Keeping water from freezing

[Prairie Mary]

Hi All,
It' time I finally contribute something to BYC. I love this forum!
Anyway we made a heated watering fount. Hope the photo link works - I'm new to this.

It's made from a chimney-type(?) block, old light fixture with old glass protector, plywood, cut down 5 gal pail (my new favorite cheap trick), cicken waterer. If you're wondering what's on top, I made a duct tape handle to make turning it over easier (and dryer). In the coop I have an old bird feeder shade hung above it to keep the girls off it.

I still haven't figure out what to do to keep the water outside from freezing and it's getting colder. Right now we use one of those little red autowaterer bowls. LOVE the thing! We are lucky enough to have a faucet in the chicken yard that is the perfect height. Anyway, I'm tempted to put the heated fount outside. If i do, I think it would need a covered area to protect it. Hmmmm, need more junk to make cover. These chickens are like a snowball of projects. I'm having so much fun!

I have more photos if anyone is interested in our funky heated fount.
Prairie Mary

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

We havent had our water freeze yet but Iam going to be showing DH Mary's idea in the morning...who knows what he might turn it into...probably something with a torch under it, LOL

BTW....HI Prairie Mary we are almost like neighbors....you probably pass our house on a regular basis if you go into Vancouver (our kids go to Hockinson schools)

~Tiff~

 

[setter4]

Quote:
I just got one too, a fairly large blue heated bowl from TSC. Works great!

Not sure about taking the heater part off. Maybe get a heating plate to set a metal pan on?

Yep, mine is the big blue one too. I am going to try it "as is" first but I am afraid they will perch on the edge and poop in the bowl....

so if that doesn't work out then we will experiment. lol

I put the lid from a plastic bucket over the heated dog bowl and sat the waterer on top of that and there was no ice at all in the water this morning and it was down to about 10 degrees here!!

 

[Prairie Mary]

Quote:
Hi Tiff!
These projects are fun for tinkerers. My hubby is quite good at building things. He put in an automatic chicken door opener that is a godsend!

Say, if you want to stop by and look at the waterer, you are welcome to. We live about a 1/4 mile from Prairie High - we can see the school from the back pasture. We're on 124th Ave.

Prairie Mary

 

[Cheryl]

Quote:
Yep, mine is the big blue one too. I am going to try it "as is" first but I am afraid they will perch on the edge and poop in the bowl....

so if that doesn't work out then we will experiment. lol

I put the lid from a plastic bucket over the heated dog bowl and sat the waterer on top of that and there was no ice at all in the water this morning and it was down to about 10 degrees here!!

So I just bought the blue bowl at TSC...did you put water in that bowl, then the cover, then the waterer, or just cover and waterer...was it a metal or plastic waterer? Has anyone tried removing that heater from the bowl yet and rigging something up?

 

[Sissy]

I just bought a fish tank heater at Walmart 14.95
and wonder if I can hang it into the Plastic gal.automatic waterer
from the top?
the water drips from the jug into the open lower bowel.
any advise?

 

[Sissy]

opps its a 5 gal. waterer

 

[ooptec]

Hey,

I just screwed a 1/4 in plywood over over the heated dog bowl leaving just enough so they could put their head in but not open enough to poop in. Every second fill I swish around what water is left and pour into a bucket to dispose of outside and then refill w/fresh.

cheers

 

[rooster0209]

I love the heated dog dishes! Mine has yet to be pooped in.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
If the waterer is the kind with an "O" ring on the cover threads,
your idea will not work.. If you let air in through the cover the water will gush out the hole at the bottom..