Chicken waterers in winter

With the recent thread on coops, I am going to get back into having a few chickens.

What ways do you guys keep water for your birds in the winter?

I used to use a galvanized waterer on top of a metal heater base. Just looking for other ideas.

I like the look of those horizontal pvc feeder with drip spouts, but how would yo keep them from freezing up?

We don’t get as cold as you do. Hit 0* or below here a few days in a normal year. My chicken house is insulated R19 walls and R40 or so in the ceiling. I keep a galvanized water 4” off the ground with a heat lamp in the house. Door closed at dark. I don’t have any problems

The heat lamp stays on 24/7? Is it a red bulb?

K Snow: I have the same setup for winter. Only thing is don't let it get down under 2 gallons of water.

It gets too hot for the chickens to drink. Mine is the 5 gallon unit. I just carry out about 2 plastic 1 gallon jugs everyday. Clean out the trash and pour in the fresh.

I ran an extension cord from my pole barn to the coop. I can use the ceiling light when they start laying with a timer.

I use the same set up as you k snow and it works great. The heater bases last a long time too. The only issue I've noticed is my waterer will start to freeze around 10 degrees. Less than that and the heater base can't keep it thawed. But we usually don't get cold like that for extended periods here in southeast PA.

That's exactly what I did in the winter. Probably what I will end up doing again, I already have the stuff to do it.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess.

I noticed that too. I put up little walls on 3 sides and a roof to form a small house around mine, and it was good well below zero after that. Left enough room for the birds to get in still.

Red heat lamp hangs a couple feet above a rubber water pan that sits on a patio block. I empty the pan rinse when needed and fill.

I've used an electric dog bowl before, and this year we just gave fresh water daily. Either works fine. One winter I ran a heat lamp all winter in the coop. Guarantee I'll never do that again. Waste of electricity.

K snow. We keep it on only if it’s real cold. Just a regular lamp or red whatever we have.

I also have a ceramic bulb fixture inside a block with a 40 watt reg bulb the top is a metal plate ... any watterer sitting on this stays thawed.

I have one coop with the metal heater under the waterer. In the other 2 I use a 3 gallon plastic heated waterer available from tractor Supply or probably Fleet Farm. I have a red heat lamp hanging in each coop with a brooder light fixture. In the winter the need so many hours of light to lay eggs. Mine is on 24/7. With all the stock tank and coops running in the winter my electric bill doubles.

I have seen pics of those on the internet.

You run that with the red heat lamp?

I know a guy that did something very similar to this and uses heat tape, like for a mobile home. I'm not sure how safe it is but he hasn't had any problems for years.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-Chicken-Feeder-Animals-Poultry-Supplies-Watering-Nipple-Automatic-Drinker/392721950196?hash=item5b700d65f4:g:SioAAOSwOJheZ7eQ
I use these in a 55 gallon plastic drum. I use a submersible trough heater in it. I catch the rain water from the roof .its outside under a overhang.

K SNOW... Just a regular old fashoned 40 watt bulb that heats up...a 60 watt bulb works too ^^^

5 gallon waterer with the thermostat heated pan under it is all I use, I have a flip up cover to keep the trash out of it and it sits on a patio block. I have a hydrant between the house and the coop I add fresh water to everyday when I let them out for the day.

What I do, too. That way if the bulb pops it just falls into the water, not causing a fire.

They sell a electric heated water pail with nipples. and has a thermostat I used mine here in Alaska all winter, never froze once. Anything else would have.

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovat...en+waterer&qid=1585936233&sr=8-3

K snow heres my ugly brick heater.



Bottom picture shows it opened up. One screw taken out is all and top plate slid open.

We carry 2 gallons of water every day to the chicken coop. Before we fill the pail, we bang out all the Ice then pour the water in. Do this every single darn day during the winter. Easiest thing up here!

I use a submersible bird bath heater inside a 5 gallon bucket of water. Horizontal nipples. Has worked down to -15F without freezing up. Heater has an internal thermostat that kicks off at around +40F. The commercial versions with insulated buckets and designed for this purpose would probably be better. But as for the horizontal nipples, spring for them is inside the bucket in the unfrozen water, and they do not freeze. Horizontal nipples in general work pretty well. Even day old chicks can figure out how to drink from them. And it enables you to keep the water clean. Any of the inverted bell jar devices I've tried to use with a ring of open water quickly get soiled and nasty.

Neighbor down the road uses one of the thermostat controlled hot pans under his galvanized heater. He says it never freezes.

BTW, for those of you using heat lamps inside chicken houses, a lot of chicken coops have burnt to the ground from using those. I can only imagine what kind of setups some of the inexperienced folks tried to use that caused them to burn down, but it has happened. FWIW.

I have a 5gal food grade waterer that I added several horizontal nipples to. During the winter I add a floating stock tank heater to the bucket that has a small notch in the lid for the cord. For the most part, this keeps the water flowing. When it gets down below 0*, the nipples freeze up, but that isn't the norm.

Rubber feed pan, you can stomp any ice out and it don’t break.

Pretty much the same here - rubber bowl and kick the ice out in mornings - fillerer up, repeat when frozen. Rubber bowls can take a pounding and thats what I give. Tried all the fancy heated things and they don't last or hold up.

We have no heat in our coop and only one LED light on the run. Whatever the outside temp is it's not far from that inside. We use a electric dog dish on a couple cinder blocks. We keep it off the floor to keep the scratch out and have an angled piece of wood on it so they can't walk or roost over it. This helps it stay clean. One bowl holds a gallon of H2O good for a day or 2 with 15 hens.

Heater on bottom of the waterer.

As long as there's snow in the outside run I worry a lot less. Tho still try and make sure they can get to water at least once per day

Hey K Snow. I am absolutely with Yukon Jeff on this one. I have three of the Farm Innovators 2 gallon poultry drinkers and I will never go back. They are thermostatically controlled and don't freeze up. You can set them on anything or hang them by the handle. Even better, you fill them from the top! With nipples and no open tray of water, the water inside is pristine. I can take a gallon pitcher out and just lift the top and pour it in without moving or tipping the waterer. I have had so many types of heated waterers, heated bases, everything. This is by far the best I've encountered. I found a short video from 2017. Must have been when they were new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVez4dK4hpU

By the way, the reason I have three with only a handful of hens is because I have one in the coop, one in the run and one hanging under our front porch. I would hate to inconvenience the girls by making them go out of their way for fresh water.

We nevah had any heat in our coop...just bought the hearty birds. And a hot plate. But my son said ...a lot of folks on the Chicken forum ,just use the 2 bucket system in the wintah

Patrice, that's like my setup only mine catches the rain water. its 55 gallons.

After I bought the Farm Innovators heated waterers, I took my entire collection of heated bases and heated waterers and gave them all away. I don't need to do a thing with these new waterers. The water inside is always liquid AND CLEAN! I can see the water level from outside the waterer and as long as there is power to the coop, the water is the last thing in the world I have to think about or tend to. I'll never go back to waterers with trays where the water can get fouled (pun intended). The girls are heathier and always have fresh clean, liquid water - even outside in the run and under the house - all winter. I am done with all other waterers!

Nice! As spoiled as the girls are here, 55 gallons would probably be too much, even for them!