My plan is to use a 5 gal kitty litter bucket. The lid is "hinged" and easy to lift. If you had a piece of plywood at a 45* angle over the top of your bucket, that would keep them off. Or perhaps a bit of garden fencing wire bent into a steep arch. Or you could make a cone out of some sort of flexible vinyl. The top wouldn't need to be secured tightly. I do like your idea about putting a hose connect in the bucket for easy filling, or a hole in the top. Cold weather and arthritis certainly do put a damper on the ease of tending the birds.You are right about this. I did extend a gutter downspout under a walkway out from the house down a slope. It has possibilities. My rain barrels can be set up to be de-Iced to drain in the winter, and they can also be set up as planters. My coops don't have gutters and now and then I research ways to keep water runoff from being a problem. Fortunately, the ground here is sloped and the ground is usually dry, so the solution can be on back burner.
My most immediate concern is how to keep my birds from perching on their waterers. My bucket waterers have flat lids of course, and they are a pita to open and close to fill and clean, especially in sub freezing temps. I have a bucket opener, but it is just a small help, and I don't want to finance the expense of gamma lids for them all. I thought I could drill holes in the lids - through which to stick hose ends (and heaters when it's freezing) - but the birds peck out the plugs I put in, and their feces drop in and run down into the water when they perch on the top of the bucket. I like the concept of the bucket nipple waterers, but the lids are a problem for my arthritic hands; a lid covering, or clips to hold the lids on, or perching deterrents might work. I am considering running a bulkhead thing through the side at the top of the bucket and attaching a quick connect for a garden hose connection. Maybe an additional hole up around the top could act as an overflow and let me know when the bucket was full. Maybe it could be an overflow hose sort of thing that I could use to flush the bucket now and then. A notch in the side of the bucket could allow for the cord of a heater. Ok, I will think on it. Thanks for your help. Maybe I can use these ideas for my 55 gallon drum waterers? For anyone who might consider doing some such thing, it is IMPORTANT to consider BACK FLOW issues, no?
What is a curtain drain?