Photo by Renee Bandy

In cold weather, it can be difficult to keep your chickens’ water from freezing.  Here are a few solutions:

  1. Store the waterers in a heated area overnight then bring them back out to the chicken coop or chicken pen each morning.  Some people  keep two sets of waterers for their chickens so that they can rotate them. These ideas work, but tend to be messy and labor intensive.
  2. Bring out warm water each morning, and use it to thaw and fill your chickens’ waterers.  This is somewhat labor intensive.  If the weather is very cold, you may have to thaw the waterers several times a day.
  3. Keep the waterer inside the coop. With the heat the chickens generate, your coop may stay warm enough to keep the water from freezing without supplemental heat.  If not, you can add supplemental heat to the coop.
  4. Use a heated poultry waterer. Heated poultry waterers are a good option if you have access to electricity near your coop. A similar option is to use a heated dog bowl, which you may be able to purchase at your local pet store.
  5. Use a heated waterer base. A heated waterer base can be used with any galvanized poultry water.  These bases should not be used with plastic waterers.

As always, be careful with any heating device used to heat waterers or chicken housing, and follow manufacturers’ directions.

The above list is by no means complete.  Do you have something that has worked well for you?  Do you have ideas for keeping the chickens’ water thawed without the use of electricity?  Leave us a comment below.

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