Watering the birds in winter? Water Freezing........

[canesisters]

How far is it from your home to the flock?
Is there anyone close who would be willig to check on them during the cold spells?
I'm in VA too and I know how the weather can swing - 60's one day, 20's the next.
Any electritians out there???

How many car batteries would they need to power a bulb in the coop??? How about powering a bucket heater? What about a generator for the overnights???
I use a heated bucket for my horses during the winter. It has some sort of element inside the double walls and keeps the water JUST above freezing. Also have a floating trough heater that cuts on and off depending on the temp. They make small bucket heaters - if you can figure a way to get temp power out there, you can drop it inside a 5gal bucket and provide days of water.

 

[teach1rusl]

With only 5 birds, you might consider bringing them to the burbs just for the coldest month - keep them in the garage or something. Or just put in the extra effort to visit the farm daily during those coldest weeks. If you think there's a chance that you can't keep them in fresh water through the winter, it would be much kinder to rehome them before winter time.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

Are they close enough to something that you could run an extension cord out to the coop? I use a heater in my internal watering bucket that does the trick. Without electricity, it will be tough and you might be spending a lot of time keeping their water from freezing. Good luck, I hope it works out well.

 

[pawsplus]

Does anyone use this one?

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...ies/Heated-Waterer-Plastic-3-Gallon-p505.aspx

I've been considering it for this winter. In the past I've just always emptied the water at night and brought the waterer in, then put it out in the a.m. USUALLY that works but sometimes the water freezes up during the day, so I'd like to try this waterer. Just wondering if anyone has good or bad things to say about it.

Thanks!

 

[hencrazy]

Quote:
I have it and HATE it. It's very messy to fill and requires daily scrubbing. The best thing I have found for winter are the big heated dog bowls. They are easy to clean and fill and I have never had a problem with them freezing. The biggest ones I can find around here are 5 qt. I use one per 10 birds.

 

[zippitydooda]

I live in Ohio where it gets below freezing for a few months in a row (UGH). Anyhow, I ran an extension cord to the coop and put a metal water font on top of a warmer. I got the set-up at at Tractor Supply for around $50 total. Since I have shavings in the coop, I set the whole thing on top of a wooden pallet. When it got really really cold, I still had to change the water twice a day.

I think you will have to find a way to get to your coop daily as you don't know how warm it will stay, especially if you can't get any electricity to it.

Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-Poultry-HP-125-125-Watt/dp/B000HHQDPM

Found a picture of the set-up on Amazon, but got mine cheaper at TSC.

 

[featherz]

Quote:
Saw reviews on this last year - everyone I saw seemed to hate it.. Leaks, hard to fill (I guess you have to fill and flip it), etc. I really like my dog bowls. Cheap and easy to fill. I also have a black rubber bowl I can use in a pinch - very easy to knock out the ice and refill, but obviously the water will still freeze.

 

[pawsplus]

I would think dog bowls would be a mess. The few times when I've had to use bowls temporarily they were nasty pretty quickly.

My current waterer has to be flipped to be filled, and I'm OK w/ that. But if it leaks . . . . Oh well.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Fred's Hens :

The black rubber bowls, in the run, and the sun will heat them well.
Inside, without electricity, you'll just have to carry water. Virginia winters are reasonably mild compared to other parts of the country. It's a pain to carry everyday, when it's freezing (below 32F) in the daytime but thankfully, those days are somewhat limited for you.

Here? Electricity to the barn (coop) is not optional, but a requirement.

I second the vote for the black rubber bowls. I have to fill them twice a day in the freezing weather that we sometimes get, but you turn them upside down and step on them- the ice slips out!

They are easily tipped over unless you get the very wide ones.​

 

[featherz]

for the dog bowls, I picked up square 12 inch concrete stepping stones and put it on a couple of those to raise it up. Never had a problem with mess. I'm using them now as backup waterers and they stay clean even in the coop. Trick is to raise them higher. Now if you have ducks also, all bets are off.