Water freezing

[lilrose922]

!st time chicken owners whats the best chaepest thing for keeping the water from freezing and how to keep the ckickens warm we just moved and have no coops yet we have 4 breeds and turkeys to any help is appreciated

 

[Black wallnut]

Lilrose922, there are a bunch of ideas in this thread to solve the keeping water liquid problem. What is best and cheapest is a bit harder to pin down. A cookie tin heater works for lots of folks but may not be the least costly all things considered. What are you using to shelter your birds? Where is it you just moved to?

 

[Catfish267]

I just give them a nice hot bucket of water each morning. The chickens stock up on water for the day.

 

[brushfloss]

I thought about that and got a fully plastic encased model. We had bone chilling cold this weekend with 30mph wind and while the entire bucket stayed thawed the nipples on the outside of the bucket were forming ice and not allowing water to flow through. Back to the drawing board...................

 

[aggiemae]

It's been freezing the past two nights but that doesn't actually happen that often here. We bring the waterer into the mud room when we lock up the chickens and take it back out in the morning. I do this when the temp is below 40 . They only go into the coop to sleep or lay so we don't have any food or water in there. With the nights being so long they are thirsty when we let then out at dawn and I have observed that the hens drink more water if it isn't cold

 

[teknickle]

I have been concerned about how fast the water freezes in the coop. Especially with record low temperatures her on the Indiana/Michigan border, I don't want my birds to have any additional stress. After looking at all of the options, I did more research. I read through forums and even digging through many, many reviews on Amazon for various products.
Here is my assessment:
-heated 3 gallon plastic waterers: great concept, but perhaps the wrong implementation. Some designs require filling only through a rubber plug in the bottom. That rubber plug has fallen out for some people and provides too small a hole to try and fill from (actual user feedback). The plastic on the feeder seems to be too thin (depending on manufacturer)--one person even reported accidentally punching a hole through the top...WITH HER THUMB. There are some good quality heated waterers, so examine before purchasing (or read reviews if online). Price $30-60 (the cheaper ones are truly junk)


-submersible aquarium heater: I don't recommend anyone ever go this route, because most people cannot be bothered with doing research or understanding how things work. The accidental glass shattering or electrocutions of animals from using aquarium heaters are entirely the blame of those using them. There are shatterproof (not quartz or glass based) heaters that also insulated well enough to prevent electrical shock (and you need GFCI and possibly ground the waterer). The benefits are that you can keep the water at a more comfortable 70°F and the birds are happier. Another option (with using questionable heaters) is to place in water that is insulated and separate from the drinking water...eg: large plastic mayonnaise jar of water with heater within the potable water. If you know what you are doing, this can work flawlessly and safely for many years. But I still say "don't do it", because most people will just skim over the information and miss pertinent details (that will hurt or kill their birds). Price $17-30 ("original theo" is a shatterproof model)

-bird bath de-icer: These are pretty foolproof and can work fairly well. The drawbacks are that some barely keep the water above freezing, or if it is very cold they cannot keep up at all (depends on wattage matched to how much water you are trying to keep thawed). There are also super cheap de-icers that have horrible warranty reviews. Price $15-$70

-oil pan heater: aka "universal hot pad heater" These exist in an extreme wide variety of forms. I am not talking about automotive dip-stick heaters (which will be an electrical shock hazard), or the automotive block plug heaters. I found these silicon-encased heaters (they look like red plastic) that are oil/water/weatherproof and are designed to stick to oil pan of car (they come with adhesive). Some people actually use these to heat their satellite dishes, boat motors...whatever. They are also an inexpensive and innovative way to heat any kind of waterer. Instead of immersing, you can just stick to bottom of a hacking waterer and then plug in. You don't have to worry about voltage ever coming in contact with birds' drinking water and you can modify any waterer. It is probably the least worry about an accidental fire. Price $18

-light bulb box: The concept is pretty simple. Use a 40-60watt light bulb and put into a container of some sort. That container can be: metal cookie tin, concrete block or an upside-down terracotta planter. If you bore a hole through the side and plug with transparent silicone, you also have an 'indicator light' so that you can see if it is working at a glance. (I just thought of that idea as I was typing this description). Made from common household parts, this is one of the cheapest solutions out there (but no auto-shutoff and might not keep up with really cold temps). Price $0-$6

-dog or pet heated water bowl/bucket: You can use this normal (bowl up), but that will get dirty pretty quick. So most people flip the bowls upside down and set the chicken waterer right on top. These bowls are already weather resistant, so you don't have to worry about extra precautions.
Price $20-45 (available at TSC, Walmart, BigR, etc)

-pipe heating cable/heat tape: designed to keep mobile home pipes from freezing, and outdoor spigots from freezing, it is a flexible way to put heat where you want it. You can also use a linear heating element like a gutter de-icer to accomplish same thing. They typically have a thermostat built-in to keep about 32°F. $25+



and my solution (well, that works for me..and I did it this morning): build heat box out of old coffee maker.
I have my old coffee maker (actually only 3 years old), but it was replaced due to appliance color changes. (that's always fun).
At most, I would get $5 at a garage sale for it. So it because a donor for its heating element and programmable control board (and has built-in thermal cut off).
I wanted to do the cookie tin idea..but didn't have one handy.
So I had an extra, clean can that held 6lbs of beans. Very similar to the light-bulb heat-box idea.
I bolted the heating element to the inside bottom of the can. The rest of can hides the relay board. I extended cables of control panel and mounted to coop.
All assembled, I flip upside down and place on floor of coop. Then drop height of hanging waterer so that it has weight against the bean can. (that way, it isn't just balancing free on there in case of getting tipped over).
There is not a 100% transfer of heat energy (because of plastic bottom), so even at its hottest, it still is a comfortable temp for the chickens and not burn hazard.
I took a bunch of pics and can make a tutorial if that would be of value to someone.

 

[oberhaslikid]

This is how I do it. I dont have electirc in my coops.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6619305/sponsors/

 

[ducksinarow]

I bought a 2 gallon heated bucket from Rural King today. I love the 2 gallon size. The 5 gallon was too big. One of my ducks drowned in a the bigger one. I think I paid about $23 for the 2 gallon size.

 

[jmagill]

-submersible aquarium heater: I don't recommend anyone ever go this route, because most people cannot be bothered with doing research or understanding how things work. The accidental glass shattering or electrocutions of animals from using aquarium heaters are entirely the blame of those using them. There are shatterproof (not quartz or glass based) heaters that also insulated well enough to prevent electrical shock (and you need GFCI and possibly ground the waterer). The benefits are that you can keep the water at a more comfortable 70°F and the birds are happier. Another option (with using questionable heaters) is to place in water that is insulated and separate from the drinking water...eg: large plastic mayonnaise jar of water with heater within the potable water. If you know what you are doing, this can work flawlessly and safely for many years. But I still say "don't do it", because most people will just skim over the information and miss pertinent details (that will hurt or kill their birds). Price $17-30 ("original theo" is a shatterproof model)

I have been using the same aquarium heaters for 5 winters now. They work great they don't shatter and using them in a bucket with nipples means clean unfrozen water with no hassle. No electrocution, no high electricity bills. I say do it.

 

[Sharon Bee]

The 25 and now 40 watt bulb in cookie tin works for me. My plastic waterer hangs just above it so that it is barely touching.

Temps are going to plummet tonight here in Southern Ontario. So I changed bulb to 40 watt. My chickens are inside a sturdy brick carriage house and I have out down a thick layer of hay and straw.

So far the water gas not frozen solid. Just some icing. I carry out warm water to refill.