No electricity in the coop- How do you cope with water in the winter?

[patandchickens]

Remember they don't need water overnight. Therefore it may make more sense to either dump the (by then possibly iced anyway) waterer when you close things up for the evening, or take the (getting icy) waterer into the house with you overnight to thaw.

In addition, you can get a certain amount of mileage out of insulation for the waterer. I have fooled around with this just enough to get the sense that a good design could probably buy you at least half a day extra on liquidity-of-water, probably more if you start with hot water. So that might be a fun project for wintertime, to experiment with

Really, having no electric in the coop is NOT a big deal in terms of water in cold winters, AS LONG AS somebody is around during the day to bring out water occasionally. The only problem is if you leave for work at 6 a.m. and don't return til 7 p.m. and it's -20 F *inside the coop* most of the day. But it doesn't sound like that's your situation.

BTW the double-walled things are BAD for wintertime -- not only does it take very, very little to freeze them up (moreso than most white-and-red plastic waterers, IME) but when they freeze solid with a significant am't of water in them it will bust the welds on the metal and they become scrap.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[lorihadams]

I also use the black rubber bowls for my birds. I like being able to turn it over and jump on it to get the ice out and then refill it. I usually fill it once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. My ducks get one too and that is what I will do with the goats as well only their bowls are bigger.

I love those rubber bowls from TSC cause they are virtually indestructable and easy to clean. You can run over them with the truck and they still bounce back...don't ask me how I know that

ETA- we are putting in a frost free hydrant next to the goat pasture so we don't have to carry 5 gallon buckets as far or run multiple water hoses from the house. We wanted to run water to the barn but we are concerned that the lines will freeze with no insulation in there. For now it just makes sense to carry a gallon bucket of really hot water from the house and mix it with cold water from the faucet when we need to wash hands or udders.

 

[Farmfresh]

Remember they don't need water overnight. Therefore it may make more sense to either dump the (by then possibly iced anyway) waterer when you close things up for the evening, or take the (getting icy) waterer into the house with you overnight to thaw.

In addition, you can get a certain amount of mileage out of insulation for the waterer. I have fooled around with this just enough to get the sense that a good design could probably buy you at least half a day extra on liquidity-of-water, probably more if you start with hot water. So that might be a fun project for wintertime, to experiment with


Pat

Use EXTREME caution in offering HOT water to a bird of any kind. They will drink it hot enough to scald their crops and it will scar them irreparably. Better just nice WARM water to start with.

She is right about dumping the bowls in the evenings. It makes life way easier.

 

[FarmerChick]

old fashioned way
water in the morning, check around afternoon, and check at night.

just give them a drink which means just check if the water froze.

old days people carried a pail of water to critters one time per day. if you are worried then carry them water 2-3 times per day.


I agree the thick rubber feeders/water are best cause when can easily break ice in those without cracking/ruining the tub.

That's what I figured. Just never had livestock of any sort before, so I'm not familiar yet. I'm sure I'll get an education this winter.

Are you the person who suggested the 50W thing in TSC? 50W is definitely better than 100W. I could use it only when the generator's running, but I'd have to shut it off when it's not running, so I don't know how much good it'd do.

no it wasn't me who suggested that----but don't they have those 'very small' solar set ups you can buy at the store...enough to 'run' a heated water supply for a few chickens I would think. of course you need that sun lol

one thing you can do is keep a giant tub of water near the chickens. use a sledge and break the top, scoop your water needed, and each morn just slam sledge for a pail....see being in NC my winters are nothing like NY so I can get away with that...having a giant deep rubber horse water tub, and when ice storms hit, I can sledge that ice and have water for goats etc when my elec. heated water devise goes out.

 

[~gd]

Hello! I know it's June, but I like to get things ready beforehand. Plus, we've been known to have the odd snow flurry in July, so you never know.

I would like electricity-free water solutions for the chicken coop. I currenlty have 16 birds. Hoping I still have 16 in the winter, what with the raccoons, coyotes, and fishers. (oh my!)

