Winter Waterer Success at -17F

[BigBlueHen53]

Very cool! Can I use this outside? Will it be okay if it snows on/around it? We are currently using a heated open bucket which works well most of the year, but right now the chickens are not drinking as much. I don't know if that's because of the cooler weather or because they don't like the taste of the oak leaves that are falling into their water. I think oak leaves contain tannic acid so I think a closed system would be better for them, but I only have power to just outside the hen house, not in it. Thanks.

 

[Acre4Me]

Very cool! Can I use this outside? Will it be okay if it snows on/around it? We are currently using a heated open bucket which works well most of the year, but right now the chickens are not drinking as much. I don't know if that's because of the cooler weather or because they don't like the taste of the oak leaves that are falling into their water. I think oak leaves contain tannic acid so I think a closed system would be better for them, but I only have power to just outside the hen house, not in it. Thanks.

It indicates it should be inside, but maybe someone has some experience with using it outside or protected from the elements. To keep the leaves out, you could cover the waterer area with a board. In the summer we had this waterer outside in the run. It was in a sunny area, so to keep the water as cool as possible, we propped a 6' section of scrap OSB board against the wall so it shaded the waterer, but left enough room for the birds to walk between the waterer and the board so they could access it easily.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We recently set a sawhorse up over the bucket. I had intended to lean a pallet or something up on one side of it to block the leaves from blowing in but hadn't gotten around to it yet... but even just the sawhorse seems to be helping deflect them (hooray!). I'll keep an eye on it. The trees are nearly bare now anyway.

 

[gtaus]

Can I use this outside? Will it be okay if it snows on/around it?

Yes, you could use this outside and it should be fine as long as you have it plugged into a GFI circuit to protect you and your chickens from shock. Snow on or around should not hurt the metal, but if it were me, I'd build a little shack to put the water in. Where I live, we often get 12 inches of snow overnight.

but I only have power to just outside the hen house, not in it.

I have a 75 foot extension cord from my house to the coop. You don't need a very heavy extension cord because the electric heater is only ~125 watts. I just use a cheap 16 gauge outdoor extension cord from Menards for the job.

I don't have a covered run and my girls will not go outside if there is snow on the ground. Well, we have snow on the ground, about 12 inches deep. So it's going to be a long winter cooped up for them I am afraid. I anticipated this and made room in the coop for both food and water 24/7. So far it is working out well for me.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It indicates it should be inside, but maybe someone has some experience with using it outside or protected from the elements. To keep the leaves out, you could cover the waterer area with a board. In the summer we had this waterer outside in the run. It was in a sunny area, so to keep the water as cool as possible, we propped a 6' section of scrap OSB board against the wall so it shaded the waterer, but left enough room for the birds to walk between the waterer and the board so they could access it easily.

Hmm. I hadn't thought about how hot that waterer will get in the summer time. I think it can go in a shady spot. Thanks!

 

[vantain]

Question...I have this waterer for this winter, but I noticed that when putting the outer cover on, it tends to splash quite a bit of water out. I see this as an issue for those negative temp days, when it will just splash and freeze instantly on any surface it touches. Not to mention, my chickens all flock around me when placing the waterer back, and they are likely to get wet too. How have you handled that?

 

[gtaus]

Question...I have this waterer for this winter, but I noticed that when putting the outer cover on, it tends to splash quite a bit of water out. I see this as an issue for those negative temp days, when it will just splash and freeze instantly on any surface it touches. Not to mention, my chickens all flock around me when placing the waterer back, and they are likely to get wet too. How have you handled that?

You are correct in that some water will splash out when putting the outer cover on the waterer. In the winter, I simply take the waterer out of the chicken coop, fill it outside and let it splash there when I put the outer cover on, and then put the waterer back into the coop on the heated base. I had no issues with water freezing on the metal waterer or the metal base heater when I did that.

