Restore rusty waterer?

[RichardB-SETN]

I have a double-walled galvanized waterer (2 actually) that is rusting in the drinking area. I have thought about spraying a coat of Rust-Oleum or something like that on the waterer to prevent the rust accumulation and reddish water. I'm currently rinsing it out every day. My concern is that the waterer sits on a heated base in winter to prevent freezing; could paint be affected by the heated base, or otherwise deteriorate and poison my chickens? Has anyone tried to restore a galvanized waterer? What product did you use? What was your experience? I appreciate your help and insight! Thanks!

 

[aart]

And yet i cannot use my plastic waterers with a heated base, so i have to haul the solid frozen waterer into the bathroom

Just buy two and swap them out each day.......what I used to do before making my heated one.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

As painful as it may seem, I recommend retiring/recycling it and buying a new one.

A small amount of iron in the water may be beneficial but higher levels may promote bacterial growth.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I return all the founts during freezing weather to the basement and they are thawed by morning. But then again I have about 15 of them so there are usually some thawed.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I get it, ducks are pretty messy with their water.

When it starts to rain cats'n dogs, your chickens will run inside, my ducks will run out.

And look like piglets in no time…

 

[21hens-incharge]

I vote for a plastic water dish and submersible de-icer.

In Tennessee I am not sure a de-icer is even needed.

 

[MarilynHukill]

I did this to one that was passed down to me. I used galvanized spray paint and it wore off within a few months. I also used a stiff wire brush prior to paint application. The rust started seeping through pretty quickly. Very disappointed.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

You can try using a heated water bowl. It turns on automatically when it gets under freezing. Much more easier that bringing out water every few hours. I have one that is 1 1/2 gallons and it lasts the whole day for my 25 chickens. It is the farm innovators version. It's only about 27 dollars on amazon.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

You can try using a heated water bowl. It turns on automatically when it gets under freezing. Much more easier that bringing out water every few hours. I have one that is 1 1/2 gallons and it lasts the whole day for my 25 chickens. It is the farm innovators version. It's only about 27 dollars on amazon.

Yes, that is working fine for Chickens, but i have Ducks!
The ducks would use this bowl as a bathtub and splash all the water around…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Just buy two and swap them out each day.......what I used to do before making my heated one.

You built your own heated waterer?!
Where is the article about that???