Winter water?

[Our Roost]

For those fortunate to have electric in their coops, I find the heated water dishes, (bowls), my best solution. Biggest issue is sediment in bottom of dish from the feed on birds beaks. Nipplers can be useful but I just don't find them sufficient enough for the birds to get a really good drink of water. I take a 1/2 gallon milk jug near of water and sit it in water dish. If it floats, put a brick on top. It doesn't freeze and I use it to top off water dish as needed.

 

[RonP]

For those fortunate to have electric in their coops, I find the heated water dishes, (bowls), my best solution. Biggest issue is sediment in bottom of dish from the feed on birds beaks. Nipplers can be useful but I just don't find them sufficient enough for the birds to get a really good drink of water. I take a 1/2 gallon milk jug near of water and sit it in water dish. If it floats, put a brick on top. It doesn't freeze and I use it to top off water dish as needed.

I have tried most methods discussed on this thread.

Frankly, In my opinion, the birds don't need a good drink of water, simply a constant supply.

It may take a bit longer to satisfy their thirst, but as many will attest, they will receive all that is required, safely, using the nipple waterers. I now will only use the horizontal ones year round.

I find sacrificing the speed with which they drink offset by the advantages of having a constant clean supply, and more importantly, not dipping their wattles in liquid water during extremely frigid temperatures.

The water heater detailed in my signature below consistently maintains 3-4 gallons of water 40F above ambient using a 50W bulb, and a 5 gallon, non insulated, horrizontal nippled, water bottle.

I like having the translucent container for ease of monitoring the water level. To date my lowest recorded coop temperature was -1F. No ice to be found anywhere, and content birds.

 

[bruceha2000]

I agree with Ron. My June 2012 chicks went from a 1 gallon plastic waterer to saddle nipples at about 4 months of age. One of the Anconas was pecking at it before I even had water in the system. Curious chicken. The June 2015 girls started whenever they started, I really don't know but I'm sure Zorra showed them or they figured it out by watching the older girls and no problems when I stopped filling their 1 pint chick waterer.

If they didn't get enough from the nipples, my girls would have been dead years ago. And that applies in winter more than summer. In summer they spend most of their time outside and scrounge water from the pond or small puddles wherever they find them rather than hiking back to the coop.

 

[Our Roost]

If they didn't get enough from the nipples, my girls would have been dead years ago. And that applies in winter more than summer. In summer they spend most of their time outside and scrounge water from the pond or small puddles wherever they find them rather than hiking back to the coop.

I am not poised to start an argument, and only offer my perspective. Its my preference not only to keep it clean, but also in quantity. Nipplers are fine if you so choose. I use them primarily in summer as an alternative with a rain barrel set up and PVC. I find my birds use open water dishes more frequently than the nipplers.

 

[wamtazlady]

My perspective is, if it works for you it doesn't need fixing. My watering system worked even on our coldest days of -12. The girls were happy so they laid lots of eggs which made me happy. That water only had to be hauled outside once ever 7-10 days was a plus. Winter is nearly over. Now if I can solve the algae in the water problem this summer I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Our Roost]

Well, I have the same problem with algae. In the summer, I still use 2 gallon porcelain water pans but I have a 55 gallon rain barrel that feeds PVC and water nipplers as well. A spigot fills the pans primarily. Standing water with no circulation is much like a fish tank. Adding Apple cider vinegar does help but not at the level one would expect. The good thing is it kills bad bacteria. There is actually good and bad algae. Wish I had an aerator to circulate the water more to solve this problem.

 

[bruceha2000]

My perspective is, if it works for you it doesn't need fixing. My watering system worked even on our coldest days of -12. The girls were happy so they laid lots of eggs which made me happy. That water only had to be hauled outside once ever 7-10 days was a plus. Winter is nearly over. Now if I can solve the algae in the water problem this summer I'll be a happy camper.

Is your water container opaque? If not you will get algae. My girls' water source is a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler, no light gets in. And it is in a cheezy plywood box (to aid in winter insulation) so even less likely any light can get to the water (I don't screw the lid on). I NEVER have had any algae in there.

Well, I have the same problem with algae. In the summer, I still use 2 gallon porcelain water pans but I have a 55 gallon rain barrel that feeds PVC and water nipplers as well. A spigot fills the pans primarily. Standing water with no circulation is much like a fish tank. Adding Apple cider vinegar does help but not at the level one would expect. The good thing is it kills bad bacteria. There is actually good and bad algae. Wish I had an aerator to circulate the water more to solve this problem.

