Winter watering - rubber bowls, good or bad?

[DanEP]

Do a search for cookie tin water heaters. They work with plastic or metal and only need a small bulb.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I used the rubber bowls for bantams and now I use them for guineas and I have no real problems. They have knocked them over a few times, but I don't have birds stepping in them. I do have it on a raised platform though.

 

[Wrightsx4]

Do a search for cookie tin water heaters. They work with plastic or metal and only need a small bulb.

I didn't want to depend on electricity but I may try this if I can get away with a low wattage bulb...thanks!
Thank you to everyone for the great feedback - I have several things to try and will see what works best for us - thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

The best thing I did was use an electric dog bowl with changeable inside bowls--either an ice cream pail or a metal dog bowl that just fits inside. They use little electricity, only come on when the temp is below 35 degrees. I switched them out to clean, and just top them off when they get low. You can carry a clean empty plastic milk jug from the house to fill them. I also thried the cookie tin heater, but my water froze unless I used a larger watt bulb.

 

[BeulahBreezes]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Farm-Innovators-Heated-Pet-Bowl-1-Gallon-Blue-Small-Animals/14660250

I just found some heated pet bowls and buckets at Walmart.com. do you think these are good products? ~Beulah

 

[jmagill]

I use nipples in a bucket and a 75 watt aquarium heater. The few dollars it uses a month are well worth it. I am in Wyoming so my heater is going from sometime in October to as late as May.

 

[Ullie]

'jmagill' I love this idea! Do you have any photos?

Thanks for sharing

 

[MaryTheContrary]

This will be our first winter with chickens. We live in Michigan so we do get freezing weather from Nov/December through March. I do not want to increase our already high electric bill and I do trust the theory that chickens will do fine in an unheated coop as long as it is not drafty but well ventilated. That part is taken care of. We have also insulated a corner grower pen as well as stacked hay on the north and west walls. We will have two flocks separated within the same coop according to age and also a separate run within the outside pen. The older hens will be in the main area and the now chicks (8 wks by November and hopefully out of my living room- although I do enjoy them now) will go into the grower pen under the nesting boxes until they're big enough to join the others. They have galvanized hanging waterers now but I'm thinking of switching to rubber bowls for winter so I can easily dump the water & ice and refill with jugs of water. I really don't want to carry the waterers in and out of the house all winter - I'm too clumsy and will spill! My question is this - will they step in the bowls and freeze their feet? I have terrible childhood memories of frostbite with our ducks and chickens. I Don't want that for my chickens. I know our setup as a kid wasn't the greatest but I don't remember how we watered. I know a lot of people swear by the rubber bowls & I like the idea. Thoughts? Other option would be buying another set of hanging waterers to alternate filling and thawing. Do the plastic ones hold up in winter? Looking at cost...$20-25 each for galvanized x 2. Also keep in mind I would be doing the same for both age groups if possible. No heat, no water heaters, nothing electric. Thank you in advance - I really appreciate your experienced feedback!

Rubber pans work fine. My best advice is to take an old car tire, stuff the inside with straw and/or other insulation, then place the rubber pan down inside the hole in the tire. The tire will hold daytime heat and will be warm for the chickens to stand on while drinking and the insulation helps prevent freezing. Works pretty well here in Ohio. Best of luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Rubber pans work fine. My best advice is to take an old car tire, stuff the inside with straw and/or other insulation, then place the rubber pan down inside the hole in the tire. The tire will hold daytime heat and will be warm for the chickens to stand on while drinking and the insulation helps prevent freezing. Works pretty well here in Ohio. Best of luck!

Post is over 10 years old

 

[MaryTheContrary]

Post is over 10 years old

Might be helpful to anyone that stumbles upon this post like I just did...