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

[Farmfresh]

Another thing to contemplate is to devise a way to keep the chicken litter as dry as possible. I usually water outside with my big water pan and use a little milk jug with a cut away side tied inside on extreme weather days.

Moisture from a water container can contribute to dampness in the coop which in turn can cause frost bite.

By building a support box with wire top to set the water on it can contain the splashes.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

Wow, thanks for the suggestions everyone!
Pat- I know what you mean about the not-so-hot water. Hubby has ours turned down. Also - even a chicken newb like me could tell those galvanized waterers wouldn't work in the freezing.

I will probably end up with the igloo thingy or the rubber buckets.

However! That little battery powered heatpad sounds like a fun project, and I'm certainly not lacking for deep cycle batteries! It's how we run the pump for the hose from the rain barrel to the garden way out back.

If anyone has anymore ideas- I've got a few months to plan for winter. I hope.

 

[Our7Wonders]

I use the black rubber bowls also. The ice kicks out easily. We fill it with hot (not super hot, just tap water hot) water each morning when we let them out of the coop (the bowl is kept outside) and then check it around lunch time as well. In the winter it's dark by 5ish so we don't have to check it in the evening, though we do in the summer. When the temps dipped below zero a few times this past winter we checked on them more frequently. We had 17 birds and just hauled the water each trip - just an empty gallon milk jug, the kids are usually out there that often anyway giving scraps or checking for eggs.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

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!

Don't I know those cold mornings! We heated with wood (inside only) before the outdoor wood boiler for central heating was put in. First thing in the morning- mess with the fire. Come home from work- mess with the fire. It'd finally warm up just before we went to bed, then we'd shut it down at night. I don't miss that part of it, but it's been 2 years since we had a woodsoive hooked up and I really miss it. Can't wait to get the chimneys rebuilt! Nothing like splitting kindling to clear the mind.

 

[Buster]

I use the black rubber bowls made by Duraflex. rubber bowl

Ditto. In the morning I just turn it over and stomp on it to get the ice out.

 

[old fashioned]

So far I've just used plastic ice cream buckets for their feed & water. In the winter in the morning, I take them out a bucket of warm tap water and check on it every couple of hours breaking up any ice that starts and bring it to the house at night. I have several of these buckets (we like our ice cream ) to keep them changed out if needed. If for whatever reason I don't get out there to bring it in at night I just turn it upside down & let it fall out. It hasn't yet frozen completely solid, usually only a thick ice layer on top.
I'm still trying to figure out a better method & am considering building a wooden box large enough to hold the bucket with hay or newspaper or something for insulation, but I don't know if that will work either.

 

[Farmfresh]

I use the black rubber bowls made by Duraflex. rubber bowl

Ditto. In the morning I just turn it over and stomp on it to get the ice out.

I had a revelation last year ... If you dump them out when you shut up the chickens for the night you have less stompin' in the mornin'!

 

[freemotion]

I use a two gallon plastic Fortex pail and partially bury it in the deep litter to insulate it. I start with warm water in the winter. It usually stays ice-free most of the day, so I try to get it changed or at least break the ice before dark so they can have some water before bed.

You can get even thick ice out of the plastic pails without breaking them by using a sturdy stick...a broken tool handle, like an ax handle, works great....and tap-tap-tap all around the outside of the bucket until it cracks enough to empty the water, then tap some more to release the ice.

I think our climate here is about the same as yours.

If for some reason I know I won't be able to get back to them before dark on a very cold day, I toss in an apple or pumpkin or something juicy that the can peck at even if frozen and get some moisture. They've done just fine for years this way.

 

[Farmfresh]

Another way to get ice out of a bucket if the bucket is wider at the top than the bottom is the "Popsicle" method. I learned this one as a kid accidentally.

You intentionally put a sturdy stick into the bucket when you first fill it. The stick then freezes in like a popsicle and you can just twist and lift on the stick to take out the ice instead of banging on a possibly brittle bucket that might crack. Handy!

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

Love the tapping hints, using the litter as insulation, and the Popsicle stick idea!

I think the stomping in the morning would be a good way to get in a workout without even trying!