 

[Faraday40]

My set up uses horiz nipples & a heater. (Has auto on & off to keep water liquid.) The heater was the expensive part but we've used it 4 yrs w/o problems. Keeps the water liquid even on those -30'F nights. The 1st winter I used vertical nipples & they leaked when in use, so an ice patch developed below the waterer. They also froze up around the single digits - even though the water in the 5 gal bucket was still liquid. I do not heat the coop at all, so this works well for us.

* Our water has minerals, so some residue had to periodicaly be cleaned off of the heating element. Last winter I filled up gal jugs of water from our sink- which has a faucet mount filter. It worked better than I could have hoped!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Faraday40

Do you put our your horizontal nipples year-round? I have mine available year round but find the birds like to drink from the regular waterer better than the horiz...though they can all use it.


Can you discuss for the thread how you trained your birds to use the HN's? What was your process and what kind of time involved for the "slower to get it" birds?

 

[Finnie]

I love seeing everybody's versions of the heated waterers. It really helps to see how you can tweak different things to fit what you've got.

That is a good idea, Faraday, to use the filtered sink water. We are on a well, with very hard water, so it got me thinking whether I get minerals building up on my heater. Then I realized that since I don't use the outdoor hose in the winter, I use water from inside the house, and that is softened.

As far as training the birds to use horizontal nipples, the first time I exposed the birds to them, a few nosy ones went right to them and caught on quick. Then the rest copied. I suppose since I have non-nipple sources of water too, I may have a few older birds that never learned the nipples. But they all seem to use them. Then this year I switched all my chick brooders to sports bottles with nipples (horiz and vert), so from now on, all birds raised here are used to them.

 

[Finnie]

I've been meaning to ask, does anybody on this thread have a Sweetgrass tom or a Bourbon Red x Royal Palm cross tom I could buy? (Any age) I just finally realized that the Sweetgrass Poult I've been growing out for next year's breeding is a Jenny. . And she's not a Sweetgrass, either.

I also need some direction on where to take a couple toms to get them processed. I really don't think I want to learn do it myself. Or I'd sell them if someone wanted them alive. One's a Royal Palm and one's a Narragansett. We did want to try home grown turkey this year. But I guess I'm still too squeamish.

 

[Mommahiggy]

Hi,

I am relatively new, joined a few months as go and then just very busy with life.
We are finally getting our coop built. I put off getting chicks until halfway through Summer, and it's still slow going. My Hubby is a busy guy, but he wants to build it, he and our oldest son. I am helping some, and I designed a lot of it. He just had to think through it and gain confidence, not having built a structure like that recently. They seem to like what we provided through the Summer, for temporary housing, but I think they will like their coop too, our three little city chickens.
Here is a link to videos of the progress and our chickens growing. Chick Flicks: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmX1BfpEjf-sO-VmpmYpitSpC0I9qScZz

Cheers!

Updated @Leahs Mom