12/18/2008 - HOW TO KEEP CHICKENS WATER FROM FREEZING
After scouring the Internet and trying all kinds of different solutions, I finally found a solution that WORKS! My chicken water never froze during two weeks of weather that never made it out of the 20's.
No, it's not pretty, as you can see from the photo above. But it works!
First, I purchased this product, pictured below:
I wrapped this product around my gravity-fed 5-gallon plastic chicken waterer, then wrapped a hot water heater blanket around the waterer, trimming the blanket to fit and then wrapping duct tape around it all.
Not pretty, but does work! The pipe heater is thermostatically controlled, so it only draws electricity when needed. Kept the water cold, but not freezing!
Total cost: About $60. Well worth it!