Water freezing

[bucky52]

I purchased a stainless 1 gallon heated dog bowl off amazon last winter.It was a bit pricey.But well worth it.I put mine on a concrete paver.on the side wall of my run.I took the cord and zip tied it up on the wire and plug it in.
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[RonP]

I feel that it is very important to offer RESTRICTED OPENING waterers in the winter rather than open bowls, buckets, etc. I feel this for 2 reasons:

1. When birds get "scuffling" in small spaces, it's not too hard to end up stepping into an open waterer quite by mistake. This is a recipe for instant frostbite and possible loss of toes and/or feet...or worse.

2. Birds that have larger wattles will have wattles hanging in the water in an open-water system. if the opening is restricted, wattles are more likely to stay on the outside of the small opening water troughs rather than hanging in the water. Wattles in water = frostbite.


So...
There are plenty of ways to keep water from freezing in the winter, but the DELIVERY SYSTEM is of utmost importance for frostbite PREVENTION, in my opinion. An ounce of PREVENTION is worth a Pound of cure. So I always encourage people to think, not in terms of keeping water thawed, but in terms of preventing frostbite while presenting thawed water.

Just some food for thought.

Very interesting thought.

I hope others will comment to share their experiences for others to learn from.

 

[Sharon Bee]

It's just I wouldn't want water running into where you have the electrical.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Great advice about the open waterer, RonP. This is the best reason I have ever heard for a nipple system. I put out a fresh, small bucket each morning, and the 28 chickens drink about 1/5 - 1/3 bucket daily. I think I will switch to a flat rubber feed pan to keep the girls from over-dipping and getting combs wet.

For now, I am going to buy a GFCI extension cord to solve the potential shock problem. (Also, my system is on a grade; the cookie tin is nearly water-tight, I have clay packed around the block. I have a foot of melting snow right now, giving me a great chance to keep an eye on my waterer before I plug-in the electric again.)

 

[ChickInDelight]

Updated design includes a GFCI plug to eliminate shock, a 100 watt light bulb in each side of the cinder block, thin slate to cover, and a flat, black, rubber pan to hold water. Working great so far.

 

[EagleEyes]

Well this morning I went out around 8:00am to check if there were any eggs, and found my water starting to freeze. It was 0 deg and I have a 40 watt bulb in my cookie tin heater. I checked and it was on. so rather than put a 60 watt in, I decided when it is that cold, I'll just switch out the waterers.

(I have two) And it is plugged into a GFI outlet and cube and the tin is grounded also.
I have to say that I was suprised.

 

[RonP]

Well this morning I went out around 8:00am to check if there were any eggs, and found my water starting to freeze. It was 0 deg and I have a 40 watt bulb in my cookie tin heater. I checked and it was on. so rather than put a 60 watt in, I decided when it is that cold, I'll just switch out the waterers.

(I have two) And it is plugged into a GFI outlet and cube and the tin is grounded also.
I have to say that I was suprised.

How cold did it get during the night?

My water stayed thawed till -9F, then had that ring of ice.

My daytime temps rarely get in the single digits, very rare below 0F.

 

[EagleEyes]

During the night it got to just below 0 deg, and that is why i said that when it does get that cold during the night, I will just switch out the waterers in the morning. It will get that cold quite a number of times during the winter here. hopefully not most nights.
And mine was not frozen solid, but a ring of ice like you said.

 

[RonP]

That ice ring was possibly formed because the water is not under your heat source (tin not large enough) and cold air under the waterer ring.

This is my current unresolved situation.

 

[Cluckies]

I feel that it is very important to offer RESTRICTED OPENING waterers in the winter rather than open bowls, buckets, etc. I feel this for 2 reasons:

1. When birds get "scuffling" in small spaces, it's not too hard to end up stepping into an open waterer quite by mistake. This is a recipe for instant frostbite and possible loss of toes and/or feet...or worse.

2. Birds that have larger wattles will have wattles hanging in the water in an open-water system. if the opening is restricted, wattles are more likely to stay on the outside of the small opening water troughs rather than hanging in the water. Wattles in water = frostbite.


So...
There are plenty of ways to keep water from freezing in the winter, but the DELIVERY SYSTEM is of utmost importance for frostbite PREVENTION, in my opinion. An ounce of PREVENTION is worth a Pound of cure. So I always encourage people to think, not in terms of keeping water thawed, but in terms of preventing frostbite while presenting thawed water.

Just some food for thought.

Very interesting thought.

I hope others will comment to share their experiences for others to learn from.


A couple of my birds with larger waddles do get their whole faces in there, the edges of their waddles looked white from frostbite in the last cold snap. So I took someone else's suggestion and put a "mote" in the middle of the dog dish waterer, I filled a 1 gallon vinegar jug with sand and placed it in the middle. At first I filled it with water, but figure that will freeze and freeze the water sooner. We'll see if the mote works to keep their waddles from getting frostbite.




Hopefully this will keep their waddles out of the water. I also put a rubber dog dish in there for easy change out, but it does not work below zero, so I'll take that out later this week when we are -0 during the day and see if the water stays liquid.

My second waterer is a 2 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples. I used it before with a tank heater from TSC, no dice, the nipples froze. The nipples are at different heights, we'll see if they freeze this time, and if so, which ones freeze first. I have an aquarium heater in there now and a submersible water pump to circulate the water.


Hopefully between the two the birds will have water and not get frostbite during this up coming very cold snap.