I have been looking around on the BYC forum, and everyone's suggestion is to run an extension cord out to the coop with a heated water base. Not gonna happen, unless the generator is runnng anyway. Not to mention, the ones I have seen are 100W or higher. Someone suggested a 50W, and I don't want to run anything higher than 20 watts 24-7 all winter. I'm hoping generator run time will be less frequent with the added solar. We used the 18W ecoglow brooder with great success.


I would like to hear what you've done WITHOUT electricity to prevent the water from freezing.

Do you use extra large buckets that you dump and refill a few times a day?

Do you insulate the waterer? Not sure what kind of insulation the chickens won't shred and/or eat, but I'm open to suggestions.

How long does it take your water to freeze and what quantity is it?

If I use a 5 gallon waterer will it last longer, or will the fount base freeze up and block it anyway?

Those double wall galvanized poultry founts with the little rubber gasket thingy look useless in the winter. Anyone use the larger capacities with no heated base with any success?

I am not afraid of hauling water. I will do that if I have to, rather than waste gasoline or propane running a generator.

My biggest worry is that a bunch of people will say, "we just use the heated base or float de-icer". haha.

Thanks so much!

edit- forgot to say that I'm in upstate NY and it can get to 20 below at night for about 2 weeks in the winter. However, this winter we had only 10 nights a few degrees below zero and only 2 nights of 16 below. We can have a several-day stretch of just above 0 temps in January.

I grew up in western NY and often the chicken coop was the warmest place on the whole farm until we got the wood stove roaring in the morning. Chickens throw off a lot of body heat and we used the deep litter method so the floor was really the top of a working compost heap (Heavens it was a job to clean out in early spring!) usually the waterer didn't freeze except on those -20 nights WE (THE KIDS would carry out a closed bucket of water that had spent the night on the floor next to the stove, an enpty clean waterer, and the egg basket and flashlight) our sleds were not just toys! Empty the old waterer if we could, fill and leave the fresh waterer. collect the eggs if any. pull the sled over to the cow barn and leave it for the adults to bring the milk to the house after milking, and truge through the cold carrying the waterer and the eggs and the empty bucket. (yep up hill both ways LOL) at the house breakfast and get into school clothes. After school repeat before supper.
Hens make great handwarmers!

 

[patandchickens]

Use EXTREME caution in offering HOT water to a bird of any kind. They will drink it hot enough to scald their crops and it will scar them irreparably. Better just nice WARM water to start with.

Oh yes, excellent point -- I was thinking of hot by our household standards (which with our hot water heater is just "kind of warm" ) -- absolutely you would not want to put HOT-hot water anywhere they could directly drink it!!

Pat

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

One thing you can do, is to use a car battery, a metal oil pan and a battery heating pad. Do what is needed to plug the heater to the battery.
Use a good silicone to adhere the heater to the inside of the pan. Cut a small hole on the side for the cord.
Turn the pan over, set your water dish on top and plug in the heater.
Provide a step for the chickens to reach the water if needed.

 

[gettinaclue]

I have 2 waterers. I keep one in the house and one in the coop. When the one in the coop freezes, I switch them out.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Yep, the black rubber bowls are awesome. I get a fairly large one and in the mornings I just break the ice in them since I'm always short on time. In the afternoon I'll stomp them (turned upside down) to get the ice out.

 

[valmom]

Another chicken person who jumps up and down on the black rubber bowls twice a day in winter In the morning I carry out warm water from the house, break out and dump the ice and re-fill with warm water when I open the coop. The girls line up for their warm water drink. If I am not working I check it mid-afternoon, but the coop is pretty warm and there is usually just a skim. If I am working and getting home very late, in the morning sometimes I have a beak-shaped hole in the ice where they kept one little hole open to drink from. I used to think I wanted electric in the coop for a heater, but on the whole it isn't worth it- I go out to the girls anyway I might as well carry some water with me. I carry it in a gallon thermos so it stays warm.