Winter water suggestions

[Thomaswgordon]

Hey everyone, this will be our first winter with chickens and trying to get some ideas before the freezing temps come in. We live in Maryland and it gets decently cold during winter. We currently use this waterer with the automatic filling cups. I would love to just keep using the same waterer but I haven’t been able to think of a way to prevent the water or cups from freezing.

 

[TooCheep]

If you can run a line to your coop, then the easiest way to keep water liquid in freezing weather is using an electric heater. If you get one, you'll need to look for one that is explicitly marked "safe in plastic" and has a built-in thermostat. They will keep the water just above freezing and not run continuously. I'm afraid those cups won't work. Keeping the container warm won't keep those cups liquid. You can use horizontal nipples as one option.

You can see some deicers here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+deicer

 

[Acre4Me]

I hear the cups will still freeze.

We tried the plastic bucket with nipples and a bucket heater. The heater was supposed to keep it from freezing (not heat up till hot), but one didn’t work and the other actually heated the water to quite warm and the welds on the cage for the heater (the cage keeps the heater from touching the plastic bucket) rusted. So, chickens don’t like hot water nor rusty water, so that was a fail for us. But, many people have success with bucket heaters and nipple waters.

We use a metal 5 gallon waterer on a heated metal base that keeps the water cold, but not frozen. This summer I purchased a large 5 gallon plastic waterer (Harris Farms brand?) and apparently it can also be used with the metal heater base, since the heater base isn’t making anything actually hot. Both these waterers have the tray all around the base, they are not nipples or cups.

 

[wamtazlady]

I use a 20 gallon clear plastic tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is rated for use in plastic. The deicer has a built in thermostat. Only have to fill it every 2 weeks which to me is a plus during the winter.

 

[TooCheep]

And not the cups.... Those stick out from the container and can freeze.

 

[DickMidnight]

I use a 20 gallon clear plastic tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is rated for use in plastic. The deicer has a built in thermostat. Only have to fill it every 2 weeks which to me is a plus during the winter.

awesome, and very similar to what i do. except your container is twice the size of mine.

all these people breaking ice or filling bowls daily are out of their minds!

 

[wamtazlady]

Vertical nipples will freeze when it gets cold. My horizontal nipples have worked even when the outside temperature was -26 F.

What nipples do you have? Trying to figure the best ones to just use existing bucket

 

[wamtazlady]

I see a couple options on Amazon. Which ones do you have? And is it difficult to teach them how to use?

Some people have chickens that they say never learn to use the nipples. I have a method that has never failed. I put the new waterer with nipples in the run. I remove all other sources of water and I walk away. Have never had a chicken die from lack of water. Usually the chickens are using the new waterer within an hour. I would hesitate to change to nipples when it's very hot or very cold. Some chickens will probably be a bit slower to get enough water and I would prefer that to happen when the temperatures are more moderate.

Chickens are curious. They are attracted to the shiny metal and the color red. They will peck the nipple and run away. When nothing scary happens they will peck the nipple more and eventually stop running away. Doesn't take them long to realize that water comes out of the nipple.

 

[Thomaswgordon]

I ended up getting a deicer and switching the cups to nipples. So far so good and they seemed to grasp the nipple concept pretty quick!

 

[AnnPann]

i use the same waterers year round and just break up the ice each morning. if it’s cold enough to freeze again during the day, then i have a heated dog bowl that i’ll use as a backup. i’m not sure it’s the most efficient setup, but it worked out OK last year and the dog bowl was cheap.