Winter is almost here!! Share your tips and tricks for coping the elements with your chickens!

[Bogtown Chick]

I rotate two plastic waterers in the winter when its subzero. If one freezes up I bring it in the house. I don't bang it on the ground to break it up. I then bring the second down with open water until that freezes. I've had those two waterers for 4 years. Yep they do get brittle over the years...I agree. But that galvanized steel will break down and leach zinc into your water and make your animals sick. It will take a while but it will do that. I had a galvanized bucket for my labrador. Real cute in the house until she was not eating and vomiting everyday for a week. I finally figured it out and got rid of the galvinized steel for her water bucket and she got better.
I like ACV in my water for my birds and it will make that leaching process happen even faster...thus leaving me the only other fount option their is: Plastic.

I'm not a big one to throw money away. And don't get me wrong of love the tough industrial stuff better than most folks and will invest in it when I can. But I had let that one go.

 

[RonP]

If your heat source is working, the water should remain above freezing.

That said, a plastic container should have no issues expanding and contracting in sub freezing weather.

I have used a plastic container, on my heat source, without issues, in temperatures well below 0 fahrenheit.

 

[Braxton Brigade]

A quality plastic that has enough flexibility should have no trouble.

That being said plastic does eventually break down when exposed to 100*F and then overwintered in freezing temps haha.

Everything in good time should be replaced to minimize the chance of failure within your system/setup.

 

[csneill]

I use a 5 gallon bucket set in a plastic pot saucer for watering my chickens normally- will setting a heater under that keep it warm enough to prevent freezing? I always thought the plastic wouldn't conduct enough heat to keep the water from freezing. If that will work- what's the best kind of heat source to use?

 

[crealbilly]

I saw this in another site. Its basicly a resistor attached to an aluminum heat sink and the encased in cement. I saw this and thought to myself durr... and here i sit with a college degree in electronics engineering - why didn't i think of that? Maybe i should use my head for something other than a hat rack.

http://blog.mydbsupply.com/how-to-make-a-heavy-duty-chicken-water-heater/

 

[aart]

I saw this in another site. Its basicly a resistor attached to an aluminum heat sink and the encased in cement. I saw this and thought to myself durr... and here i sit with a college degree in electronics engineering - why didn't i think of that? Maybe i should use my head for something other than a hat rack.

http://blog.mydbsupply.com/how-to-make-a-heavy-duty-chicken-water-heater/

Wish they had mentioned where they live and the lowest temps......23F is almost 'warm' where I live.

 

[aart]

Quote: @MollySunshine can you provide a link to the video?

 

[aart]

Thought I had responded to this thread with a long detailed post.......don't see it, might have been another thread that I now cannot find.

Much as been covered already so just thought I would share my heated waterer and the least expensive place I've found to get the horizontal nipples.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

http://allboutchickens.com/#!/Horizontal-Poultry-Nipples/p/35469347/category=0

Oh and my take on installing the HN's....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ing-loaded-watering-nipples/210#post_14202676

 

[MollySunshine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPbt7hbjHxA

Here is the link, I hope I did this correctly!

 

[aart]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPbt7hbjHxA

Here is the link, I hope I did this correctly!

Thanks!
Had to copy and paste...here's the full link(I think)

BUT... that's a great video!! Will be refrencing it often.

There's one thing about that set up that concerns me, the roost looks awfully close to the ceiling.