A Heated Waterer for Chickens
The Best Chicken Waterers for Freezing Winter Temps
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Every season brings its own battles. In the summer, you are fighting the heat, heat strokes, perhaps, lack of water, inability to keep water cool, flies, etc. In the winter, our fight begins with freezing temperatures, freezing wind, freezing water and frostbitten combs. Luckily, a heated waterer for chickens can help make winter care a little easier.
It is just as important to provide fresh, clean water for your flock in the winter, as it is in the summer. Here’s an important egg fact to consider all year-long: Lack of water is not only detrimental to chicken health, it will also decrease egg production almost immediately because an egg is made of approximately 85 percent water. So if you are wondering why your chickens have stopped laying, make sure to check that they have an adequate supply of water every day. During the winter, it is not easy to keep fresh water in the coop.
If you don’t like the idea of frozen water or having to constantly change out founts or break ice, then you should invest in a heated waterer for chickens or deicer. There are several different styles to choose from. Which one you get depends on the type of watering system you currently use to water your flock. But they’re all simple to use, plug into a standard electrical outlet, and are inexpensive to run.
Here are some popular styles for a heated waterer for chickens.
Metal Base Heated Waterer for Chickens
If you use a metal poultry fount like this one, you can add a heated metal base.
Heated Metal Base Key Features and Benefits:
- Designed for use with all double-wall metal founts
- Thermostatically controlled to operate automatically during freezing temperatures
- Bottom cover to keep dirt and debris away from heating element
- 125 Watt heater
- Good for use down to about 10°F
Heated Fount
If you use a basic plastic fount with an open water trough, try a heated fount.
Heated Fount Key Features and Benefits:
- Chickens are used to drinking out of this style of waterer
- Built-in 100 Watt heater with a thermostat will operate automatically in freezing temperatures
- Fill hole on the bottom of the base allows you to refill the reservoir without removing it
- Keeps water from freezing down to about 0°F
Chicken Waterer Deicer or a Heated Nipple Chicken Waterer
If you us a nipple-style waterer made from a 5-gallon bucket with either a gravity-fed or side-mounted nipples, choose between a chicken waterer deicer or a heated nipple chicken waterer.
Chicken Waterer Deicer Key Features and Benefits:
- Designed for use in all nipple waterers
- Submergible heater sits on the bottom of the bucket or waterer
- Thermostatically controlled to operate automatically
- Teflon coated for durability and to resist corrosion – also helps to keep water cleaner
- 150 watts of power
- Will keep water from freezing even in sub-zero temperatures
Heated Nipple Waterer Features and Benefits:
- Two-gallon capacity
- Drip-free and freeze-free side mount nipples
- Thermostatically controlled to operate automatically
- Top removes for easy refilling
- Design allows bucket to be hung or placed on flat surface
- Uses only 60 watts of power
- Will keep water from freezing even in sub-zero temperatures
For more tips on winterization, visit these stories from Countryside Network and Backyard Poultry magazine Do chickens need heat in winter? When do chickens molt? and What does a chicken coop need to be ready for winter weather?
My 2 gallon nippal chicken waterer quit working after 1 year, it’s the termo fuse is bad do you know where I can get one?