How to keep water from freezing...

[secuono]

How do I keep water from freezing? I have chickens in my horse barn, no horses. A section of the barn was turned into a work shed and now a chicken coop. The chicken's water freezes unless there is a heat lamp over it.

I want to have rabbits in the horse section in large hutches, but I cannot add heat to it. So how do I keep their water bottles from freezing??

 

[Bryannjamie]

That is tough, I have multiple rabbit cages and travel out there 3 times a day minimum to change water. I have found its easier when the heated goat waterer is nearby because i just drop the waterers in there and swap them out with each trip. If you have multiple rabbits together you might try a heater/waterer like the chickens use but once you seperate them its too hard to put them back together i know of nothing. I even tried using those insulated wraps that go over water bottles for people, but nope.

 

[tortoise]

Most people switch to bowls/crocks over winter. I put in a heated automatic water system but it's been more trouble than it's worth, so I've gone back to crocks. Crocks are faster to fill than bottles anyway.

 

[collector]

We have plastic dishes that hang on the side of the cage. They work well easy to get the ice burg out of. We give them water in the am. then deice and water again about 1/2 hr before sun down. They will drink what they need before it freezes over. The only other thing I can think of, is move south LOL.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

i have a mini barn and i had one electric heater in it. the bottom rows would freeze water bottles but the top rows wouldn't. i added another heater sits lower so now only the bottom row freezes. i take the thawed ones from top and switc them to the bottom ones and put frozen ones in top cages and the heat melts them. for the ceramic dishes i put them in front of heater to thaw while i feed and water everyone. they loosen enough i just dump them in a 5 gal bucket and refilll before i leave.

before that i was filling a 5 gal bucket full of frozen waterers and takeing them in the house and running hot water on them. then i took cold water out in gal jugs to refill. realized if i leave jugs up top of cages they don't freeze so can leave them there so don't have to come in house for water so much.

 

[Bryannjamie]

And if you breed for food, obviously culling down the volume is a good idea before winter. I do have a mom and her 4 month old girl still together so one less water bottle but still, as said, bowls are easiest.

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

I bought two bottles and switch them out twice a day. Oreo drinks a lot so I really could have done it three times a day. But two was plenty. I just did it each time I went out to take care of the goats.

 

[cutechick2010]

I use crocks/bowls all year round, so that is not a problem for me. If you don't want to use bowls, they do make heated rabbit water bottles, and you can get heated waterers for your chickens too. Do a google/Yahoo search for them if you don't have a Rural King or TSC near you.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

I use cheap storage dishes from the local dollar store. I take a hot poker and poke holes in the bottom as well as two holes for zip ties up by the lip in half of them. I then zip tie the dishes with holes to the cages. Then, I nest solid dishes into them. I fill the dishes half way in the morning, and top them off to halfway again in the evening. If I need to, I dump and refill to half way. Eventually when it's all frozen, I dump the dishes. To prevent breaking the dishes, I dip them rightside-up in my bucket of hot water, which loosens the ice immediately and it can be dumped easily. I use HOT water, as hot as my tap will let me so they have water available as long as possible. This method works GREAT for me, and it only costs 1.00 per cage, and I do it year round. For litters or growout pens, I just have LOTS of dishes. It works great.

 

[Bryannjamie]

My only comment now would be not to fill waterers with hot water. It freezes faster than cold water, but tepid is okay