How do you water your chickens in freezing temps?

[Farmer'sWife]

This is my first winter with chickens and I'm trying to work out a good way to water them.  I have 12 hens and their water has started freezing this past week.  They have a 3 gal. metal waterer and I've been bring out hot water from the house and putting it in the tray part since the cover is froze down, but I feel like this is not enough water for all of them.  I saw a heated metal pan type thing to set the waterer on at the farm store, but it was $55 and only promised to keep the water thawed to 10 degrees...this is MN, 10 degrees is not that cold!  What do you all do for water in the winter?

[RAF]

I usually use the under waterer heater things you mentioned, but this year, I have more chickens and need more of the heaters, so I decided to try using an old crockpot instead.  I put it outside and turn it on keep warm or low setting, depending on how cold it is outside and fill the ceramic part with water.  I know it  is not ideal but it has been working quite well for me.  I don't have the energy to bring hot water out every 2 hours, as it freezes so quickly during a cold spell.

[kimmom]

I put the waterer under the heat lamp and it seems to mostly work. When it does still freeze I pour warm/hot water into the part they drink from to thaw it

[omamasmama]

crockpot!! what a great idea. :)

[mattemma04]

I just have a few plastic waterers from the feed store.I would take one out with warm water in the am,and another in the pm.My hens survived the last winter just fine that way in a non-insulated metal shed.I also would put out gallon milk jugs that had HOT water in them to heat up the shed.Probably did me more good(mentally) than the hens.

[CCJWGM]

Originally Posted by mattemma04 

I just have a few plastic waterers from the feed store.I would take one out with warm water in the am,and another in the pm.

This is exactly what I do.  Easy and cheap. 

[annethcz]

I bring an ice cream bucket with warm water out to the chicken coop twice a day. 

[lucyem]

I use the under the waterer flat pan thing.  We already have cords out for horse water so just run one to the chicken water.  I do keep it inside the coop and here in northern new england it has always worked.  I never knew about the 10 degree or less thing.  I imagine that would be more a factor when placed outside of the coop.  We have never had an issue where the water froze or even appeared to be freezing a little.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

I just saw this on BackyardChickens.com this morning...  I showed it to DH, and he's going to make one out of an old metal dog dish.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107951

[Farmer'sWife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by diana_of_the_dunes 

I just saw this on BackyardChickens.com this morning...  I showed it to DH, and he's going to make one out of an old metal dog dish.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107951

Thanks!  This gives me some ideas.  DH says he has some parts off an old cattle water that he can probably make into something.  Now to just get him to find time to do it!  We're going to be gone for two weeks in the begining of January, so I want to get all the animals set up so the chores are at a mininum while we're gone.
 

[wombatclay]

We have an old heating pad under a metal tray... and we have two watering pans that we swap back and forth am/pm.

[greenmulberry]

I use a heated dog bowl.

Every couple of days I carry out a jug of water and top it off.

I used to use one of those expensive heated bases, but the wiring is very exposed underneath and in two winters, mice managed to get underneath and chew all the insulation off the wires.

The heated dog dish was 20 bucks and holds a gallon of water, which lasts the girls a few days. I just carry a jug of water down when I get eggs and top it off, dumping it out if it gets nasty.

I have seen the homemade ones from cookie tins and a light bulb and I wonder how well they work when the temp is -15?

[mumm]

I have this.  It has worked well and I only need to refill every few days because it gets gross.  I'm all for ease even if it costs a bit more.

How do you all keep the birds themselves warm?  Everything I read gives different information!  They don't need heat.  They need a well ventilated, dry coop.  They need to be draft-free.  (well ventilated, but draft free perplexes me!) 

Last night was about 10F and blustery.  Snow ended up coming in the 3 little windows I have open.  Plus earlier this month I think some got frostbitten wattles.  After the frostbite  I started cleaning the poop out daily since I read that it was moisture, not the cold, that contributes to the frostbite.

Today they barely came out of the coop so I put water in the coop also (although it had a layer of ice on it after just a few hours.)  Tonight, I turned on a heat lamp.  The girls (11 of them) are all huddled together near it.  I hope I'm not making a mistake doing this.  I know my weather isn't extreme (Massachusetts) and I don't need them to be 100% comfortable all the time, but I don't want them miserable either, kwim?

[greenmulberry]

Well ventilated but draft free means that the coop is not stuffy, that is, stinky air can rise out, but there are not open areas that allow the wind to whip through .Ideally, whatever you use for ventilation will not allow wind to blow on the chickens where they roost.

My coop has vents in the eaves, the part of the roof that overhangs the walls, and I leave half of one open in the winter. this seems to do the trick for me.

If I poke my head in the coop in mid winter (it is not a walk in coop but a raised hutch style 5 by 8) the air is fairly still in the coop even though it is windy.

The chickens WILL huddle together to stay warm, and they will all go to the warmest place in the coop to do so. Mine all line up on the highest roost and squish together.

[riverundine]

we use the plug in dog bowl and it hasn't frozen at -25 F.  i have a raincheck for the plug in 3 gallon hanging feeder, but they went like hot cakes when they went on sale for $20.  hoping they come in soon...as that would prevent cleaning out the poop in the dog bowl grossness. 

our coop is an uninsulated kids playhouse retrofitted for the hens with a bunch of strawbales inside and out, as they are super insulative and breathe well.  we have a hanging lamp inside, with 8 beautiful boxes, yet they all prefer to lay their eggs in a simple corner haypile.  we also don't shut them in at night, leaving the lower "hen door" open at all times.  it's super duper freezing here and they seem to do just fine, but i'm pretty sure we got a hearty variety.