What Are You Using For A Fount?

[gltrap54]

Once again I'm finding the floor of my coop flooded due to a leaking fount.... I can't seem to find a fount that lasts more than a few months before it starts leaking .... I currently have a flock of 16 hens.... What does everyone use for watering your flock?

 

[wamtazlady]

I use a 14 gallon tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer in winter to keep the water from freezing. Been using this system for about 6 years now without any issues.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I use a commericially made horizontal nipple waterer but I keep it outside, best way to ensure that even if any leaks occur that the coop stays bone dry.

 

[3KillerBs]

Rent-a-Coop horizontal nipples installed in 3-gallon frosting buckets from the bakery of the grocery store where I work.

I can't lift a 5-gallon bucket.

 

[wamtazlady]

Rent-a-Coop horizontal nipples installed in 3-gallon frosting buckets from the bakery of the grocery store where I work.

I can't lift a 5-gallon bucket.

I am fortunate to have a faucet in the well house that is heated in the winter and is close to the chicken coop. Hose gets hooked up, fill the waterer, then disconnect the hose. No carrying of heavy water buckets.

 

[gltrap54]

I use a commericially made horizontal nipple waterer but I keep it outside, best way to ensure that even if any leaks occur that the coop stays bone dry.

Here in NE Kansas the winters are far too harsh to leave their waterer outside, therein lies the issue.... I do have the font outside weather permitting but when the bitter cold arrives I'm forced to move their water inside the coop & place it on a heater...

 

[wamtazlady]

Here in NE Kansas the winters are far too harsh to leave their waterer outside, therein lies the issue.... I do have the font outside weather permitting but when the bitter cold arrives I'm forced to move their water inside the coop & place it on a heater...

Gets pretty chilly here in NW Montana also. However, the waterer stays outside. In a normal winter we get into the -20s F. I've never had my waterer freeze up. Stock tank deicers are designed to keep the water thawed.

 

[gltrap54]

Gets pretty chilly here in NW Montana also. However, the waterer stays outside. In a normal winter we get into the -20s F. I've never had my waterer freeze up. Stock tank deicers are designed to keep the water thawed.

Your chickens leave the coop when it's -20F? My flock is kept inside the coop in temperatures that cold... I guess I'm being too cautious... My girls would look at me like "You want us to go WHERE ?

 

[mamajos]

I have a waterer (5 gallon bucket, horizontal nipples, with stock tank heater) in both the coop, and the pen. Water stays thawed in -20°F to -30°F. I place a wide pan under the one in the coop to catch any little drips the hens make as they drink, (which is a minimal amount) so coop stays dry.

 

[wamtazlady]

Your chickens leave the coop when it's -20F? My flock is kept inside the coop in temperatures that cold... I guess I'm being too cautious... My girls would look at me like "You want us to go WHERE ?

Yes, no matter how cold it is the chickens spend their days outside. Of course I have the run winterized. First, it has a roof. Then I staple clear vinyl shower curtains on 3 sides of the run to prevent breezes blowing through. They are perfectly happy outside. Their food and water is kept in the run, not the coop. The temperature in the coop is the same as outside.

Heat is harder on chickens than cold. Think about how you would feel if you were wearing a down jacket when the temperature was 70 degrees. Those little wrens and sparrows seem to do well for the most part even when it is cold. Why wouldn't a chicken do just as well?