OK I have a heated dog bowl now what?

[Abby's mom]

I bought a heated water dish at the local feed store, niw looking at this thing how am I going to make it work? I know just plug it in right...but what I mean is how do I use this for my chickens this winter?
How do I stop them from roosting on the edge of the dish and pooping into the water?
this dish is not big enough for my chickens, I will need to refill it 5X a day,for those of you with larger flocks how can I use this with my plastic 5gal waterier?

(sorry i dont find the search function very helpful at all, its to random and anything with the words water, heat, dog ect shows up)

 

[thechickenchick]

I can't help you with the dog bowl. I mean I have 2, one for the dogs and one in the "kitty" barn. However what we did for our chicken water was this. Hubby used an old wheel center. He hooked up a light socket and ran the cord out the top. He then cut a piece of steel to go over the top to set our 8 gallon waterer on top. The waterer would set directly on top but this keeps out water, dust etc. A 40 watt bulb keeps the water thawed even when it is below 0 outside. If you are interested I can have hubby post detailed directions when he gets home.

 

[Abby's mom]

Quote:
thanks that would be great.... also is your waterier plastic or metal?.... I have a gal plastic one

 

[thechickenchick]

Abby's mom :

Quote:
thanks that would be great.... also is your waterier plastic or metal?.... I have a gal plastic one

Ours is metal. I wonder if the plastic would be ok. The bulb doesn't make it real hot.​

 

[MimiChick]

How many chickens do you have, and what's the capacity of the bowl.
I have 3 chickens and I think my heated dog bowl is about a 3 quart capacity.
I change the water daily because the chicks get food from their beaks in it and sometimes leaves or wood shavings blow into it, but it certainly doesn't run out.
I have mine set up a little on a couple of 2x4's so it's at about the height of thier backs and the chickens don't seem to be perching on it.
If you have a lot of chickens and are afraid of them running out of water you might want to do a search for "automatic waterers" There are several threads with great ideas on how to do that easily and without a lot of expense.
Good luck.

 

[Abby's mom]

Quote:
To be really honest i am more concerned about them pooping in it my chickens will perch on anything and poop everywhere and there is nothing more gross than cleaning watered down chicken poop

they try and perch on the 1/2 wall but there is chicken wire on the top so they cant get their big ole fuzzy butts positioned in a way to perch with comfort
they perch on the edge of the nests
they perch on the black top of the waterier the handle part, so i have put a 4X4 piece of particle board on the top so that their butts are far enough over the edge so they miss the drinking rim of the water dish

I have 23 chickens

 

[ams3651]

i have a 1 1/2 gallon heated bowl and 9 chickens and I refill it every morning but its far from empty. I set it up about 6" from the floor and havent had a problem with them walking in it or sitting on it. I do know i had read last winter where some had used it to set the plastic waterer into to keep it from freezing but I couldnt make it work with mine. maybe someone will chime in with some ideas.

 

[LauraSBale]

I planed on using the ele dog bowls thing for my chickens and ducks, and i thought about the same thing and ducks trying to get in it, so i got the lids that go on top of Chicken waters, the ones that look like a kids party hat, and i cut holes out at the base of the lids, so they can get in the water or roost on. i haven't tried out yet when i do i will get pics and let you know how it goes

 

[LynneP]

I use mine for 12 layer hens and refill in morning and at supper- it's 1.5 gal.

The bowl is about half-full when I do this, and I get a poop only once or so a week. The hens were messier when younger but now they seem to have better etiquette. I think you could build an inverted U shape to go over it that would still allow the hens to drink, several people here have mentioned that. You can also buy a large plastic waterer that is electric but most existing waterers should not be placed on a heater in case of fire- check the ratings on the device and if not rated for a heater, do not use. You can also put waterers into shallow stock bowls to reduce mess and/or elevate them. My electric dog bowl, shown in the link below, is on a patio block on top of cinder blocks. It has the added advantage of giving the birds a place to rub down their beaks and toenails and of getting sticky food off the beak.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns

(Scroll for pic)