Managing Water in Your Winter Coop

While poultry can survive for a while without food (including their nutritious daily Black Soldier Fly supplement), in the best conditions, chickens can only live for about 48 hours without water. They are certainly not thriving in either of these scenarios. While those who maintain their flocks in Northern regions are used to dealing with frozen water, the recent deep freeze in Virginia reminded us that the middle latitudes can sometimes experience this issue as well. When the water freezes, chickens can no longer access it, robbing them of essential hydration.

One chicken requires .5l or about 1 pint of clean water each day, not just for hydration, but to support proper digestion. With a diet consisting primarily of feed pellets, insects (like Black Soldier Fly Larvae BSFL) or solid grains, water is necessary in abundance to aide in the breaking down of food in the chicken’s crop. Without a steady source of water, digestion issues, such as sour crop, can occur. Chickens also need water to help regulate their body temperature for egg laying and more.

Ideally, one waterer should be available for every 6-8 chickens, preferably placed apart to afford access to all the birds and maintain spacing from the dominant hen. There are many types of waterers to accommodate multiple situations.

Some considerations when picking a waterer with cold weather in mind are: material, heated vs non heated, surface area, and ground-based vs elevated. Each of these have a bearing on successfully keeping your water supply from freezing.

Cold weather brings the possibility that freezing temperatures will render the water undrinkable. 

Wintertime dehydration is a huge threat to the over-all health of all your livestock, but it can be mitigated.

Here are a few immediate courses of action to keep your flock hydrated during sudden temperature drops:

1. Check those waterers frequently!

If heated, ensure the power is still flowing and no cracks have developed from expansion as ice is formed. Break up ice as it forms and make sure the water stays clean.

2. Use black containers.

Black absorbs and retains heat which will help to keep the water temperature above freezing.

3. Place ping pong balls or saltwater bottles in the waterer.

The motion of these items floating in the water will help keep it from freezing. For the saltwater bottles, choose a clean bottle that has a tight screwing cap. Dissolve 1/3 cup of salt in 3 cups of boiling water, or as much salt as will dissolve in the water. Let the saltwater cool slightly before filling your bottle. Tightly secure the cap on the bottle and place the bottle in your flock’s fresh drinking water. Do not place salt water directly in your flock’s water.

A combination of black containers and objects bobbing in the water can help keep your flock’s water from freezing during cold spells.

 

Utilize windowpanes in conjunction with the above suggestions to form a structure that not only keeps the wind off the waterer but provides some solar heat to the mix.

 

Long term pre-gaming ideas that will help shape the battlefield against frozen water can be incorporated into your all-season flock management plan include:

1. Build a permanent greenhouse around the waterer. This would include elevation to keep the waterer off the ground and provide any power needs for heated waterers.

2. Insulate the chicken coop and consider heating options depending on weather variables and resources available. Then move the watering operations inside until the weather warms a bit.

It is essential to accommodate cold weather diets with additional portions of black soldier fly larvae for added protein and carbohydrates by making sure your flock has access to clean, fresh, and unfrozen drinking water.

BSFL from Egg Brigade are an excellent source of protein, fats and essential minerals harvested in the United States under strict quality-controlled environments. Available as a single purchase or ongoing subscription, we offer 1lb, 2lb, 5lb, and 10lb options to accommodate any short / long diet plan, as well as any contingency preparations or wintertime needs.

We would love to see what other Winter DIY ideas you come up with to prevent frozen waterers and keep your flock hydrated! Let us know in the comments.

 

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