CatsandCrops
Songster
Inside our coop we have a vertical nipple system that has a smaller inverted water jug feeding it. It hasn't frozen yet this year even though we've gotten down into the teens overnight and had 2.5 feet of snow soooo we'll tackle that issue if needed. We're thinking of using insulation for pipes and wrapping the system, plus the jug, and using adding warm water in the mornings. But again, haven't had an issue yet *fingers crossed*
Outside the coop, in the enclosed run, in the summer we used a large 5 gallon standing waterer but have switched for winter to a larger dog bowl. It's a plain metal one that fits perfectly over a hard, circle shaped microwavable pet bed warmer. I pop that into the microwave for 5 minutes, place it on a cut to fit piece of an insulated bag on top of leveled yard bricks (so it's raised off the ground and the ladies don't dunk their heads), place the water bowl on top of it and fill with warm water. It's enough water for the day and hasn't frozen from 7a-ish until 530p-ish when we lock them up for the night. We take it all in over night and do it again in the morning. They've been using it for about a month now without issues so it seems to be a nice "no power to the coop" needed method for us.
Outside the coop, in the enclosed run, in the summer we used a large 5 gallon standing waterer but have switched for winter to a larger dog bowl. It's a plain metal one that fits perfectly over a hard, circle shaped microwavable pet bed warmer. I pop that into the microwave for 5 minutes, place it on a cut to fit piece of an insulated bag on top of leveled yard bricks (so it's raised off the ground and the ladies don't dunk their heads), place the water bowl on top of it and fill with warm water. It's enough water for the day and hasn't frozen from 7a-ish until 530p-ish when we lock them up for the night. We take it all in over night and do it again in the morning. They've been using it for about a month now without issues so it seems to be a nice "no power to the coop" needed method for us.
