Nipple waterer freezing

[RachelVT]

Hello everyone

I love the idea of the nipple waterer and want to make one for my 4 week old chicks! Is there a good way to introduce it to them to make it easier to get the handle of it?

And my other question is, does anyone in cold climates have them and if so how do you keep it from freezing in the winter?
Any ideas?

Thanks so much

Rachel

 

[Southernbelle]

As for introducing it to them, it takes about 2.3 seconds for them to figure it out. They're naturally curious and love to peck at shiny objects, so one brave one steps forth and pecks at it and gets rewarded with water - the others want to see what he's up to and before you know it, they've all tried it.

As for the winter, you can get a heat strip at a plumbing store - they're designed for homeowners to use on their pipes in the winter to keep them from freezing, so it should work for your waterer. Just tell them what your waterer is made out of, so they can make sure you get the right one for safety.

 

[jmagill]

I use a small aquarium heater like this one. Worked great.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-T11702-...2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1275853167&sr=8-2