DIY water trough?

[canesisters]

I use a bird bath deicer in a plastic feed pan (roughly 2 gals) for my chickens. It's probably 4 years going and has never gotten hot. Look for 'deicer' not 'heater'. You probably want something made to JUST melt ice and not to heat the water.
Probably not the same brand, but looks like this

This little guy - of course - won't do a 70 gal tank.... LOL - unless you string half a dozen together

 

[canesisters]

So, I'm tired of ice & tiny troughs.
Low, large troughs are hard to find, like pictured. There's a company in Nebraska that has them, but freight is a killer.
I'm thinking I'll have to DIY one instead and it may end up cheaper. Like I've made my pond bogs, pond liner and blocks. Probably use hardware cloth to line bottom to stop mice, voles & such from putting holes in it.
Has anyone else made their own?
View attachment 95202

makes me think of the 'redneck swimming pools' made of stacked hay bales, lined with plastic and filled....

 

[jjack010]

I cut a plastic 55 gallon drum in half long way and built a frame for it out of free pallet wood. Works great.