[chrismahon]

We empty the 11 drinkers completely and part refill them in the mornings- just enough for the day. We also top-up with warm water during the day if they start to freeze. We don't add anything to the water except ACV once a month -it makes no perceptable difference to the freezing temperature.

We also use plastic kiddies play-pool balls in the drinkers. They are there allow us to tell the water level from a distance but only work if the balls are a different colour to the drinker base. Thought they might help with the freezing but they make no difference at all.

[Eve]

Had several replies on the Canadian forum, and mostly they also seem to bring fresh water to their birds once or twice a day. They're not too worried about the chickens being without water for a few hours, that's a relief!

This is the forum I posted the query on and their replies - I can't even imagine living in -40C, brrrrr!!

http://wcps.forumotion.ca/t3122-drinking-water-question

Luckily little frost for a few days now, though the snow has just started.   

[Mel Rice]

Mine just have to drink quickly at the moment when I put water out at the start and end of morning/eve feeding rounds. Im sure Ive seen a solar powered thing that keeps a hole clear in the ice for garden ponds (if I didnt then there should be one!)
Ive no power in the hen house and even if the chooks all moved to the stable, the horses water freezes at the moment. (the chooks like the residual heat and any goodies left in the stable esp in these temps!)

[Big Light]

Move to Hawai!  or just take out warmed water each morning

[Smalltime]

I dug out a very small pond and bought the plastic mould for it from the garden centre pretty cheap when my koi got too big for their tank. I have a pump in there and that stops the water freezing and will work down to temperatures of about -30 or so from memory. The water never freezes over completely and its only about 6 x 3 foot. It also attracts a lot of birds in the freezing cold as they drink from it which is a bonus.
I know if you have power to run to a pond pump next to the coop, then you could use some sort of heater in the coop but the pond pumps are designed to use virtually no electricty (its costs pretty much nothing to run) and it avoids the need to mess around with electricity and water in a wooden shed or similar.
Just a thought.

[Eve]

Hawaii... we wish! Just got back from the tropics, spent most of the time in a hammock on the beach under palm trees...
It's not the work for ourselves that was the issue, it's the hours the birds spend without water. But it turns out that they'll be allright after all, so carrying warm water a few times a day it is. 

[bazzais]

If work hours are not an issue - just give them water a few times a day when they want it or look at you a bit peckish.  If hours are a problem just give them water with food in the morning, afternoon, evening and before night.

Baz

[P6te]

I've run power out to the hen houses (an extension lead will suffice as a lash up) and have a heat lamp in one house over a plastic waterer and a heated pad under a galvanised one in the other. Both work fine. When the weather is very cold I leave them on 24 / 7 but when its only cold at night I plug them into a simple timer.

[JulieWall]

We keep our hopper inside the hen house and the bird's body heat stops it from freezing. the food hopper is in there too or all the wild birds eat their feed and we get through four times as much.

[Steph Hen]

I know it hasn't been mentioned, but hot water freezes faster than cold water. Although I think offering tepid water is a benefit sometimes, my dog will drink a lot more tepid water in one go than water that's sitting with a rim of ice on it. I provided him with a bucket of tepid for a good drink, then emptied and filled with boiling water, thinking that the boiling water would be still be water in several hours time... but it actually freezes before cold water. Weird.
When it was cold last winter, my birds got to drink twice a day, morning and evening, they were lively, healthy, ate well and laid right through from November, so I think this regime was acceptable.

[Stereo]

I've seen some pretty neat contraptions using rotting compost to heat water.

[firemansam]

there are plenty of small heat pads and wires out there for use with reptiles.
I use a soft flexible cable for wrapping around branches in a lizard tank. I coil it up place it in a freezer bag and lay it under the drinker.
My shed has power in a position behind wire so it cant be pecked. Then the heat wire is plugged into a timer. Uses very little power and my water NEVER freezes. Been doing this for 10 yrs. You can buy them for a few quid on ebay.

[JulieWall]

I read somewhere that hens lay better if their drinking water is below a certain temp. Can't vouch for that but I have found that they lay better if the water in the hopper is changed completely every day rather than just topped up.

[goosepimple]

I think they like it a bit warmer, as do goats and Seph Hens idea of a good warmish drink twice a day would be ideal, also if the hens can get a peck at some grass, it's likely to have a watery residue on it or water content in it which may help. 


Perhaps try food with a water content in it now and then - such as a treat of madiera cake (chooks love it) which you have poured a bit of warm water on - likely they'll eat it and at least you know they have had some water intake.  And you can always have a big doorstep slice yourself with a cup of steaming tea while you watch them happily peck away. 

[Torrin37]

This is something I'm really interested in as my land is 10 miles from home so changing water 4 or 5 times a day isn't practical for me.

there are plenty of small heat pads and wires out there for use with reptiles.
I use a soft flexible cable for wrapping around branches in a lizard tank. I coil it up place it in a freezer bag and lay it under the drinker.
My shed has power in a position behind wire so it cant be pecked. Then the heat wire is plugged into a timer. Uses very little power and my water NEVER freezes. Been doing this for 10 yrs. You can buy them for a few quid on ebay

Do you think the heat wires / pads would run off of a solar panel? or maybe a battery?