That is what I did previously. I kept one in the house and one in the coop and swapped them around 1-2 times a day.
I've had up to 22 birds and only needed to carry out a gallon jug each day.
I used one of these last year, and it worked very well.
I came to that realization just before it started warming up (slow learner here)!
I can't help you there
Mine is also hard blue plastic, same Farm Innovator's as @K0k0shka but the 1.5 gallon size. Got it at TSC, current price is $4 LESS than Amazon.Can you put your general location in your profile? Location matters with this sort of thing.
5 GALLON HEATED WATERER MADE BY MILLER MFG. CO. SOLD ALSO ON AMAZON. WE HAD TERRIBLE COLD IN KANSAS IN FEBRUARY AND END OF JANUARY, WATER NEVER GET FROZEN !!! AVOID TO SET IT ON THE GROUND BECAUSE THE BIRDS MAY MAKE MESS AND CAUSE THE SURROUNDING AREA FROZEN IF WATER GET SPILLED. 1 FOOT ABOVE THE GROUND OR HEIGHT ADJUSTED TO THE SIZE OF YOUR BIRDS, SO THAT THEY HAVE TO STRETCH A LITLE, BUT NOT TOO MUCH TO DRINK. WE USE THE SAME WATERER IN SOMMER TIME, ONLY WE KEEP IT DISCONECTED. MAKE SURE THAT HANGS FREE IN THE AIR ON ROPE OR CHAIN. SURROUNDING AIR WORKS AS INSULATOR ALSO. GOOD LUCK. LET ME KNOW HOW YOUR BIRDS MADE THROUGH COMMING WINTERHere we go New England! Time to prep for another winter season! This will be my first winter season with chickens and my biggest concern is water! I have most of the items to set up a heater with the pvc and the nipples, but will look to do that in the spring. This season, i will literally go outside every 2 hrs and give them fresh water if necessary. Thats not entirely realistic, so, i come here, to ask my chicken pros what some simple DYI ideas to get through this first winter. I do have a waterer that can be plugged in, but would still like some alternative ideas that others do. Was thinking of putting a water/feed into coop, but I dont know about the space in there. Throw me some ideas peeps! And thank you!
I live in Western Maine 60 miles from the Canadian border. Gets cold here too. Chickens run a normal temp of about 106F. Much warmer than us. They have to coats just like some doges. A down coat and their feathers. Think of the Eider ducks in the arctic area. They live outdoors. But they do fine. The winter native birds do fine. Blue jays, chick-d-dees etc. Dry is the key to all of this. Come this winter if your walls have condensation on them on them you need more ventilation. Period. My coop is just plywood with a metal roof. Former food shed. Birds have wintered over for 2 years. Before that they did 2 years in a TSC "coop". paper thin.Here we go New England! Time to prep for another winter season! This will be my first winter season with chickens and my biggest concern is water! I have most of the items to set up a heater with the pvc and the nipples, but will look to do that in the spring. This season, i will literally go outside every 2 hrs and give them fresh water if necessary. Thats not entirely realistic, so, i come here, to ask my chicken pros what some simple DYI ideas to get through this first winter. I do have a waterer that can be plugged in, but would still like some alternative ideas that others do. Was thinking of putting a water/feed into coop, but I dont know about the space in there. Throw me some ideas peeps! And thank you!
