suggestions to keep water from freezing

chickon baby · Dec 13, 2010

Good Morning,we have 3 degrees and negative wind chill.Despite my coop being insulated,the waterers were frozen this am.I cant do the water warmer,any other suggestions??? I wasnt thinking last night n left both waterers out there,so Im thawing 1 inside now..Doing it gradually so it doesnt crack.I left the other 1 out there and put some h20 on top of the frozen h20 so they could at least have a drink.I put a small saucer w/h20 and after getting back in the house I relized that wasnt very smart if they get theyre feet went or tip it...Daa.They will stay locked in again today n are not happy abt it..lol.Couldnt let em out anyway as the lock on the trap door is frozen solid..I felt so bad seeing the waterers frozen n dont want it to happen again.I appreciate any ideas or help.Thank you.
How cold can it be for chickens? We have RIR's n wyondottes..7 total in a 10X 10 coop.Any other idea's to help keep my girls warm
? or are they ok w/the cold.I have linoleum on the floor and tons of dried grass in boxes,ledge(they lay on) and all over the floor.
FYI: we driy out our organic cut lawn n store it like you would bails of hay,done it for years w/older girls.(wyondottes are3yrs).They dont like anything else.As for the RIR's this is there first winter n they are only 8 months old.DH says Im a worry wart,they are fine w/the cold temps n as for the h20,I need to bring 1 in at night n take out in am..(should have remembered l;ast night) We do have 2 lights that give off some warmth.Thanks again. Ps..They did have their oatmeal n apples for breakfast.lol..yes they have feed 24/7

Michigan Transplant · Dec 13, 2010

I will be interested to see what you are told to do. I have one waterer that is plug into and outlet to stay unfrozen but the Silver Campines water was frozen solid this morning. I have it up on a milk crate so that didn't work. I have about 3 inches of stray/hay on the floor right now so that their feet don't get cold and freeze. I have heard that chickens can survive in weather like this but would love to bring my RIR into the house and keep them warm since they are still laying eggs daily. Poor things!

PaulaJoAnne · Dec 13, 2010

http://hoofinitnorth.com/poultryh2oheater.htm

abhaya · Dec 13, 2010

I dont have electric to my coop. They get water when I let them out 6 am 11 ish and 4 ish all the water I take out is warm so it takes a while to freeze. I rotate the bowls
one in the coop
one thawing
one going out to the coop.
They dont drink at night so I dont worry about it. I use small plastic bins/totes and put a brick in it so they cant tip it and get the bedding wet.
I hope this helps.

Judy · Dec 13, 2010

Wonderful of you to provide all that space for 7 birds -- IMO they need it in your weather because they likely wouldn't go out if you could open the door. Although If I could get it open I'd let them choose.

They are OK with the cold, really. They will be in trouble if you don't have enough ventilation to let the humidity out that they create when they breathe, as it's humidity that causes things like frostbitten cold, basically. There are a few things you could do for them, like stack hay bales around the roost area or even hang a dropped ceiling over the roost. But I have yet to read of a workable solution to the frozen water without electricity, other than hauling water back and forth.

We have a member who lives in Canada and is very, very good with coops; she has some writeups, including an excellent one on cold coops:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

Aria · Dec 13, 2010

This is our first year with Chickens. My husband found a cylindar type "thing" with a wire.
Plugged it in a pan of water to test it in our garage. It kept the water from freezing. He put a large plastic bucket with the plugged in cylindar and this kept the water from freezing. The cylindar was in the Barn of our rental house. The owner once had chickens.

On the bottom of the raised bucket (hanging from ceiling) he inserted the nipples. Got them on the internet. Very affordable. He spent a little time...showing the chickens how to place their beeks on the nipples and they could get a drink. It is a 5 gallon bucket and works fine.

We have 13 hens and 1 Rooster.

LynneP · Dec 13, 2010

I use an electric dog bowl in a rubber stock bowl. I get a little ice on top when it gets to -10C in the coop, over a two week period in February, but I flick it off and the water underneath is fine.

LauraG · Dec 13, 2010

Yes, why dont you just rotate your waterers? Have an extra so you can keep swapping it out?

I also read somewhere to keep a few small rocks on your woodstove (If you have one), and drop that into the waterer. The heat from the stone displaces and keeps the water from freezing as fast

Fox&hen · Dec 14, 2010

i ran an electric cord out to plug in the "dog bowl" and it works great. dump it everyday and add new water never has it been frozen. IMO they are well worth the $' saw some at wally world yesterday $15. TSC has them for $20.

NCchicken · Dec 15, 2010

I was wondering about this as well! Thanks for the suggestion on the heated dog bowls!

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