- Feb 11, 2014
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Not often! But only because I have the pipe buried in the bottom of the nest box, rigid insulation around it and only the pin of the nipple sticking out below the plywood bottom. AND there is a small reptile waterfall pump in the cooler that continuously circulates the water through the pipe AND a stock tank heater in the cooler (heats to 40F I think) when the temps are about 15F or higher, replaced with a submersible aquarium heater set to 70F when it is colder. That works to about -20F. The saddle nipples have a WHOLE lot more exposed plastic than "in the bucket" vertical or horizontal nipples so it is harder to keep them from freezing. Lots of distance between the water in the vessel and the pin.
My situation is different than a lot of people's. There is an ancient (like pre Civil War ancient) post and beam bank barn with a lower shed section added probably in the early 1900's. It has "issues" but isn't yet falling down The chicken coop is a repurposed horse stall about halfway down the shed section. The girls have the entire 70'x8' "alley" and the 2 other unused stalls as their indoor run so it isn't difficult for me to have the water outside the coop yet out of the weather. You could certainly build an insulated box from plywood and mount it to the outside of your coop.
Wow, your unique situation sounds like someone's dream chicken coop to me. So there is nothing accidental about your winter waterering strategy. I think I have read some posts from people who use moving water with saddle nipples and cups. Some just drain them and shut them down. If I had ducks, I would give these a serious consideration - AND - I have seen my chickens dipping their beaks and cleaning their nostrils, as my box turtles often do, too, and sometimes I wonder if it's not a good idea to provide them with a clean source of "dippin" water now and then??? Yes, I could easily attach an insulated plywood box to my coop, maybe for BOTH waterers and feeders. Would solve a few problems if I did it right. PLUS - it could provide for a lot more room in the coop. I am going to think about this. Don't go shopping today: I ran out of gas, my dog threw up in the car, and the traffic was awful. AND the CC lines were down.