Winter water advice

[Moms Spaghetti]

I’m wondering is it best to have a heated water source in their coop or should I have it in the run? Right now they only have access to water from the run but the water is freezing. I was considering purchasing this one from Rentacoop.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

What is your run setup like? Does it have a roof and the walls wrapped in plastic? How cold does it get where you live?

For my flock, I've found it best to move the waterer into the coop. Not only is it naturally warmer in the coop, but the waterer will be sheltered from other elements such as wind and snow. Plus, if you get a lot of snow and it's in the run, the chickens don't typically like going out in it.

If your run is covered and wrapped, and it doesn't get terribly cold (like it can here in Maine), it might be worth keeping it outside because no matter what kind of waterer you have, you do still get water in your coop's litter. (Nipple waterers occasionally drip to encourage chickens to drink from them.) It's not always a huge concern and I keep my waterers in despite that, but then, I also have all the elements (wind, deep snow, coldness) getting into my chickens yard, so it's better to keep mine inside.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Find a metal cookie tin with a lid, poke a hole in it for a power cord, wire up a simple 60 watt incandescent bulb, put the lid on and plug it in. Set your metal or plastic waterer on top then wrap the bottom and the upper sides and top of the waterer.

You want to add some heat using the bulb and add the insulation to prevent some of the heat loss. Should keep water liquid down to five or ten degrees.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Does the listing for that waterer recommend keeping it indoors?

I keep mine outdoors all year long for multiple reasons: it keeps humidity and moisture out of the coop, the extension cord to the run only reaches so far (and I don't have a pest protected panel to run cords to the inside of the coop), and the birds prefer being outside anyhow. I don't get a lot of snow but if there's snow I shovel a pathway to the waterer, so access isn't an issue.

 

[Debbie292d]

I’m wondering is it best to have a heated water source in their coop or should I have it in the run? Right now they only have access to water from the run but the water is freezing. I was considering purchasing this one from Rentacoop.

We have heated waterers both inside and outside and it really makes no difference. These are nipple waterers, so very minuscule humidity is added as there's no open water.

I'd put it where it's most convenient for you to refill.

 

[BonnieBlue]

I have a waterer inside the coop, and one outside. We got down to (an unusual) 27 the past two nights, so I expected the waterer outside to be frozen. I did not expect that inside, but it is right next to the pop door, and the water in the shallow well (not the tank) was frozen. That allowed water to just pour out of the tank. Luckily I put the waterer inside over a tray in case something happens, so I just need to empty the tray and put some fresh sand in it. But, I am now thinking i need a heated waterer.

I have the perfect place outside against the coop that the top of the coop has a quad elec box that i put in for the security camera and their speaker for music when I get my starlink moved up here.

I am thinking of doing away with the inside waterer, at least for winter once I get a heated waterer. With the new pullets, I have transitioned the two big girls to eating outside instead of inside their coop, so I might as well go with all of it. I can put a waterer in the coop for spring and summer/hurricane season in case they need to be locked up.

Does anyone have a particular heated waterer they like? If I am going to get one, I want one that will be dependable. I see that there are heated waterers, and heated bases to set an existing waterer on. Any thoughts on which is best?

 

[Moms Spaghetti]

I have a waterer inside the coop, and one outside. We got down to (an unusual) 27 the past two nights, so I expected the waterer outside to be frozen. I did not expect that inside, but it is right next to the pop door, and the water in the shallow well (not the tank) was frozen. That allowed water to just pour out of the tank. Luckily I put the waterer inside over a tray in case something happens, so I just need to empty the tray and put some fresh sand in it. But, I am now thinking i need a heated waterer.

I have the perfect place outside against the coop that the top of the coop has a quad elec box that i put in for the security camera and their speaker for music when I get my starlink moved up here.

I am thinking of doing away with the inside waterer, at least for winter once I get a heated waterer. With the new pullets, I have transitioned the two big girls to eating outside instead of inside their coop, so I might as well go with all of it. I can put a waterer in the coop for spring and summer/hurricane season in case they need to be locked up.

Does anyone have a particular heated waterer they like? If I am going to get one, I want one that will be dependable. I see that there are heated waterers, and heated bases to set an existing waterer on. Any thoughts on which is best?

I bought the one above and returned it bc it leaked everywhere. I’m just changing out the water in the run a few times a day at this point.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I have always just gave them water a couple times a day when freezing out. This year I bought a electric dog bowl ($18) and it has worked great, we have been 8 to 10F below the last few days and it hasn't froze.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Does anyone have a particular heated waterer they like? If I am going to get one, I want one that will be dependable. I see that there are heated waterers, and heated bases to set an existing waterer on. Any thoughts on which is best?

If you are ok with horizontal nipples, I use this year round since the cord is removable: https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/premier-1-heated-poultry-waterer.11903/

Note that mine is from 2019, so my review doesn't cover any changes made since then.

 

[AinaWGSD]

We've got heated waterers for the first time this year. Or, more accurately, we have heaters in the normal waterers.
The in town coop has one of these

it works great, no ice even when we got down below 0°F. The in town coop is inside a 2.5 car garage, there's so much space that what little moisture the water might add isn't a concern.

Out at the farm we have a home made 12v heater brought off Amazon. Its run on deep cycle marine batteries charged by a solar panel. The heater itself works well, but we've been having problems with the batteries not holding charge.

While we work on the battery issue, we've got the waterer out there wrapped in radiant barrier insulation, which has done an amazing job of keeping the water from freezing. We have to siphon the cold water out and refill with hot tap water in the evening. But the insulation kept the water from freezing for more than 24 hours even with the below freezing temperatures we've had the past few days. Hopefully we'll have the battery situation fixed by the time we have another brutal cold snap.

The waterer out at the farm is also inside. But we have an open woods style coop, with tons of ventilation, so moisture isn't really a concern out there either. Plus, both waterers are horizontal nipple waterers so the amount of moisture is significantly less than with open water sources like bowls or traditional water founts.