Although chickens are small in size, they require up to a pint of fresh water daily to prevent dehydration. One of the biggest challenges of winter chicken keeping is making sure your flock’s water stays unfrozen even when the temperatures drop. This is especially hard for people who keep chickens in the north, where the weather is harsh and the temperature drops in the winter.
Whether you live in an area that has mild winters or your region experiences extreme winter weather, knowing some different methods for how to keep your flock’s water from freezing can save you time and keep your flock healthy and hydrated! While not every method will work for frigid weather, most of them should keep water unfrozen even when the temperatures hover around freezing. These six methods to keep your flock’s water unfrozen will give you plenty of options- no matter the winter weather!.
Keeping your chickens hydrated is essential, even in freezing temperatures. But when it gets cold, it can be hard for chicken owners who don’t have electricity in the coop to keep the water from freezing. Thanks to some creativity and know-how, there are a few good ways to keep your flock’s water from freezing all winter.
Use Large, Insulated Containers
Larger volumes of water take longer to freeze, so using a big tub or bucket as a waterer can buy you some time Opt for a container made from rubber or plastic, which provides more insulation than metal You can also help insulate the water by wrapping the tub in an old towel or bubble wrap. Just be sure to secure it so curious chickens don’t accidentally ingest it.
Add Movement
Moving water resists freezing better than stagnant water. Try adding a small fish tank bubbler or pump to gently agitate the surface of the water. The motion will mix warmer water from below and help prevent ice from forming. Another trick is to float ping pong balls in the water. As they move around in the breeze, it creates just enough motion to keep the water liquid.
Use Dark Colored Containers
Dark colors absorb heat far better than light ones. Pick a dark blue or black waterer to soak up as much winter sun heat as possible. The rise in temperature can give you a few more hours before it freezes. Put the water in a run that gets a lot of sun to get the most heat out of it.
Insulate The Water Lines
Waterers that are filled with a hose should not freeze in the line itself. You can disconnect the hoses at night and store them inside, wrap them in insulating tape or pipe sleeves, or buy heated hoses. When it gets cold, you can make do with wrapping lines in towels or blankets. Just remember to leave them out in the sun during the day so they can get warm.
Try Solar Heating
On sunny winter days, put the waterer for your chickens in a makeshift oven made of the sun. Put it in a big cardboard box that has black construction paper or aluminum foil on the inside. Put a piece of plexiglass or plastic sheeting on top of the box to make a greenhouse effect. The sunlight will warm the interior and help prevent freezing. Bring the water inside at night for storage.
Use Phase Change Materials
Phase change materials (PCMs) are engineered to absorb and release large amounts of heat energy as they melt and solidify. Placing sealed containers of PCMs in your chickens’ water will keep it liquid longer as the materials melt and release heat into the water. Salt, sugar solutions, and paraffin wax are commonly used PCMs. Just be sure the chickens can’t access the PCMs directly.
Take Advantage of Your Chicken’s Body Heat
Your flock naturally produces quite a bit of warmth. Place their waterer in the coop overnight so the chickens can transfer body heat and warm the water. You’ll still need to refresh it in the morning, but it should remain unfrozen for many more hours than if left outdoors. The shared body heat can prevent freezing or slow it down significantly.
Keeping water liquid in winter takes creativity and vigilance, but is completely doable without electricity. With multiple chickens sharing body heat and proper use of insulation, solar energy, and phase change materials, you can easily keep your flock well hydrated until spring. The key is paying close attention and being willing to experiment until you find a solution that works for your specific conditions.
Compare 6 Chicken Water Heating Options
Not all coops or flocks have the exact same needs. Compare and choose a method that will keep your chickens water from freezing based on your climate, coop characteristics and more.
Warm Water & Water Containers
Providing your flock with warm water in an already warmed water system can keep your flock’s water from freezing when cold temperatures are not prolonged or not too severe. The warmer the water, the longer it will take to freeze.
However, there is a caveat to this trick: chickens won’t drink water that is too warm. Remember that you don’t want your flock to become dehydrated in cold weather, so make sure the water still tastes good! Generally, your flock will be fine with room temperature or slightly lukewarm water.
