Guest Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Oohhh good thread I bring my water in at night but it is water freezing up during the day that is my problem. The WIR run is down a long (in winter slippery) drive so I can't really ask neighbours to check the girls water as would worry about them falling over. There is no power to the run and getting power there is not an option. I am reluctant to use candles or any type of naked flame. The run has a polycarb roof and is in a sheltered spot under a massive yew tree so hopefully that will help keep the run temp above freezing. Given that last winter we hit -20 here then I am concerned about water freezing during the day again, even with drinkers raised off the ground they still froze (last year only had 5 chickens in a smaller run in middle of garden which was exposed on 3 sides). Having read this thread I think my options are making an insulated box for the water (that will end with me chopping a finger off) or heating some house bricks (probably not practical on a work day as would mean getting up at 4am to put them in the oven) or using some hand/back warmer things. I have 9 chickens so need 2 drinkers, the drinkers I own are x2 platic tip upside down to fill type, a glug and a super glug and a Savic galvanised bucket (the best drinker in the world IMO). On a working day I leave the house 8am and sometimes not back until 4pm, I can usually nip home about 1pm to put out fresh water but as I said this was not enough last year. As long as the weather doesn't hit the extremes of last year then should be ok. It is reassuring to know everyone else has the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I have a galvanised drinker too and put it on two bricks. A tea light (8 hour one) placed in a jam jar underneath keeps the water from freezing even at -14 last winter. If you angle the bricks into a 'V' shape, against the fence/run, the hens can't get top the candle and it is perfectly safe. Just had a new walk in run built - the electrician is coming on monday to fit and outside plug (and new fuse box with rcd ) so that I can use a warming plate when I am away overnight with work. The only solution as I have just moved here and don't know the neighbours that well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loulops Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Send them apple bobbing! Last year I too struggled with water freezing during the day and ping pong balls just got frozen in. I thought: "hmm, what would bob about enough to stop the ice forming around it?" and it dawned on me! The chooks love apples so much that I could literally bung a whole one in the glug in the morning and as they pecked at it during the day for a treat it kept on the move, and VOILA! Access to water restored! I shall be doing the same again this winter when it gets cold enough for the water to freeze during the day. I also freshly fill their glug when I take it in at night so it goes out at room temperature. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) Postman said "here's the worms for those chickens living the life of Riley" and gave me the 1 kilo mealworms parcel. There was a second parcel and I said this is for the chickens too - it's a heater so their water doesn't freeze. http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Electric_Drinker_Heater.html Dave the Postman is of Edited December 31, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 you'd better watch out for him moving in with your chooks Wolfie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Smedley Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi, I'm not lucky enough to have electricity by my hen run , but for those that do here is an electric base from Regency Poultry that actually clips on to a plastic drinker bottom to stop the water freezing . It is for the hanging or standing plastic ones where you fill them up & turn them upside down. By the way , I notice in America there are all sorts of electric heaters , specifically for hen drinkers- WHEN WILL UK MANUFACTURERS GET THEIR FINGER OUT & MAKE US SOME FOR THE UK ???? Rant over! Here's the link : http://regencypoultry.com/drinkers/PlasticDrinkers/drinker_heater.htm I wish I had electricity by my Eglu! Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Jenny I've replied to your PM but I'm not sure if it's got sent Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Well I have to say that I am chuffed to bits with the heated base for my galvanised drinker. Down to -10 and no ice! It cost me an absolute fortune (well, only £25 for the heated base), with £90 for the outside double plug. Thought that would be it, but electrician said he couldn't fit an outside plug without an RCD in the house. £350 later, the hens are happy and my house is safer! No more candles - although the electricity bill is due any day now, so maybe I will revert back to them when at home...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindafw Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 good grief was it really down to minus 10??? I knew it was cold here in thruxton...but had no idea it had got that low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I have been going out every hour to chip the ice from my girls drinking tubs , they keep icing up .We live in Buckinghamshire , South East 10 miles away from Chesham which last night was the coldest in England - 18 Brrrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 good grief was it really down to minus 10??? I knew it was cold here in thruxton...but had no idea it had got that low Oh Linda, you have to go to Lidl and get a saddo weather station like me! I have 3 One for the chicken area, one for the courtyard garden and one for the front. All slightly different readings as the wind comes from different directions, but addictive! Yes, it has been that cold. It was -8 at 10pm last night when I took Milo for a walk! ...which last night was the coldest in England - 18 Brrrrrr I heard that on the radio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Smedley Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Am so jealous of heated base for drinker !! I have already got an RDC in the house ( for when I cut the electric cord on the flymo!) & the wiring all in place - just need OH to fix whatever the problem is as no electricity is reaching chicken run !! Couldn't get the Quality Street tin method to work well so now have a triangle of 6 housebricks, 2 bricks high, with a jamjar in the middle with a long lasting tealight inside. I've put a metal dog bowl on top ( obviously full of water!) & that is working OK - no ice! The hens can't get to the light to hurt themselves & there seems to be enough air circulating to keep the