Keeping Your Coop Water From Freezing

[RocketDad]

Quote:
I just put one of these together. I glued a cake pan onto the brick with silicone sealant so that the water can't get knocked off. The red little-giant waterer fits into the pan just fine. I also used a bit of hardware cloth to make a "safety cage" for the lamp to keep from bashing it with the brick when I lift it up for servicing. I screwed the ceramic light bulb base to a scrap of plywood, and sealed the edges and holes with silicone to keep any disasters from leaking into the wiring. So far so good, it keeps the water non-frozen and the chickens haven't found a way to destroy it (yet).

 

[Artanis]

I like your idea RocketDad could you post pictures?

 

[chicachic]

This radiant heater idea... do yu think that if the coop gets dampish it would ruin the heater?? Sometimes when it rains it feels a little damp.. I don't know, but I'm afraid of electricity and water and I would have to run an extenson cord in a conduit from the garage to the shed. Any one think thats a bad idea? I just want to try to keep the water from freezing, too.

 

[Artanis]

Good point chicachic. I'll watch for degradation due to moisture. If it fails, I'll look into making a version of what RocketDad described. As far as running an extension cord in a conduit, I'd suggest using UF cable instead.

Direct burial of type "UF" cable under soil is probably the quickest and least expensive method. It provides for hot(s), neutral and ground conductors all inside a durable, sunlight and moisture resistant encasement. UF cable looks very similar to "NM" (Romex) cable, but differs in that the individual conductors are "flooded" with the jacket material found on NM cable. Thus, there is no jacket to remove, but rather the conductors and their insulation must be removed from the "jacket". Learning to do this may take a little time - practice with left over cable before attempting on installed cable. It will require at least an 18 inch deep trench in earth between the origin and termination of the lateral run. Check with your inspector in your area to determine the minimum depth required.

http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Outdoor-Electric-Wiring

 

[RocketDad]

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[2ndtimearound]

Gee, sorry to make you brave the cold (I'm in Nebraska, and I know about cold) but - that pic is GREAT!

A coop cam is a great idea too!! Have you seen the game cam thread here on BYC yet? It's awesome. Soooo, since there are game cam enthusiasts here already....it just begs the question.... What kind of camera did you get for your coop cam? I can't make out the brand name/model from the photo. Ooh tell us, tell us please??

 

[2ndtimearound]

And BTW Artanis - thanks for the specific info on running the electricity safely to the coop also.

I had a VAGUE idea and that helps a lot.

I had already researched the radiant heaters because we get lots of below zero weather here, and we had already decided to insulate the coop. I wanted something that would be safe around the animals and keep the base temp bearable in there. In fact, my plans call for two large radiant heaters, and I'm fairly sure the heat they produce will be enough to keep the waterers from freezing and keep moisture down also. I know they're kind of expensive, when trying to keep coop costs down, but I figure 'hey, the birds will be in there year-round, for several years', so I might as well go the extra mile getting things set up in the beginning.

Love my birds!

 

[LynneP]

There is electrical conduit available at all hardware stores to isolate cords, too. I'm a bit nervous about using indoor-rated electricals in the coop, actually. But there are fittings that can be assembled for outdoor use which are not much more expensive. Keep your birds away from cords- all it takes is one flyaway and something is knocked over into bedding.

I'm using an electric dog bowl and a few days ago I set it in a large rubber stock bowl, which seems to radiate the heat upwards better. All of this is on a patio block (shown in link below) and the wire-protected cord goes through the wall to an outlet. The bowls are not perfect, but easier to use than big waterers for a little flock like mine. I hope they come out with a northern-based wattage, I think a little more than 60 watts would be better.

 

[Artanis]

The camera is a Panasonic BL-C111A wired. They also make this in a wireless version. Available on Amazon, Dell and other places.

Here are a few stills I just took from the cam. These chickens will not go out in the snow!

 

[thaokou21]

Artanis

Is that all the chickens you have. It looks like you have a good setup for your chicken. Do you still have water freezing on our chicken. I have about 18 chickens in a coop that is 14 x 19 and 6 feet 5inches tall. I dont need to use a water heater at all because my chickens gives out so much heat that the water doesnt freeze. Even on the coldest days.