How to keep water from freezing?

[Auntiejessi3]

A little apple cider vinegar actually brings the freezing temp down from 32 degrees to 28 degrees, kept mine from freezing unless we got below 28.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

or when you go check on them a little bit of hot water into the pot warms it up a little to stop the freeze.

I LOVE the idea that some of your hens will cooperate to pick at the same spot and keep it open Mine are a little too independent minded for that. Maybe I can read them some children's stories about how nice it is to cooperate. (somewhere my husband is rolling his eyes, knowing I might actually try reading them stories!)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A little apple cider vinegar actually brings the freezing temp down from 32 degrees to 28 degrees, kept mine from freezing unless we got below 28.

Barely.

ACV freezes about 28F, in pure form, assuming a typical concentration of 4-6%. Acetic Acid, the thing that makes "vinegar" vinegar, freezes about 16 degrees F. Low concentrations of ACV (like a TBsp added to a Qt of water - which is still quite a lot, roughly 4x what most ACV users recommend) will adjust the freezing point, yes but not more than a degree or two. Simple science. Its too dilute to do more than that. At best, it might keep some of the water from freezing as acetic acid becomes increasingly concentrated in the remaining, unfrozen, liquid - since ice floats to the top, and vinegar is more dense than water, causing it to sink.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I've heard the same thing about easter eggs or ping pong balls. Because my run is covered, they don't get much wind to move the water. This may work somewhere with more wind?

It doesn't work. Just another "old wives tale". (Likely started by people that don't have REAL cold temps.) Just like they say it put thinks in stock water tanks like a big ball or water bottles filled with salt water. If it is cold enough the only think that is going to keep the water from freezing is a tank heater. (or heated waterer)

 

[Melky]

For the past couple of days our highest temperatures have only been up to 30° F, and as low 10°, and my coop usually stays about 7-10 ° above the temps outside. ( The chickens don’t care how cold it is) And the waterer has ben frosting over the top some times. It never completetly freezes its just frosty crust over the top. It looks like it could be frozen from the angle that the chickens look at it, and the chickens won’t drink it when it looks like that (yet they drink out of frozen muddy pudles that they have probably pooped in). How do you guys keep your waters from freezing? They still drink out of muddy probably pooped in puddles as I said, but it would keep me sane if I new they had clean water to drink out of not mud puddles.

Deicer. We turn our fountain upside down and remove base. Drop the deicer in and we run to closest outlet with extension cord. Ours also is inside the coop this year for winter best thing I did. No frozen water. We place any connections on cording in a weather proof box.