Winter Water

[wamtazlady]

I use a 10 gallon tote with lid, stock tank heater that is safe to use in plastic, and horizontal nipples for my chicken water. It's been down to -4 F here without any sign of freezing. The high temperature for the day has been as low as 8 degrees. The outside faucet was converted to a freeze free one this summer so it's easy to take one of those shrinking hoses outside to water the chickens and fill the tank for the geese. Once everything is full the hose gets disconnected, put into a empty tote and brought into the house until the next week when everyone needs watered again. It got down to -12 F last winter and the chicken water never froze.

 

[bigfoot11]

I use a 10 gallon tote with lid, stock tank heater that is safe to use in plastic, and horizontal nipples for my chicken water. It's been down to -4 F here without any sign of freezing. The high temperature for the day has been as low as 8 degrees. The outside faucet was converted to a freeze free one this summer so it's easy to take one of those shrinking hoses outside to water the chickens and fill the tank for the geese. Once everything is full the hose gets disconnected, put into a empty tote and brought into the house until the next week when everyone needs watered again. It got down to -12 F last winter and the chicken water never froze

That is an excellent idea. Do you just cut a hole in the top of the lid to fit the stock tank heater?

 

[wamtazlady]

There is a small hole in the top of the tote for the cord of the stock tank heater. The heater is one that sits on the bottom of the container. I made the hole just large enough to also fit the nozzle of the hose so it's easier to fill the tote. The tote is also semi clear so it's easy to see the water level and know when it needs filled. It could be made a bit more efficient if some insulation was added to the outside of the tote. I really didn't notice any real increase in electricity last year so haven't felt the need to insulate at this time. It's also nice to be able to see the water level.