Winter watering WITHOUT electricity?

[viktoriacl]

I have seen heated bird baths that heat with solar power. Maybe that would work. They have models that sit on the ground.

 

[Olive Hill]

If you're going out twice a day -- morning/night to let them in/out -- you can just keep two waterers. When you go out, put out one filled with warm water and bring the other in to thaw and refill. They'll learn to drink up when the water is fresh and with your mild winters it shouldn't be a huge problem. If you need a more insulated place to keep the waterer you can stack straw bales to make a three sided enclosure. Lay a tarp or plywood over the top and it'll even have a roof to keep the heat in.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I usually don't go out twice a day, and I don't *do* mornings like chickens do, so winter is gonna be a change for me

 

[lauriej57]

I'm using the black fortex tubs this years also. I do have electric in one coop, and keep the bowl near the light, but doesn't keep it from freezing. I'll just be glad to be able to flex the ice out easily, and I'm thinking the rubber might help insulate a bit. In my smaller coop, with 4 birds, and no electricity, I bought a size smaller fortex bowl, but they have been prone to tipping it over, so next week, I'm going to go buy one more larger bowl, put the smaller one in it, and I'm hoping this will eliminate the tipping over, and maybe offer a bit more insulation.

I don't think, without having electricity and heated bowls, that if the temperature gets down in the teens, that there is any foolproof way to keep water from totally freezing. I would think though, that if you can give them fresh water twice daily, they should probably be fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use the black rubber bowls, but leave them in the sun. They stay thawed below freezing, but how much depends on how much sunlight you get. Make sure the sunlight can hit them all day when the sun is shining.