Heat tape wrapped bucket waterer

[ajlynco]

I'm looking for a link to either pics or video of a 5 gal. bucket(nipple waterer) wrapped w/heat tape and then put inside another 5 gal bucket w/the bottom removed. This keeps the heat tape protected from the chickens. Can anyone help me out? I'm sure I saw it here on BYC.

 

[broken08]

I'd be interested too: my first winter is coming!
BUMP!

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Is this what you had seen?

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Homemade_heated_chicken_waterer/

 

[wyododge]

Just drop a bird bath de-icer in it. Or a submersible fish tank heater. Works for us at -30*f.

our experience with heat tape has not been good. and plastic is a horrible conductor, so not much of the heat will get through to the water inside. With the heater in the water, the heat gets readily transferred into the water.

 

[ajlynco]

wyododge- do you have a 5gal. bucket w/nipples as a waterer? If so, do the nipples freeze up w/the fishtank heater in it. What wattage is the heater?

fiddlebanshee-Yep, that's what I'm thinkin' about setting up for my girls. I kinda like the fishtank heater idea from wyododge also. I'm a newbie and I'm sure I want to go w/the nipple watering system, just don't want them to freeze up.

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
This is my set up...

Storage tank with heater, pump and water transfer hose that goes into the bucket in the coop...

Bucket with hose to fill.

The pump is hooked to a light switch, so all we have to do is filp the switch to fill the bucket. The storage tank is 130 gallons should be about 50 or so days of water supply. The box the tank is in is insulated with 'damaged' 2" foam panels we got from the lumber yard for $5/each. The hose gravity drains so it will not freeze.

 

[ajlynco]

What a small world, I saw your set-up just last night. Nice. Your point in regard to the aquarium heater is well taken. That's a significant temperature swing. If you've had a successful experience with the bird bath deicer, I think I'll go that route. Just out of curiousity, what breeds do you raise and do you do anything special for them to help em thru the winter? Thanks for your input wyododge.

 

[wyododge]

Basic stuff.

Silver laced & White Wyandots, Jersey Giants, one white rock, partridge rocks and astrolorps (sp), 26 total in an 8x8 coup. I know seems tight, but they are only in the coop at night and they need their body heat to keep things warm. All of them were chosen for winter hardiness.

The only thing we do for winter is let them get cold, and never provide any source of artificial heat. When they were chicks they were outside in two days. No heat lamps, in the grass and rocks off of our deck. it was in the low 50's at night. We didn't leave them out all night because of predators, but they were out there well after dark. We did not lose a single chick to disease. One ended up with a broken neck, but I think the cat may have reached through the chicken wire and tried to play with it. They were full feathered and growing like weeds very quickly.

If we have sustained cold, like last winter (-34 for two to three weeks) we may put a heat lamp on, but we are going to play it by ear. One thing is it is very dry here, generally 20% or less humidity so when I built the coop, the roof and walls have an air space in them to buffer the wind, but the inside walls are sealed off. But the design still provides ventilation via a slot across the top of the inside coop. I tested the ventilation with DE, when sprayed inside the coop, it came billowing out of the roof and walls. Our coop is built inside a 100 year old barn.

Other than that, nothing much. Keep their bellies full and their water clean. They have warm water to drink (not by our standards, but to them it is). Most of the time they will eat snow anyways. God has provided them with everything they need, just as he has done with all of his creations. there are many a ground foul out here that thrive in our harsh conditions, and relative to their living conditions, our chickens have it really good.