Salt water bottle trick for freezing water

[fatsGREENgarden]

I’ve read to put a plastic bottle filled with salt water in your waterer to keep it from freezing. We did this to the plastic 5 gallon hanging waterer. The water freezes in the shallow area where they drink from so we have to keep going outside and breaking it up. Now we’re using the same trick with a bucket full of water and it’s not freezing. We keep both out now because some of them seem to like pecking at the ice.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

I'm definitely going to try this!

 

[Myrshine]

Does it work?

 

[fatsGREENgarden]

Does it work?

It’s working for us so far. Our temperature has gotten down to the teens and the bucket still didn’t freeze. We will see this coming week when it’s to get even colder.

 

[saysfaa]

It’s working for us so far. Our temperature has gotten down to the teens and the bucket still didn’t freeze. We will see this coming week when it’s to get even colder.

Did it work when it got colder?
Anything you would do different?
Any advice on sizing the bucket or bottle?

 

[fatsGREENgarden]

Did it work when it got colder?
Anything you would do different?
Any advice on sizing the bucket or bottle?

When the weather got in the single digits, the bucket started to freeze at the top too much and the chickens couldn’t break thorough. We ended up buying a water heater for under their waterer and running an extension cord to the coop. It will be nice this winter not to have to worry about it freezing.