Not enough water

[Anon112]

Your right on the mark, Anon112!

Without exaggeration, keeping their water liquid in the winter has been my biggest ongoing challenge and the one that resulted in the longest series of trying things that failed and then trying something else. Many of the "hacks" online (like the floating water bottle) just didn't work consistently.

 

[Chickenclaude]

My son-in-law gifted me an electric water er that has been a Godsend during our NE winters. I empty and clean every 4-5days. It has an upside down system that is a dome and gravity fed. $60 well spent. I use an outdoor ext. cord that I monitor. There is a well around the dome reservoi. I sat it up on cement blocks to keep them from walking thru the water and climbing on top.

 

[meowloud]

I'll try the water bottle trick. Thank you. I'm less worried about it, I just feel a little bad about not thinking about their water. Thank you for the tricks. I'll let you know if they are fine tomorrow morning.

Were they OK?

 

[Chickenclaude]

The water bottle should be Half to 3/4 filled w a saturate salt water (add as much Salt as water will dissolve) solution..works ok if temp is above 30o..in the 20’s-not so much. The heated one has never allowed ice to form in the 3 years I’ve used it.

 

[Amy Polka]

Farm Innovators Model HPF-100 "All-Seasons" Heated Plastic Poultry Fountain, 3 Gallon, 100-Watt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CCSJCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_Z4ZJ2ADC0BF32VTHP5VV

I use this one (well, either the 3 or the 5 gallon, I'm not sure). It's only 100 watts so doesn't use a lot of energy imo. Btw, did you know that if you add a little bit of cayenne to the water, it can yield more eggs in the winter?

I like having a big enclosed water to be able to add vitamins, etc. Lately, my issue is this possum that comes around and laps up all the water.

 

[Robeenop]

Definitely need heated watering.
I have 3 heated waterers from premier 1. Not cheap, plastic that can hang or sit on blocks. The plug detaches and cap provided for year round use. I still have to haul 5 gal buckets for my ducks. Chickens (all 48) use the heated nipple drinkers. The ducks will too, but need to dunk their heads in the water to wash their eyes and nostrils out

 

[gtaus]

I just want to know if I'm worried about them not getting enough water, or if it's not a big deal. They are all acting fine. Should this not effect them?

Water is probably the most important thing for any living animal. I don't think a few hours without water will hurt your chickens, but if your water freezes time after time, your chickens will begin to suffer. I live in northern Minnesota, and we have months of freezing cold weather. I bought a metal 3 gallon fount waterer and a metal heated base for keeping my water from freezing in the winter. The metal base heater says it will keep the water from freezing down to +10F. I have my waterer and heated base in my chicken coop and it keeps the water from freezing down as low as -35F. That's really cold, but I think the heated base can keep the water from freezing because it is not outside and subject to a cold wind blowing across the exposed water. I got my supplies locally at our Fleet Supply store, but here are some pictures from Amazon of what kind I got.

Yes, I know they are old fashioned looking. But where I live, these metal units outsell all other water units for chicken care. They just work. If you have lots of days and nights with freezing temps, then it's worth the investment to get quality products from the start. I am into my third winter with my metal base heater, and if it died, I'd be back in town that day and buy another one. Also, in my metal base heater, there is a thermostat that only turns on if the temps get down to about +35F, so if live somewhere warmer than where I live, then you would not have it on 24/7, only when it gets cold enough. Having said that, I think my heater only draws about 125 watts, so about the cost of running a couple old fashioned light bulbs. For keeping my chicken's water from freezing - invaluable.

Nobody (that I know) around where I live buys heated dog dishes for their chickens. Even at 2X or 3X more for the price of the metal waterer and base heater combo, it's worth it for us where I live. If your winters are not as cold, then maybe a heated dog dish would work OK.

 

[Torinik]

Water is important, but no need to panic. Chickens are resourceful and when they have access to it will peck at snow and frost on grass and other plants/objects.

Early night frost, I just smash the frozen upper part of the 10 liter water-boxes I have all over the run. The chickens go crazy for the little ice-shavings and cubes.

When hard frost hits, I knock out the ice-blocks from the water-boxes and give them nice warm water (not hot, mind you, chickens are smart but also incredibly stupid at times) in the morning. This gives them at least an hour of liquid water while I'm out. The ice-blocks I smash with a hammer, so there's little ice cubes around which they can pick to get some liquid if need be.

By the time I'm back they're on their roosts already, so I leave them alone.
In the morning the same thing repeats.

I have no power to my run, so heaters are not an option. But this has worked fine for years, my parents and grandparents already did it this way. Women stayed home in those days, so I'm guessing the chickens got warm water at least twice a day when frost was particularly hard.
My chickens have been fine with one warm watering a day and ice-cubes available during the hardest winters we get around here. Down to -10 -15°C for 2 to 3 weeks tops. If it gets colder than that, I can not speak from experience and you may need to take more drastic measure.

 

[MarcyG]

I found this very helpful, very low cost DIY solution for heating water in my coop, using an empty cookie tin can and a low-watt bulb. It really works!
I have a small flock (6), and no electricity in our coop, so I use an outdoor-rated electric cord.
Note: This info is from another website -so my apologies if it’s against the rules to share this, but … IT WORKS!
Our temps have as low as the mid 20s F, and plugging this in does the trick. In the pics below, the one on the left is taken in the dark, which explains the orange ‘glow’ from the heated cookie tin.
Check it out if you have a chance:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/make-...uFOHtx8ybnjj5Srk5V_hjmydxgqOFCj2VO0DJXu_JedeE

 

[Wendy Bee]

Don't know if this will work for you, but . . .

I made two, 2 gallon waterers, and put bird bath deicers in them for winter. I LOVE them - I can go about 7-10 days without having to mess with them at all (16 chickens). I've seen folks use 5 gallon buckets, but I don't feel like hauling 5 gallon buckets full of water, so . . .

They stay clean and don't freeze (Central NYS) . We live up on a hill and it can get wicked cold up here, so we'll see. It's rated for -20F in an open bird bath, so I'm guessing having a sheltered, deep water bucket would up that rating a bit.

I like that the bird bath deicers just keep the water from freezing and don't heat the water. They're only 50W, and have a thermostat, which also makes them cheap to run. Reading here, some were concerned with using an aluminum heater in the water. The deicer I chose is enamel coated, so hopefully not a concern.

The nice thing about this setup is that I can just take the heater out when the weather breaks, put a lid without a cord hole on, and have easy, clean waterers for the rest of the year, too.

Don't forget to drill an airhole or two!

Ingredients :

2 Gallon food-safe bucket and lid from Lowe's
6 Chicken nipples (you can do fewer if you like)
50W Bird Bath deicer
Drill and bit
Sharpie

Link for Chicken Nipples (comes with instructions): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DVM6RC9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bird Bath Deicer: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0006U2FJ8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Hope this gives you some ideas!