Putting the water in a water system that has also been warmed will help retain the heat and prolong the time in which the water will freeze.
You can warm your flock’s water system by cleaning it with hot water. This method works well if the temperatures are cold in the morning but warm up in the afternoon.
Just bring out the warm water in the morning and it should stay thawed until the outside temperatures warm up enough. If the cold temperatures persist throughout the day, you will need to refill and re-warm the water system periodically throughout the day or see about using a different method to keep the water from freezing.
You can also build a mini greenhouse! A greenhouse works to trap some of the energy and warmth from the sun. Similar to how black surfaces absorb heat, greenhouses work to trap the heat.
A mini greenhouse can be built from a variety of materials including old windows or clear, heavy-duty plastic.grub
Two old windows can be fashioned together to make a tent-like greenhouse which the water system can be placed underneath. You could also build a wooden frame and secure clear plastic to it to create a greenhouse shelter for your flock’s water system.
The mini greenhouse should be in a sunny location to trap heat from the sun. Between the heat trapped by the greenhouse effect and reducing the amount of wind-chill that reaches the water, your flock’s water may stay unfrozen even in below-freezing temperatures.
Keep in mind that you will have to clean your flock’s water system daily since the additional warmth and sunshine will stimulate algae growth.
HOW to KEEP your CHICKENS WATER from FREEZING OFF-GRID HACK
FAQ
How do I keep my chicken water from freezing without electricity?
Setup: Float 3 or 4 ping pong balls or rubber dog toy balls on the surface of a pan of water. As the breeze moves the ping pong balls, the water’s surface is agitated, which will delay the freezing of the water.
How to keep animal water from freezing without electricity?
On really cold days you can run a small heater or lamp inside the shed and this should keep the water from freezing over. You could insulate your water tanks and cover most of the top of the trough if you can’t build a shed. Just be sure that weaker animals are still getting a chance to drink.
Do ping pong balls keep water from freezing?
Putting ping-pong balls on top of water containers didn’t slow down the rate at which ice forms, as this experiment showed. Of course, the validation of any scientific experiment is the ability of other researchers in other settings to replicate the results.
Does apple cider vinegar stop water freezing?
Then there is good old Apple Cider Vinegar, our stalwart. It’s great for the birds, in a 4% or 5% dilution, and it will stop the water freezing until it gets to two or three degrees below freezing.
Can a chicken’s water freeze without a water heater?
It’s pretty hard to keep your chicken’s water from freezing without electricity in the winter. When the cold arrives, I struggle to keep the chicken’s drinking water from turning into a frozen block. And without a water heater? It can certainly seem daunting.
How to keep chickens’ water from freezing over in the winter?
Before going into the methods and tricks to keep your chickens’ water from freezing over in the colder months, it is important you know that the waterer should always be kept outside of their coop. This is especially true in the winter. Keeping their waterer outside will help keep your chicken coop clean and dry.
How do you keep a flock from freezing?
Dissolve 1/3 cup of salt in 3 cups of boiling water, or as much as salt as will dissolve in the water. Let the salt water cool slightly before filling your bottle. Tightly secure the cap on the bottle and place the bottle in your flock’s fresh drinking water. This method may keep your flock’s water from freezing for an extended period of time.
How difficult is it to keep water unfrozen at a chicken coop?
The degree to which you struggle with keeping your flock’s water unfrozen will depend on your region’s winter weather severness. Most northern climates experience severe winter weather that makes keeping water unfrozen at the chicken coop down right difficult!.
Can a chicken coop freeze over?
The larger the surface area, the longer it will take for it to freeze over. This is not always a convenient option for the chicken coop, but it is one you can consider if you have multiple animals who can use the same water source. Large water containers will take up a lot of space at the chicken coop and may allow the water to get dirtier.
Can a coop keep water from freezing without electricity?
If you choose to keep water from freezing without electricity in a cold climate, be prepared to haul fresh water to your coop multiple times a day. These options do not prevent the freezing of waterers in a cold climate. They can slow down the freezing of water in cool weather and may stop it completely if your winter weather is mild.