Winter Water System for 100 Chickens in -40 with Wind Chill

[kaekle]

Our family recently moved to an area of Wyoming that gets down to -20 in the winter, -40 with wind chill. It snows but not nearly as much as in much of the state. Right now we have 65 chickens, and plan to get enough chicks next spring for a total of about 100. Our property is lined with mature spruce trees and the covered feed/water area will be on the North side of the coop so that all may affect the temp and wind chill. We have a 250 gallon IBC tote we're planning to use for water storage inside the coop, with horizontal nipples, probably on PVC pipes or something similar, but from what I'm seeing there isn't a viable way to make that work throughout the winter.

When we lived in SE Idaho we used a large garbage can with nipple waterers and a fish tank heater and that worked for us, but temperatures are colder here. I haven't seen anyone suggest something like this in the BYC posts and articles I found on the topic. Do you think something like that would be sufficient to keep the water and nipples thawed? We're also looking at stock tank heaters instead of fish tank heaters.

This is the coldest climate we've ever lived in, and the most chickens we've ever had, so we appreciate any knowledge, experience, and suggestions you all can share!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Granted, I'm not in that type of cold...

But I imagine that, in addition to the heater, having a larger container that's insulated will be a necessity.

Blocking wind chill will also help.

I'm not sure how much sun you'll get there in those cold winters, but you could make a "greenhouse" type of situation to keep the air around the water warmer during the day.

If it wasn't THAT cold, a good air pump (like for ponds) can help disturb the water so the ice can't form, or isn't as thick when you need to crack it.

But, will the water nipple freeze? Heaters generally just need to keep the top of the water thawed (heat rises, animals drink from the top of the trough). Anything too far away from it will freeze.

Nights are colder, so the water might have to be moved into a room that isn't freezing (like a house) all night, then moved back out during the day if it won't freeze.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Also, the coop/coops will need to be very large, and have great ventilation.

That cold of winter, and that many birds heating up a building, there'll be a lot of heat and condensation freezing and causing bad frost bite.

Roosts set up so their toes aren't exposed to the freezing air.

 

[kaekle]

Granted, I'm not in that type of cold...

But I imagine that, in addition to the heater, having a larger container that's insulated will be a necessity.

Blocking wind chill will also help.

I'm not sure how much sun you'll get there in those cold winters, but you could make a "greenhouse" type of situation to keep the air around the water warmer during the day.

If it wasn't THAT cold, a good air pump (like for ponds) can help disturb the water so the ice can't form, or isn't as thick when you need to crack it.

But, will the water nipple freeze? Heaters generally just need to keep the top of the water thawed (heat rises, animals drink from the top of the trough). Anything too far away from it will freeze.

Nights are colder, so the water might have to be moved into a room that isn't freezing (like a house) all night, then moved back out during the day if it won't freeze.

I hadn’t considered insulating the container, that might help. The nipples really are the biggest concern. I’d like to refill as infrequently as possible!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

I hadn’t considered insulating the container, that might help. The nipples really are the biggest concern. I’d like to refill as infrequently as possible!

Realized that, even though I read your original post, I totally forgot some of the details you had already gone over >.>

There are ways to insulate pipes, which could help a little. But those temps are quite cold.

I'm wondering... if there could be like a "water current". Like with a pool, pond, aquarium etc. If the water is in the main tank, flows through the pipe (drinker nipples are on), being pulled by a current (pump) and recirculating (different pipe/hose) back into the original tank? Then there'd be a constant flow of water, hopefully not freezing as the water would be warm from the heater in the tank...

That was so poorly written, but hopefully it made some sense

 

[Susan Skylark]

Other considerations: is the coop insulated, will there be enough chickens confined inside to raise temps significantly, how long is it that cold? I used to live in northern mn, it would be -30F (temp) for weeks. In my new locale we usually hit that low for about two hours overnight once a winter. My insulated garage stays significantly warmer than outside and I run a milk house heater (outside bird enclosure) in really cold weather which keeps it just warm enough my nipple waterers don’t freeze. This past winter it was that cold for a week or two, but the water only froze a couple times even so. I was planning on having 2x the number of waterers and swapping them out every twelve hours and thawing the extras in the house then swapping but it wasn’t a daily issue, only twice or so! So if it isn’t Siberia at your place long term (weeks on end) but only a day or two, you may be okay.

 

[kaekle]

Realized that, even though I read your original post, I totally forgot some of the details you had already gone over >.>

There are ways to insulate pipes, which could help a little. But those temps are quite cold.

I'm wondering... if there could be like a "water current". Like with a pool, pond, aquarium etc. If the water is in the main tank, flows through the pipe (drinker nipples are on), being pulled by a current (pump) and recirculating (different pipe/hose) back into the original tank? Then there'd be a constant flow of water, hopefully not freezing as the water would be warm from the heater in the tank...

That was so poorly written, but hopefully it made some sense

We considered a recirculating system but came to the conclusion that running a pump would be too expensive. And if it failed or we lost power we would have to deal with frozen pipes, frozen nipples, and up to 250 gallons of ice! I think a 55 gallon can for each flock will be our best solution, and figuring out a way to keep the nipples thawed.

 

[kaekle]

Other considerations: is the coop insulated, will there be enough chickens confined inside to raise temps significantly, how long is it that cold? I used to live in northern mn, it would be -30F (temp) for weeks. In my new locale we usually hit that low for about two hours overnight once a winter. My insulated garage stays significantly warmer than outside and I run a milk house heater (outside bird enclosure) in really cold weather which keeps it just warm enough my nipple waterers don’t freeze. This past winter it was that cold for a week or two, but the water only froze a couple times even so. I was planning on having 2x the number of waterers and swapping them out every twelve hours and thawing the extras in the house then swapping but it wasn’t a daily issue, only twice or so! So if it isn’t Siberia at your place long term (weeks on end) but only a day or two, you may be okay.

Good questions! We got here on the tail end of winter this year so I’m not sure how long those temps are generally maintained. I will have to do a little more research to figure it out.

The coop will be insulated but the water needs to be in the covered run adjacent to it to reduce the moisture levels inside. I’m hoping that having that area covered and doing some wind proofing around it will help with the temp, especially from wind chill.