Winter water...

[RoyalChick]

I use the black rubber feed bowls plus I have one of these.
H&G lifestyles Poultry Drinker... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SWKH2BJ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I stand a 5 gallon plastic bucket with horizontal nipples on top of it.

 

[wamtazlady]

I live in NW Montana. Temperatures in the -20s are not unusual. I'm also 71 years old and afraid of falling in the icy snow and not being able to get up. This means I needed a system where I do not have to go out when the weather is especially nasty. My water system is a 14 gallon tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer. The deicer has a thermostat so the water stays thawed but not warm. This can keep the birds watered for over a week at a time. We've had temperatures as low as -26 and my birds still had thawed water.

 

[saysfaa]

I would love to see a picture of your ice buckets. Do the chickens just drink out of the top?

Yes, they drink out of the top.

It is just behind the willow branches, inside the screen door that divides the chickens' space from the storage space.

This picture was taken last Feb, I think. It might have been January or March. You can see the snow on the windows.

 

[RoyalChick]

Yes, they drink out of the top.

It is just behind the willow branches, inside the screen door that divides the chickens' space from the storage space.

This picture was taken last Feb, I think. It might have been January or March. You can see the snow on the windows.

Thanks.

 

[Maggie13]

I know you said the coop is away from the house but if you could run a lead cord this is a simple solution

A 60 watt bulb and the popcorn can is filled 3/4 with pea stone( as a heat sink)

It works for us and we get into below freezing temperatures most of the winter

 

[Magda12]

I think I am going to go with the birdbath thawer thing. I can drop that in the bucket from the top, put the anti-perch pyramid back on and keep using the bucket I already have. Seems like no matter what, I am going to have to run electric out there. Hopefully soon, we can get electricity run to our polebarn (the coop is right next to it) and it won't be such a big deal. We do have outside outlets, so we will just need to make sure they stay winterized or whatever and use those to run an extension cord.

In other news, we got our first egg on Sunday! (and another one today that's bluer, so I am guessing two of my girls are officially hens)

 

[knurse1]

I live in SW Pennsylvania, it can get pretty cold here. I have a 5 gallon plastic bucket with cup drinkers. What can I do during the winter to keep it from freezing? Would changing it out, or adding a gallon of hot water every day keep it from freezing or should I get a heater. My coop is pretty far from the house and any source of electricity.

If my only option is a heater, are there any that will work with a plastic bucket and what is the safest kind of cord I can get? All suggestions are welcome.

We have automated cold water return system. So we have a heated pump in there fir the winter. It has never frozen. You might try this.

 

[NatJ]

we got our first egg on Sunday! (and another one today that's bluer, so I am guessing two of my girls are officially hens)

Hen vs. pullet is an age-based distinction. They're not officially hens until they are 1 year old, regardless of when they start laying eggs.

 

[Magda12]

Hen vs. pullet is an age-based distinction. They're not officially hens until they are 1 year old, regardless of when they start laying eggs.

Uh, ok, then they are officially "women-grown"

 

[Mamagirl3]

I used a heated dog bowl on top of cinder blocks, worked great even when it was -30 Deg F-though it is in a plasticed off run

Wattles get wet do not increase frost bite?