WHAT do you do with no electric??

[Kednall]

I have yet to see anything posted anywhere on the internet about keeping chicken waterers ice free when it’s cold out. It seems there is a solar powered device for everything chicken BUT waterers. What do you guys recommend? I am NOT running an extension cord across an acre of backyard to the coop (my neighbor continually negates how unsafe this is…) but I can’t find a darn thing except replacing the entire 5 gal water jug every day. Surely there’s a better option?

 

[aart]

I have yet to see anything posted anywhere on the internet about keeping chicken waterers ice free when it’s cold out. It seems there is a solar powered device for everything chicken BUT waterers. What do you guys recommend? I am NOT running an extension cord across an acre of backyard to the coop (my neighbor continually negates how unsafe this is…) but I can’t find a darn thing except replacing the entire 5 gal water jug every day. Surely there’s a better option?

How many birds do you have?
A gallon waterer swap out would probably be fine.

 

[DonyaQuick]

What are the low temperatures you're up against? Do you get a lot of sun still in the winter? There may be no magic solution if you get deep cold, but if the lows aren't too bad there are some tricks.

De-icers draw a lot of power compared to, say, a lightbulb or very periodic auto door motor. That makes solar quite expensive since you need a big panel and big battery, but there is also the issue of sun - you need a lot to keep the battery charged. Where I live, solar anything is pretty useless at times in the winter, and the tricks don't work in the coldest months. When it's 10F highs and -20F lows and I sometimes don't see the sun for a couple weeks at a time, all of my solar lights are guaranteed to go dead anyway. So...I eventually gave up and did extension cords onto a GFCI outlet. But, I did do things without electric for a while.

When I did things sans-electric, I used black rubber tubs which make good use of any sun that does hit them to warm up, but there's of course the same drawback of having to potentially refill 1-2 times daily when the temperature drops below a certain point. If the temperatures aren't too much below freezing, placing a rubber tub nestled in some composting substrate (which makes heat) and better yet where it can also get some sun if there is any might be all you need. Nestling a 1gal black bowl in composting substrate and giving it a bit of wind protection has worked for me into the low 20sF at night as long as there was sun in the morning to help thaw the surface ice. One downside: if you have any chickens with large wattles that haven't figured out how to lightly sip just over the edge of the bowl (I've got one such head-dunker rooster...), then they may have wattle frostbite issues with this strategy.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I just dump my bowls if it freezes more than half the bowl depth. Less and I pour water over it

 

[Mr Spot]

How many birds do you have?
A gallon waterer swap out would probably be fine.

The one-gallon waterer swap out is what I do and it works too, just get the ones that are v shaped and the ice will slide right out.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Surely there’s a better option?

One thing you can do is get a Fortex black rubber feeder pan. Place it in the run that gets the most sun. It wont all melt during the day but enough so that the chickens can drink. If it does freeze over its easy to knock out the ice and refill.

 

[saysfaa]

You might look into this https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

 

[AmyRoach]

I have yet to see anything posted anywhere on the internet about keeping chicken waterers ice free when it’s cold out. It seems there is a solar powered device for everything chicken BUT waterers. What do you guys recommend? I am NOT running an extension cord across an acre of backyard to the coop (my neighbor continually negates how unsafe this is…) but I can’t find a darn thing except replacing the entire 5 gal water jug every day. Surely there’s a better option?

I just recycle the water daily if needed. I also will boil water and dump it on the frozen water in the morning and the birds drinking it through the day seems to keep it unfrozen.

 

[Penpal]

This year I am feeding fermented feed (whole corn, whole wheat, etc). I notice that the grains double in size pretty quickly. I find that the chickens need much less water than when I feed dry grain or kibble. It is a little more work, but I think less so than worrying about a water dish. And the extra time is spent indoors.