Keeping water unfrozen for very young chicks

[Debbie292d]

The answer is in these bits:




The heat pad can provide one warm place for the chicks to sleep, and to warm up when they are cold. Having the rest of the pen at those temperatures can be fine for the chicks, but of course the water does freeze and that's what OP is trying to address.

Thank you. I should have read after the initial post. OP is in the state below me so I know it's cold there, but colder up here. Our 3-day-old chicks are in the house. I can't imagine trying to set them up somewhere else as it's been so cold, like tonight, 22F, but I suppose if there's a will, there's a way!

 

[NatJ]

Thank you. I should have read after the initial post. OP is in the state below me so I know it's cold there, but colder up here. Our 3-day-old chicks are in the house. I can't imagine trying to set them up somewhere else as it's been so cold, like tonight, 22F, but I suppose if there's a will, there's a way!

Broody hens do fine with chicks in those temperatures. The chicks come out to eat and drink and run around, then go back under the hen to warm up, then come out again after they get warm. The heat pad idea works on the same idea, that chicks can warm up and then go run around in the cold again.

 

[chickenlover8969]

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How does everyone keep fresh unfrozen water available to their very young chicks? Our older birds use heated horizontal nipple waterers but that isn’t an option for the little guys. We have about 20 chicks ranging in age from 1 day to 5 weeks old and I’m not sure how to keep their water from freezing in their outdoor brooder. We usually start out chicks on vertical nipple waterer but our last big one broke a few moths ago so we’ve been using a regular chick waterer all summer — would a vertical nipple waterer with a tank heater in it stay warm enough to keep the nipples from freezing? Daytime highs in 40-60* range, overnight lows dipping into low 20s some nights.

majority pullets or still in the brooder