Watering your chickens in the winter

[Mosey2003]

In the teens and twenties, you can just take the waterer inside every evening and swap out one during the day. If you use a black rubber bowl and put it in the sun, it will stay mostly thawed for quite awhile too.

 

[katieinthetetons]

A stock tank deicer costs about the same as a good aquarium heater. It is meant to use in cold weather. It turns on at about 35 degrees and turns itself off at about 40 degrees. I have one that is in its 4th year of use and doing fine. Mine rests on the bottom of my waterer rather than floating on top.

What brand deicer do you use? I recently bought a K&H Ultimate Pail Deicer 250W for a 5 gallon bucket and the bucket is still icing up around the top and edges....which then causes the horizontal nipples to freeze up. This is my first time with chickens and using a deicer so I'm not sure it's working maybe? I live in SE Idaho/NW Wyoming where it can dip down to -30*F. A little worried because it hasn't even gotten cold yet---only in the (positive) teens to twenties!!

 

[wamtazlady]

What brand deicer do you use? I recently bought a K&H Ultimate Pail Deicer 250W for a 5 gallon bucket and the bucket is still icing up around the top and edges....which then causes the horizontal nipples to freeze up. This is my first time with chickens and using a deicer so I'm not sure it's working maybe? I live in SE Idaho/NW Wyoming where it can dip down to -30*F. A little worried because it hasn't even gotten cold yet---only in the (positive) teens to twenties!!

I do not remember the brand but it is a 250W and I use it in a 10 gallon tote. I have at times gotten some ice on the top but never had nipples ice up. Someone did an experiment on nipple waterers. Found out it was best to have the nipples up a few inches from the bottom. Apparently the water on the bottom is colder than a few inches up. You might want to do a short experiment and put yours in the freezer to make sure it's working. I'm on year 4 with my deicer but it really hasn't gotten cold enough in the run to freeze my water yet so I can't be sure mine is working. I am hoping to get another year out of it.

 

[Mosey2003]

What brand deicer do you use? I recently bought a K&H Ultimate Pail Deicer 250W for a 5 gallon bucket and the bucket is still icing up around the top and edges....which then causes the horizontal nipples to freeze up. This is my first time with chickens and using a deicer so I'm not sure it's working maybe? I live in SE Idaho/NW Wyoming where it can dip down to -30*F. A little worried because it hasn't even gotten cold yet---only in the (positive) teens to twenties!!

This is the one I've just bought, I did note that a few reviews said it didn't work. If you do decide to put it in a freezer, make sure you put it in a bucket of water in there - the instructions are explicit that it never be plugged in dry. If, indeed, it is not working, I would call K&H and request a replacement. I really hope mine works, it was cheaper than the donut-shaped one. If it doesn't, I will grab one of those.

 

[Sammamish-BYCs]

I have used a bird bath de-icer with success in a dog bowl, only it lays flat and so you need a bowl with a large diameter. It is safe for use around water outdoors. I still need to find a better bowl to put it in that's larger however. Got my dog bowl at Value Village for $2. It has kept the water from freezing here in Western Washington down to 15F. It will get dirtier than a waterer that is enclosed, but that's the trade-off.

 

[Mosey2003]

I'm officially a little concerned with the K&H deicer. It was 33 degrees this morning and when I touched it, the coils were cold. If I'm not mistaken, it's not supposed to shut off until something like 45 degrees. We're set to get in the 20s at night shortly, so I'll know soon if it just doesn't work or not. I kept the box, so will definitely call the company. Sadly, I ordered from Amazon, so I won't be shipping it back. If I don't get any joy there, I'll get one of the $30 donut ones.

FYI, I hope you saved your receipt. Here is the warranty information:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/719FPMmi0pS.pdf

 

[MissChick@dee]

Hiya
Nice to meet you!

I used to keep 2 sets of bowls. Take out the fresh water and bring in the frozen. Repeat as needed.
This year I purchased a heated bowl. Gonna see how it does. Best wishes

 

[Mosey2003]

I have had excellent luck with heated bowls and buckets working, FWIW. But I'm wanting to get away from them wetting their wattles now, so going with the nipples.

 

[katieinthetetons]

Somehow, my heater started working again. Dipped down to single digits last night and no ice in the bucket at all (some frost around the top but that's it). So I bet it was having a mechanical issue of some kind. I'll check when I get home tonight if the coils are warm or cold to the touch.

Might buy one of those donut ones too as a backup....just in case it decides to stop working again. Sigh!

 

[Mosey2003]

It's down to 31 right now and I get off work in 2 hours, so I'll be interested to see what mine is doing when I get home.