Also, let me mention, that 3 gallons of water in my waterer lasts my 10 chickens approximately 10 days in the winter freezing weather. Of course, I check the feed and water every day, twice a day, in the morning and at night when I lock the girls up. But even when the temps got down to -30F, the water did not freeze. I suspect that the constant heat from the metal base heater was enough to warm the water and the water itself retained enough heat to prevent freezing when the nights dipped down to -30F.

My chicken feeder and waterer are inside my chicken coop, so they are sheltered from direct wind. But I consider this necessary where I live in northern Minnesota. My chickens would not even leave their coop for about 3 months last winter. They did not like the snow on the ground in the chicken run.

Some people were concerned that having the waterer in the coop itself would lead to high humidity in the coop. This was not my experience. I put a sensor in my coop that reads out both temp and humidity. For the most part, the coop was slightly warmer and LESS humid than the outside readings. So that was a plus in both respects.

 

[vantain]

You are correct in that some water will splash out when putting the outer cover on the waterer. In the winter, I simply take the waterer out of the chicken coop, fill it outside and let it splash there when I put the outer cover on, and then put the waterer back into the coop on the heated base. I had no issues with water freezing on the metal waterer or the metal base heater when I did that.

Also, let me mention, that 3 gallons of water in my waterer lasts my 10 chickens approximately 10 days in the winter freezing weather. Of course, I check the feed and water every day, twice a day, in the morning and at night when I lock the girls up. But even when the temps got down to -30F, the water did not freeze. I suspect that the constant heat from the metal base heater was enough to warm the water and the water itself retained enough heat to prevent freezing when the nights dipped down to -30F.

My chicken feeder and waterer are inside my chicken coop, so they are sheltered from direct wind. But I consider this necessary where I live in northern Minnesota. My chickens would not even leave their coop for about 3 months last winter. They did not like the snow on the ground in the chicken run.

Some people were concerned that having the waterer in the coop itself would lead to high humidity in the coop. This was not my experience. I put a sensor in my coop that reads out both temp and humidity. For the most part, the coop was slightly warmer and LESS humid than the outside readings. So that was a plus in both respects.

The waterer is in my run, and it will be completely closed in using polycarbonate panels for winter. I too am in Minnesota, and have gone through two winters with my hens so far. I used a heated horizontal nipple waterer for the last two winters and it did great. I can't use that now, because I have a blind pullet that cannot drink from nipples, but can from a fount waterer. That is why I am switching to a fount waterer for this winter. There are just some things about the fount waterers I don't like for winter, but it is what I have to do. I was concerned about the spilling, and understand you do it outside the coop before putting it back inside. I just didn't think that was possible, since they say to never carry the full waterer by the outside cover handle, as it can deform the outer sleeve and cause water to leak. I guess that hasn't been an issue for you.

 

[Sally PB]

I need to check into this! Thanks for the information.

 

[gtaus]

I was concerned about the spilling, and understand you do it outside the coop before putting it back inside. I just didn't think that was possible, since they say to never carry the full waterer by the outside cover handle, as it can deform the outer sleeve and cause water to leak. I guess that hasn't been an issue for you.

To make it more clear, I have my chicken coop in the backyard, about 50 feet to my outside water faucet on the house. I take out my waterer, take off the outer cover, and take the inner portion to the water faucet to fill it. The inner portion of the waterer has a built in handle for carrying the waterer when full. So that is how I carry the full waterer back to the coop. When I get back to the coop, I put the outer cover back on and then place the waterer in the coop. Essentially, I am not carrying the waterer any distance but rather just lifting it into place. I would not recommend carrying or hanging the waterer by the outside cover.

Most of the year I simply put the waterer inside the coop and then put the outer cover back on. If you put the outer cover on slowly, it does not seem to spill as much. I really don't think the little bit of water that does spill out when putting on the outer cover would freeze to the metal base heater in the winter. The base heater does not get "hot", but plenty warm enough to stop any water from freezing directly on it.

Personally, I cannot think of a better waterer/base heater combo for where I live. Our local Fleet Farm store sells these more than any other other combo. It just works for our people around here. They do sell the nipple waterers, but not too many. There is probably 50 of these metal waterers and metal base heaters for every 5 of the nipple waterers on their shelves.