Is your rain barrel opaque? Is it filled from the hose or gutters?

I have a REALLY small reptile waterfall pump in my 5 gallon water source for the nipples. I only run it when the temps are close to or below freezing so the nipples won't freeze. I suspect something like that (not as small given the size of your barrel) could circulate the water within your tank. I have an external filter on my aquarium that circulates the water well and collects debris before returning the water to the tank. The tank grows algae very well. light + water = algae.

I highly doubt that the amount of ACV one would put in their chickens' water would kill any bacteria. Far too dilute.

I am not poised to start an argument, and only offer my perspective. Its my preference not only to keep it clean, but also in quantity. Nipplers are fine if you so choose. I use them primarily in summer as an alternative with a rain barrel set up and PVC. I find my birds use open water dishes more frequently than the nipplers.

They definitely prefer water in "pool" form to the nipples. In fact last week they were down standing at the edge of the pond or on the ice drinking in the "corner" that has a spring and wasn't frozen (all of about 1 sq foot). But for winter water, I find heated and circulated water via nipples easier and cleaner than having to take water down many times a day in sub freezing temps. Their auto door opens with daylight, they have food in their coop. I don't feel any need to get down there early to make sure they have water. When it was -18F Sun morning and -16F Mon morning, I was in the house. Didn't go down until it warmed up some, still -7F at 11 AM Sunday.

 

[Our Roost]

3 years ago there was nothing more frustrating to find than a frozen solid 55 gallon drum of rain water. Yep, as I stated, ACV does not have the effect one would expect. Too diluted is right! At this point, the heated water bowls work best for me but there is still maintenance involved. Ugh!

 

[coop410silkies]

its true, my chickens prefer open pools of water, no matter how filthy the source.

. And when they can get to snow, or melting snow, I do not fret about getting down to their coop to pour fresh water for them. If you worry about algae, keep sunlight from your water source (as stated so often here on this thread), but know that all algae are not necessarily bad for your chickens, especially green types of algae. And remember, if you discourage algae, something else is likely to grow in its place, perhaps something harmful, you never know. The worst kinds of algae tend to be those that get insufficient sunlight.

ACV DOES NOT sterilize water. It is an organic compound that some organisms can readily feed upon, including those organisms in the ACV sediment that are used to inoculate the feed used to yield fermented feed. The rationale behind using ACV should be to introduce beneficial microbes into the water - so that their growth and waste/byproducts overwhelm and suppress the growth of harmful microbes. The effects of the ACV itself will be minimal, but it contains - and will feed - a LOT of microbes, much to the enteric benefit of your chickens. You could achieve the same the same effects with probiotic cultures, but they won't thrive in a sterile solution.

What does everyone think ACV stands for? Apple cider vinegar, right? Well, that's what I initially thought, and that's what I used when I got my first chicks. PASTEURIZED, sterile ACV. I used it for a year before I read "Bragg's, organic, raw apple cider vinegar" in an obscure and long-forgotten (by me) post somewhere in BYC. I concluded that when posters say ACV, what they mean is BRAGG'S ACV. There is a profound difference between the two: one is a probiotic inoculant, and the other is a sterile, mildly acidic solution used in salad dressings.

Using Bragg's in water is an iffy proposition: if the water is clean, it won't support the growth of the inoculant, and if you add nutrients, you may not be able to selectively control what grows in it. What I prefer to do is keep my water as clean as possible and introduce probiotics by way of fermented feed. This is as simple as adding a tiny bit of Bragg's to some milk and pouring it over scratch to cover - and letting the whole mess stand overnight in a warm place. The Scratch absorbs the inoculated milk, then ferments and grows the probiotic microbes. my chickens love it. Not messy to feed, either, as a supplement.

For keeping water clean, I have read on some BYC posts that people are having very good results with Oxine AH, and I've ordered some to try it out. I use LARGE water vessels with nipples, and it would be nice if a bacteriostat helped to keep the water potable between fillings. Blessings

 

[Our Roost]

I guess I'll quit wasting my time with ACV in my water barrel. I usually empty most of it anyway if a good rain storm is expected. I have a screen filter on the top to keep debris out and don't get too much algae buildup. My worst year was mosquito larvae and I had to flush and clean the whole works. Still works better than filling water dishes constantly.