Frozen water

Chickens need fresh water all day long!  At night they are in the coop and sleeping, unless the bitter cold makes us move food and water in, they just sleep at night.  When it is so cold, how do we keep the water from freezing?  Well, there are many ways I researched to accomplish this feat.  A heater from the bottom can work, but with our set up it was a better idea to wrap the water can with heating tape. This I researched, then found at the feed store.  That day they were out of under water fount heaters anyway so the heat tape was my option.  Usually it is used for pipes you don't want to freeze, such as outdoor spigots.  I recently needed to re-tape one of our water cans and here is the result:

 

It is basically an electric cord wrapped in plastic so it won't get wet.  The orange does not get covered, but the rest can be secured with electrical tape.  I washed this outside piece of the water can, then dried it so the tape would stick.  The green cord is from our previous clothes line, and is what we hang the feeder and water can with out in the coop.  This somewhat short piece of heat tape is working well for our can, unless it is super cold outside.  If we hang it in the coop it usually makes it though a cold night, but the extra moisture in the coop can lead to frostbite for the ladies and Mr. Roo.  He has had some issues with the tips of his comb and frostbite, so I try to avoid that at all costs.  Those beautiful brown eggs are almost all water, so if they are without water even for a couple hours during the day, egg production will go down.  Here's to another cold day, with water! 

 

 A day without snow, so free ranging was a must! 

We have an extension cord from the outside plug by the house that reaches out to the coop.  Then the heat cord is hooked up and we have water!  This was a warm day since the water can on the right is also liquid without a cord.