Winter water, no electricity, all options on the table

[Badchickenpun]

Is there one thread or article on here with every non-electric watering option for chickens in winter?
1. Frequent water changing
2. Ping pong balls (wind needed)
3. Mini greenhouse to concentrate solar
4. Hot rocks or microwavable heating pad under water dish
5. Salt water-water bottles in waterer
6. Straw bale cave

Please add more to the list or discuss your experiences with any of the above.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Ping pong balls and the salt water/water bottles trick doesn't work, at least not up here in the Great White North.

I know this isn't what you asked, there probably is a thread about it (or ten, or one hundred), but thought I'd share my experiences. I just give them fresh water twice a day, dumping the frozen stuff when I refill (if there's any left).

 

[saysfaa]

Can you add insulated waterer to your list? It turned out to be my solution for the vast majority of the time. Three quart capacity stays drinkable down into the teens(F) for up to about 12 hours. With the simple open top bucket version.

I think it could be colder/longer if I made it more complicated - even just an insulation board box to set it on. It is currently set on s cement block.

 

[saysfaa]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/winter-waterer-without-electricity-no-freezing.1497407/

Edit to add, that was what I remember intending that thread to be. I guess it didn't turn out that way as much as I thought.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

Styrofoam cooler packed with straw or insulation. Water dish inside that bad boy. Will slow down the freezing. You could even place hot rocks or microwave heating pad inside for more warmth.
I saw a post where a woman bought battery operated water toys that have little flippers that move the toy around. It kept the water moving enough to not freeze. This was in a bigger water trough, not sure if it would work for chickens. I kind of want to try it myself.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I use a normal pot, on bricks, and put ( depends on the temperatures) 1-3 grave light candles underneath

 

[WingsysRoost]

I have a metal dog water bowl that I use (if I'm not using a heated dog water bowl). When it does freeze, I just toss it upside down on the ground to break the ice out, rinse, and refill. It gets checked and changed out several times per day as needed. This is easier for me since I can easily bring the bowl inside.

I just can't deal with the galvanized waterers (my usual choice) in the winter because the two halves freeze together. I either have to run in and out of the house to get warm water to pour on them to break the sides apart or I end up having to bring the whole (usually icy and muddy) waterer in the house which is not ideal.

 

[1cock2hens]

We keep a 55 gallon barrel of water for the chickens that we keep on the east side of the house. It freezes at night but if it gets to the mid 30s with sun it melts no problem. I keep 15/20 gallons in individual jugs under the house too in case it stays too cold to melt. I give them water in big black rubber bowls in two places, outside in the open as well as in the barn with the goats, It's only been in the high teens and twenty so far this year and the body heat from my goats keeps the water from freezing in the barn, I just dump the ice from the other waterer and refill a few times a day. We have a spring as well if they get thirsty they can hike lol

 

[Badchickenpun]

I also want to try a sealed off container of hotter water in the water. They drink a max of about two cups, so there should be room for it. As it is, I start out with about luke warm water so it doesn't steam into their space.

So the hanging waterer has a two fold issue, I think. The water in the top and the water in the ring. The water in the top hasn't frozen solid yet, but the ring, where they drink, has, because there is much less water to freeze.
So you can insular the top with spray foam and a large bucket, or addin a hot water bottle into the top. But the watee in the run ma still freeze.
Then I have seen these waterers setting on a bucket instead of hanging, with some sort of heated source in the up turned bucket. That is supposed to keep the water in the ring from freezing. I guess you could do both, but that would become a monster.
I've seen the version with a small hole for one chicken to drink at a time, but not a fan. Ours do everything as a group. If one eats, they all eat, if one drinks...
That's just what I see from the outside. I could be wrong...

 

[FunClucks]

Sure.

Before I depend on this for my chickens, I want to try it next to a similar bucket without the salt water. It would save me a lot of time and effort if you could give some ballpark figures of what you've done.

I've seen a couple side by side comparisons on you tube where they concluded there was no difference. They didn't try many variations, though, and were not very specific in how long it took to freeze - they just left it overnight one night to see if the salt bottle would keep the waterer from freezing at all.

They didn't see if it a difference if it is near the freeze point or many degrees below freezing. Or different ratios of salt water bottle to bucket size, or open/closed top.

So, salt lowers the freezing point of water. Water without salt that normally freezes at 32F can freeze at 0F if you add enough salt. However, that doesn't change the temperature of the water, just the temperature at which freezing starts. It doesn't keep the water warmer, just delays the onset of freezing. However, salt also decreases the specific heat of water, so it helps the water in the bottle retain more heat from the sun or another source. A bottle of saltwater will obtain a higher temperature compared to a bottle of freshwater for the same amount of sun exposure (this may be just a few degrees difference).

If the bottle of saltwater in the dog water bowl works, my guess is because it is a closed container that gets heated during the day by the sun, or maybe it gets blown around or moved around while in the bowl (moving water also freezes at a lower temperature), or a combination of both. The water in the bowl is cooled by the wind, and loosing heat to the bowl/ground it's sitting on/in. The water in the closed water bottle gets heated by the sun, and the plastic of the bottle insulates the water inside from heat loss by wind (slightly, but it makes a difference). Once the sun sets, the temperature of the water inside the bottle will be higher than that in the bowl, so the heat slowly travels from the bottle into the bowl until they equalize, and then the temperature of both lowers until they freeze. These two things can happen at various rates, and at the same time. The key is having the initial temperature of the water in the bottle and dog bowl high enough that the cool down process isn't complete (freezing doesn't occur) before the outside temperature rises again above 32F (sunrise or sometime thereafter) or the sun starts heating things again, therefore turning the cooling process into a slow thermal heating process.

If you get enough heat into the saltwater in the bottle, then it may keep the water in the bowl from freezing overnight IF the outside temperature is not too cold, and there's not too much wind. Remember, as soon as the heat input into the bottle stops (sun goes away, water stops boiling in the microwave), the bottle starts to cool. The heat transfers out of the bottle into the water that's in the bowl at a certain rate - this rate depends on the starting temperature of the water in the bowl, whether there is agitation of the bowl water, and how fast the heat is also being lost to wind and into the plastic of the bowl, and into the ground the bowl is sitting on.

If you want to retain heat in your dog water bowl:

1) Heat your salt water. Microwave, boiling or near to is best, whatever your plastic can best handle, or stick it in the sun for a long time (not as good, but less time intensive). Dark colored bottles work better than clear ones, but make sure the lid's on good, because as the temperature increases, the pressure in the bottle will also increase. Conversely, if you boil the water, add it to the bottle, put the lid on, and freeze it, the water inside the bottle will condense, creating a bit of a vacuum, so it may be harder to get the lid off when it's cold - running hot water over the lid can help you open it.

2) Insulate your bowl (thermos bowls that have a double wall with a vacuum in-between would be best, otherwise, use anything your chickens won't eat, the higher the heat retention capability, the better). Blankets? Compost that is actively heating would probably work well as insulation, straw, things that are black and can be heated by the sun, etc. [The double wall vertical Igloo drinking water thermos folks use in the summer on the construction sites might be something to try if you paint it black.]

3) Agitation of the bowl can help.

If you try it, I wish you luck figuring out how it works for you!