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I live in an equally cold climate. There are months where temps are in the low 20s, sometimes even dipping down below zero for several days, and sometimes those temps last for one or two weeks at a time before a slight thaw, even to the 20's and 30's.
I am a newbie, and only had the chickens for 5 months. So, I've only dealt with them during summer months. But, I anticipate the biggest obstacle to keeping them is this issue of a deiced water supply, and having to spend as little time with that chore in what are sometimes painfully cold temperatures, sometimes lasting for up to three to four months during winter.
I am going to try a bucket deicer, which is available from Farm Innovators, then drop it in a 5 gallon Bucket, install some of the little red nipples in the bottom, and hang it from a hook in the ceiling of the coop. I've been saving one gallon jugs of Arizona Diet Green Tea that I drink by the ton. I plan to keep the empties, have them available in the house at all times so I can fill them with water, throw 'em in the back of the truck, take 'em out to the coop in the dead of winter when it's around 10 degrees, and fill up the bucket as needed, all in about 60 seconds...kind of fire drill style
I'll probably keep two of these contraptions, one for out in the coop, and one in the house that's clean. When the one in the coop gets dirty, I can just swap out the clean one for the dirty one, and I am spending as little time as possible dealing with the painfully cold temperatures. I can clean up the dirty one in the laundry room sink, and hold it in reserve for the next swap-out.
If it works well, I may even spring for a second deicer that can serve not only as a backup, but something I can fill in the house and swap out in less than 10 seconds.
Farm Innovators also makes heated buckets, where the cord comes right out of the bucket. My only concern with those is that when you drill through the bottom to install the nipples, I'm not sure whether you might hit some electric wires or something. And, the heated buckets are smaller than a 5 gallon utility contractors bucket, thereby holding a smaller supply of water. My goal is to be able to deal with this water issue as infrequently as possible. The more water in the bucket, the better. Our winter temps should keep the water pretty clean with respect to avoiding any kind of issues that are typical of summer months, ie: algae for example.
I only have six chickens. A 5 gallon bucket full of water will last about a week in the heat of summer, and probably a lot longer during winter months. So, I prefer a 5 gallon bucket to just a regular size commercially produced heated bucket that only holds a few gallons of water.
With the 5 gallon buckets from Lowes or Home Depot, you can get them for about $3.00, lids for about $2.00, and there is even a more elaborate variation of this idea that involves purchasing food service rated buckets that have a wider temperature rating. I am a little concerned that the cheaper Lowes contractor buckets might just freeze in the winter and crack easily. Not sure how they'll hold up under our temperature extremes.
The food service buckets idea involves a more elaborate contraption, and it has some other variations where the water can either be delivered through the same kind of nipple system, or utilizing a vacuum controlled release of water through a small hole drilled about 3" up from the bottom rim of the bucket. The bucket sits in an oil pan with 4" tall side walls, and the bucket heater keeps the water defrosted. The bucket/oil pan idea is meant mostly for those that need to put water on the floor, and can't hang it in the coop very easily, or for those that don't like the nipples. I like the nipples ok, but my chicks love dipping their whole beak in the water, and taking a good long drink. And, a 5 gallon bucket full of water isn't lite either. So, depending on how the bucket is refilled with water, from a hanging position, which would be easiest, or lifted off of a hook, and rehung in the hanging position, the difficulty of lifting a full bucket may dictate your own preferences. So, while I think the nipple idea will work just as well, because the weight of a full bucket of water has a tendency to be too heavy to rehang, I'm going to try the idea of the bucket on the floor sitting in the oil pan first.
These food service buckets are really high quality, high density polyethylene plastic, they even have a rubber gasket lid seal, and they're rated for temperatures between freezing to 190F. But, it's very hard to snap the lids in place. They claim you can use a rubber mallet to snap the lids in place, but I found that was even difficult. I had to snap them in place using the front loader on the tractor coming down on top of the bucket lid in order to have enough pressure to snap the lids in place. These buckets are food service rated, and their intended for manufacturers of food products that have hydraulic actuated sealing machinery. So, you just can't snap the lids in place easily, and you can't just pop the lids off without having a lid removal wrench. So, I opted for the type of lid that has a threaded cap. That way, you don't have to remove the lid, just the cap to refill the bucket with water.
You may have to take a little more time cleaning the bucket out having only a cap opening for access. But, I've used these now this entire summer, and the vacuum idea worked great, and I spent just a little extra time swashing around the water inside the bucket through the cap access to clean the bucket out. The durability of these buckets is really outstanding. They seem like they will last for many years, even after going through some tough winters. I purchased the white buckets, lids, and caps. But, they also have a black bucket available too, which would probably be even more desirable in the winter months, so that the bucket attracts sun light and heats naturally. But, of course, in the summer months, the white buckets have worked out better for keeping the water cool.
The other dilemma I have with respect to the bucket in the oil pan idea is how to route the power cord outside the bucket, and still maintain the vacuum that's needed to keep the water from overflowing the oil pan when full. I am going to install a cable glan, which will theoretically seal the hole that I drill in the side of the bucket to bring the cable from the deicer outside the bucket. I supposed you could also just drill a hole and caulk it. But, I'm striving for durability, and I think the cable glan idea has some merit as a reliable way to bring the cable out of the bucket supported by the glan, and still maintain the vacuum needed to regulate the water delivery at the bottom of the bucket so it doesn't overflow the oil pan when full.
Bucket Source:
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/opplpa.html
Lid and Cap:
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/5-gallon-bucket-lid-with-70mm-opening.html
Bucket Lip Wrench:
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/pail-openers-closers--manual-lug-closing-tools.html
Cable glan...not sure this is the correct size...I'm still researching the size of the cable that comes on the Farm Innovators Deicer. But, it gives you an idea of how to bring the cable out of the bucket, and still maintain the vacuum inside the bucket so the water doesn't all run out.
http://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=5000095
The most expensive thing in this idea is the deicer from Farm Innovators, under $50 with shipping. But, if this works, that fifty bucks will be the best fifty bucks you've every spent when the temperatures are in the teens outside.
5 Gallon Bucket Deicer
http://www.farminnovators.com/page2.htm
Heated Buckets:
http://www.farminnovators.com/page6.htm
Here's the catch..I can't try these ideas out until those really low freezing temperatures have arrived...So, I have several plan B's that I can toss in there if this one fails. I'll post them too when I get some more time. I will try to post some photos that will further explain these ideas when I have some additional time. Hope this helps!
