How to Keep Chicken Waterers from Freezing this Winter

Reader Contribution by Shelby Devore and Farminence
Published on September 5, 2019
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Do you keep chickens and live in an area where you’ll get freezing temperatures this winter? Have you started to dread making numerous trips each day back and forth to the coop to make sure that your flock has drinkable water?

Waterer Design Matters

When you’re thinking about waterers, remember that the larger waterers will stay thawed much longer than the smaller ones. The more water there is in the waterer, the longer it takes it to freeze. If you have a small waterer, like a mason jar waterer, you might want to up grade to a larger one. (You can also heat a small mason jar waterer using Hothands or other handwarmers, but keep in mind that this will only give you heat for about four hours.)

Plastic and metal waters will freeze much faster than rubber waterers or bowls. Galvanized metal waterers will freeze exceptionally fast. If you’ve got a plastic or metal waterer, you might want to put it inside of the coop so that it will last longer. Keep the waterers out of any bedding that may be in the floor of the coop. The chickens will get shavings in it almost immediately if it’s close to the bedding. Then you’ll have a big slushy mess to clean up.

If your coop isn’t heated, it may be a good idea for you to get a large black rubber water tub and place it in an area of the coop that gets sun. The black rubber will absorb sunlight and warm the water up. The rubber will hold the heat longer, helping to keep the water from freezing.

Cheap Ways to Keep Water Thawed

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