[Frizzle1]

Hope someone can help me. I need some advice on how to stop my plastic chicken waterer from freezing over night now that the cold weather has finally arrived. I filled it up with their apple cider vinegar yesterday evening and it was solid as a rock this morning. Someone said if Apple cider vinegar was in it it wouldn't freeze but it did. Unfortunately there is no electric to my coop. Think ping pong balls are out of the question as the waterer has a lid and they wouldn't bob about in the breeze. Any ideas would be good thanks

[Sassy]

Chooks do not need water over night so empty it when you shut them up and refill again when you open up. I used a small bucket of the type horse supplemnts come in as easy to get ice out and chooks did not knock it over. Some folk use tea lights under suitable containers but I would not be happy with that. 

[pekinpete]

only trouble with using plastic water drinkers in this type of weather they are apt to split like SASSY said empty water did try using the little paraffin green house heaters (round ones) and put heavy galv drinkers on them when i had a lot of birds but now as i only have a few no longer use it use small drinker and empty a few times a day completely at night and fill next day hang drinker in shed so less chance of splitting

[8doubles]

Wilko stainless steel bowls , cheap and effective in the frost !

Knock the ice out or boiling water, will not get brittle and crack like plastic .

Great for a warm mash on cold mornings , the hens love it !

[Frizzle1]

Thank you everyone for your replies thought I was doing well when I bought this drinker but looking at pekinpetes reply I'm not so sure. Maybe I should get stainless steel or galvanised I must admit a bowl would be a lot easier. Maybe I should take it away at night or perhaps have two on the go at the same time but as for the plastic I'll have to out it I think

[joyfull]

I use a washing up bowl - 99p from Wilkos and simply break the ice in the morning 

[jools68]

If i recall the forecast for last night then you did have an bad frost down south 
We had one a few nights back too,i use plastic milk cartons and the water froze over,depending on what shifts im on i have to change my water and then give them a quick bash before i set off for work   
The hens seem to love the bits of broken ice   
Try some  fleece round them as a trial next time(i keep meaning too),my waters outside so it must of been cold for your water to freeze in your coop  x

[GrannieAnnie]

Similar to some of the others on here, I used to buy cheap half height buckets from the cheapo shop for £1.  Then yes, the water does freeze, but you just lift off the big frozen disc, chuck it on the garden and the chicken used to love pecking at it too! LOL

They hold about 2 gallons!

[RubyR3d]

I use a washing up bowl - 99p from Wilkos and simply break the ice in the morning 

.   So do I but with a word of warning. Please make sure you have a large rock or stone in it that sits just above the water. Last year I was heartbroken when I found 2 baby Coal tits floating in the water.   

[Sgun]

Over the hard winters in 2010/11 we 3 layer bubble wrapped the plastic drinker and hung it just over a snugglesafe which was in a metal box, sat on layers of hessian. The snugglesafe stayed warm for about 4 hours (if indoors it will stay warm for 12 the cat loves it). The water froze up after about 5 hours.
This was during the day as the temperatures weren't rising above -8. Over the night time we removed the water and just filled it up in the morning as the hens were in bed anyway. Although it didn't stay unfrozen all day, it did give the hens enough to drink during the short days. I also used food grade glycerine which had a minor effect of about an hours difference in the water freezing up again, I haven't needed it this year so far.

If its any consolation the other day I forgot to unfreeze the hens water first thing and they didn't get anything to drink until midday when I remembered. They were fine.

[Frizzle1]

Thanks everyone for your replys. I tried the bowl last night and broke the ice in the morning but one of the chooks went to drink some and after trying it put her head down low and took two or three steps walking backwards she never liked it at all so in the end I had to take it in the kitchen and refil it in the end as the hosepipe was frozen solid. I mixed warm water with cold at least she appreciated it I hope looks like that's how it's got to be done from now on will probably try the bubble wrap first

[8doubles]

Thanks everyone for your replys. I tried the bowl last night and broke the ice in the morning but one of the chooks went to drink some and after trying it put her head down low and took two or three steps walking backwards she never liked it at all so in the end I had to take it in the kitchen and refil it in the end as the hosepipe was frozen solid. I mixed warm water with cold at least she appreciated it I hope looks like that's how it's got to be done from now on will probably try the bubble wrap first

Hens often back away from a drink of cold water, can't say i blame them !

Imagine a glass of icy water as your first drink of the day !

[grinling]

warm water freezes quicker than cold, so check a few times if snowy

[danfinn1]

I use the eglu bowl and when this is frozen I just empty it out and put tepid tap water in. Because the bowl is shaped and open topped it will not split.

In the book that I read, the author broke the ice each morning for his hens, I couldn't see mine drinking iced water first thing in the cold morning so that's why I change it. So far where mine are located we don't get the frost that bad.

[Frizzle1]

Thanks Dan for your reply. Yes I agree I don't think my hens were too keen on it either. I've changed from the plastic waterer to a stainless steel bowl because of the plastic cracking from the frost as suggested by pekinpete earlier. Stainless steel is better but I still have to bring it in to change it as the hosepipe freezes as well. I really fancy pouring the chooks out a nice warm cup of tea in the mornings but somehow I don't think they would agree so I guess I will carry on regardless