I have 3 different types of winter waterers available for the flock. A heated dog bowl (inside the coop), a heated 5 gallon bucket (outside the coop) & a heated poultry waterer (inside the coop).
The flock loves the 5 gallon bucket. They use this one the most. No idea why. Even with 3 inches of snow to trudge through to get to this bucket, they do. On top of that, this one gets used by the dogs and cats too. So its usually only half full and honestly kind of icky. The bloodhound is kind of drooly and gets his ears in there... I know, gross. But, its still their favorite place to drink. First thing they do when they leave the coop in a.m. is to head for a drink of bucket water. They do drink from the other waterers but this is by far the favorite from what I see. And for the record, all 3 of the waterers do their job. Never freeze over. I dont have any fancy set ups. The 2 in the coop are just sitting on a wood platform to keep them off the shavings & the cords are ran up the coop wall and plugged in. I get a little worried about my roos dunking their waddles in the water, but havent had any issues YET. Just sharing my winter waterer experience. I know there are always questions posted about it.
The flock loves the 5 gallon bucket. They use this one the most. No idea why. Even with 3 inches of snow to trudge through to get to this bucket, they do. On top of that, this one gets used by the dogs and cats too. So its usually only half full and honestly kind of icky. The bloodhound is kind of drooly and gets his ears in there... I know, gross. But, its still their favorite place to drink. First thing they do when they leave the coop in a.m. is to head for a drink of bucket water. They do drink from the other waterers but this is by far the favorite from what I see. And for the record, all 3 of the waterers do their job. Never freeze over. I dont have any fancy set ups. The 2 in the coop are just sitting on a wood platform to keep them off the shavings & the cords are ran up the coop wall and plugged in. I get a little worried about my roos dunking their waddles in the water, but havent had any issues YET. Just sharing my winter waterer experience. I know there are always questions posted about it.