Winter water?

[coop410silkies]

Like wamtazlady, I use a large tote with horizontal nipples and a bucket heater. This can be up to 17gallons, and it needs to be for exterior use. I use Sterilite flip latch totes. The bucket heaters do not have be very high in wattage - maybe only 50 - 60 watts, because only the bottom few inches need to be kept liquid for the nipples to work. In VERY cold temps, the niples may need jiggling to disperse the little bit of ice they accrue, but even my outside bucket waterers have remained functional with 50 watt heaters. I have out door rainbarrels that I keep heated with bucket heaters, and I use these to fill my waterers inside the coop with a short hose I keep attached to the spigot of the rain barrel. It works fairly well for distant coops to which I have a hard time delivering water by any other means. Good luck.

 

[SoMDChick]

This is what I use in the winter. You don't have any waterfowl, so you may only need to refill every few days. I do find if you don't have this set flat, it will trickle out very slowly and create an ice pond.

Good choice on not heating the coop. I definitely say spring for the heated waterer.

Last winter when I lived elsewhere, I didn't have running water in the garage. I brought a mop bucket out every morning and filled the waterer outside. That was easier than bringing it in and doing it under the sink.

This is my first winter with chickens. I live in central Minnesota, and have 14 hens and a rooster. I am getting concerned about the winter watering situation. We have electricity to our coop, but not running water. I currently have a 3 gallon galvanized waterer, which is fine, but not for winter. It is too big to lug into the house and wash in the sink every other day. I would like to find something that is small enough to wash in the sink, won't freeze and doesn't cost a fortune. I was thinking about going with a few of the small animal (like hamster) water bottles, but am worried about the ball freezing. I can't find a one gallon galvanized waterer (then I could just get a heated base). I have been reading on here the pros and cons of heating the coop, and have decided to try the not heating method first--we'll see how it goes!! Please tell me how you have solved your winter watering problems!!

 

[SoMDChick]

I have chickens and ducks. For the chickens, I have this unfriendly contraption, a pain to fill, as you need to fill it upside down, perfect for summer, cumbersome for winter refills. I also have the "dog like" blue bowl, for my ducks. Even in the winter, lol, they seem to fill it with mud... Quite honestly, not happy with either for fresh, clean winter water. Anyone have any creative ideas?

 

[vivaciouswoman]

Reporting from Michigan here! I have found that it is easier to keep the heated dog bowls clean if you put them in one of the nesting boxes. Then they don’t get tipped over, Pooped in, stepped in, or generally just messed up. I have 50 girls in one coop, and I’m about to institute this practice. My nursery coop with one mama and 10 chicks is doing great with this. It’s a lot less work for me to clean that bugger out every day and refill.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

I have chickens and ducks. For the chickens, I have this unfriendly contraption, a pain to fill, as you need to fill it upside down, perfect for summer, cumbersome for winter refills. I also have the "dog like" blue bowl, for my ducks. Even in the winter, lol, they seem to fill it with mud... Quite honestly, not happy with either for fresh, clean winter water. Anyone have any creative ideas?

See above on the dog food bowl in the nesting box for my chickens. I haven’t instituted this yet for my ducks, but my plan is to give them a nice big heated dog bowl as well and put it in a milk crate so that they only have one way to get to it, they can’t try to swim in it, and maybe I will have a better chance of them not emptying it completely within 10 minutes of giving it to them!! Fingers crossed!

 

[vivaciouswoman]

See above on the dog food bowl in the nesting box for my chickens. I haven’t instituted this yet for my ducks, but my plan is to give them a nice big heated dog bowl as well and put it in a milk crate so that they only have one way to get to it, they can’t try to swim in it, and maybe I will have a better chance of them not emptying it completely within 10 minutes of giving it to them!! Fingers crossed!

The bowl I’m using is much larger than the average heated dog bowl. I’m not sure if this is it, but the volume is about right.

https://shop.familyfarmandhome.com/products/pet-bowl-heated-round-1-5-gal-1396.html

 

[bruceha2000]

Anyone have any creative ideas?

The cleanest water for CHICKENS is nipples (I hear horizontal are less prone to freezing, mine are vertical) in a pipe with plenty of insulation and heated water circulating constantly. I have a 5 gallon "cooler" with a small reptile waterfall pump inside connected to the nipple pipe with clear tubing. The "cooler" is outside the coop (in the barn run) on the coop wall and the pipe is under the nest box on the other side of that wall. Took some "ingenuity" to plumb the "cooler" for both outgoing and return tubes though.

People have also made insulated buckets with nipples as well. Still need heat in the water of course.

 

[Kayaking_t]

I have a pvc nipple waterer. I dont think using an aquarium heater will work since when the water gets low it wont be in the water to heat it



I was thinking of wrapping it with heat tape but then didnt think it would prevent the nipples from freezing? Anyone heated this type of waterer before?

I have heated dog dishes in there now for when it gets cold but its not going to be as clean & easy as my pvc waterer

I know this is an old post, but it’s one of the first ones I’ve come across that has a similar setup as I do. Did you come up with a solution for this waterer? I’m on the fence for heat tape as well. I’d like to know what you ended up doing.