tealight going (I think that was the problem with the Quality Street tin) but the jam jar is stopping the tealight from being blown out! Success!! One thing - normal tealights only last 4 hrs or so - I managed to find 10 hr tealights on Amazon. They worked out at 12p each which I think is pretty good for peace of mind, knowing that ur hens can drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I have to say that mine have been fine; I take the drinker in at night when it is very cold, then leave a snugglesafe under it in the morning, reheating it at lunchtime. It has been very cold here but it hasn't frozen solid except for the one night when I forgot to bring it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayleybug Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) just been looking through this thread having seen the forecast for the rest of the week! has anyone seen these and has anyone tried one? : http://www.britishbirdfood.co.uk/shop/other-accessories/drinking-and-bathing/small-animal-solar-sipper tempting as we dont have power close to the WIR so would have to go for this or a snugglesafe i think... would be worried about candles near the side of a wooden WIR... Edited November 27, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Looks like a good idea, although I doubt we've had enough daylight recently to charge one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckmum6 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Oh, I like the sipper, I think it might go on my Christmas list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayleybug Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 yeah, the more i thought about it the more i decided it wouldnt work especially in our garden- the sun at the moment if it does come out gets cut off at a halfway point up the WIR and never hits the ground. im very tempted by the Eton heater base but with a plastic drinker on top as i cant really afford a galvanised one on top of the heater price. can anyone reassure me this will be effective enough? I will stand it slightly off the ground to help the heat go upwards instead of down into the ground. i have just bought a snugglesafe as a starter which i can pick up from an amazon locker on thurs so should be in time for the cold weather but i would prefer to just hook up the drinker and have peace of mind. especially as i am off to london for 2 nights at the weekend and OH never gets up early enough to put the feeders back out for the girls so the stuff will have to stay out overnight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 im very tempted by the Eton heater base but with a plastic drinker on top as i cant really afford a galvanised one on top of the heater price. can anyone reassure me this will be effective enough? I will stand it slightly off the ground to help the heat go upwards instead of down into the ground. When I had my storage heaters removed, I saved a few of the really heavy bricks that were inside. 3 bricks, the heater pad then the drinker works really well. Only down to -10 this year (-14 a couple of years ago ) but I have the heater on full time now, just ticking over. If I turn it off, I'll forget to turn it back on again and work away from home, so..... I placed one drinker on the heat pad, and another one next to it. The heat radiates through the bricks and keeps both drinker ice free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayleybug Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 im very tempted by the Eton heater base but with a plastic drinker on top as i cant really afford a galvanised one on top of the heater price. can anyone reassure me this will be effective enough? I will stand it slightly off the ground to help the heat go upwards instead of down into the ground. When I had my storage heaters removed, I saved a few of the really heavy bricks that were inside. 3 bricks, the heater pad then the drinker works really well. Only down to -10 this year (-14 a couple of years ago ) but I have the heater on full time now, just ticking over. If I turn it off, I'll forget to turn it back on again and work away from home, so..... I placed one drinker on the heat pad, and another one next to it. The heat radiates through the bricks and keeps both drinker ice free. thats brilliant thanks Christian, wish i'd kept some of the storage heater bricks from ours now but used them as part of the WIR base!! might just have to use a couple of bricks instead, great tip on keeping the other drinker next to it- i might position the grub and glug stand so the glug can get some radiated heat. hopefully it should arrive tomorrow, ive just picked up a 25m extension cable to rig it up with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sage Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Has anyone tried putting a snugglesafe heated pad in the drinking water to stop it freezing during the day ? Sage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I put mine under the drinker and change it for a warm one at lunchtime. Started the snugglesafe routine this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adams Egg Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I found a solution that has been staring me in the face for ages. We have had a 12v lighting system in the garden, the sort you get from DIY stores for a couple of years. These two have 20 watt halogen bulbs in copper lamps. I simply buried the cables in the run with the lamps just above the surface, covered them each with an earthenware flower pot upturned. I then stood the drinker on top of the flowerpot and also hung a chain to the drinker from the roof so it wouldn't get knocked over and plugged it all back in. So far it has kept things ice free down to minus five and the drinkers haven't melted, best of all I stuck a remote control on the plug and now it all works from the kitchen And the lights havent been missed either, nor has anyone spotted the strange glowing green things in the run at night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchie Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Did anyone try the Solar Sippers yet? I notice the link is dead, so I assume they sold out. Our glug was frozen solid this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I bring the drinkers in at night when it's really cold. The Snugglesafes are working a treat here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimmyCustard Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I was wondering the same thing Sage, I have a Snugglesafe and wondered if it was "sealed" enough to pop into their water to stop it freezing over during the day? Has anyone tried this and how did it go?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
