frozen water

11 replies

KazzaL · 05/01/2009 14:03

my chickens have a normal water container where a certain amount of water drains into the rim and the rest stays in the reservoir bucket about...... sorry for my rubbish description, but i;m sure you all now what I mean.

anyway every day with the cold weather the water has been freezing up and now back at work after Xmas break, I'm worrying the chickens will get thirsty.

Tried bubble wrap round the reservoir, but it didn't work to stop the water freezing - any suggestions?

thanks

OP posts:

NutterlyUts · 05/01/2009 14:06

Mine has only been freezing first thing in the morning, so I don't know what to suggest.. Could you move it into the house? Or a small bit of me is thinking you can buy water heaters?

DaisyMooSteiner · 06/01/2009 16:06

I'd take a kettle of hot water down every morning when you let them out and pour it into and over the drinker to melt it.

Minniethemoocher · 06/01/2009 16:17

Apparently, hot water freezes quicker than cold, it is known as the ?Mpemba Effect?.

FleurDelacour · 07/01/2009 12:27

Sad I know but I put a hot water bottle in next to my hen's water in the hen house. I worried they'd peck at it but they don't. It keeps the water unfrozen all night.

ChopsTheDuck · 07/01/2009 12:30

put a tennis ball in the reservoir.

gatleygirl · 07/01/2009 20:49

we went away over new year (for 1 night) and left a steep sided dog bowl full of water actually in the coop under the roosting bars - too steep sided for them to knock over and it didn't freeze, unlike the galvanised dribker that we left in their run. If they got desperate for water we thought they may have the wit to work out what it was!

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 10/01/2009 12:24

Put ribena in with the water. Or glycerine.

BCNS · 10/01/2009 13:59

agree with chops.. we have a ball in the water

YouLukaBeautiful · 11/01/2009 07:58

Agree also, a pingpong ball or two is good

TheButterflyEffect · 11/01/2009 19:15

This reply has been deleted

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MarmadukeScarlet · 11/01/2009 19:27

I have a galvanised drinker and a plastic one. I take hot wter (and I do know about the whatsit effect) and pour a bit into the lip of both drinkers to defrost the rim. I then pur some cold into the jug of hot to make it drinkable and leave that up there.

Balls in the rervoir wouldn't stop the rim freezing though, tis what I use in my horse trough, but that is still freezing up at night.

My chook house not big enough to put water in, roosting bars over whole area and they would just crap in it.

LOL at hotwater bottle inhen house.

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