Winter brings many challenges for the backyard chicken-keeper, and frozen water is chief among them. You can make your own waterer heater for use with either metal or plastic waterers. It will cost less than $10, cost pennies to run and you can complete the project in under ten minutes! 
We had record-breaking, sub-zero temperatures for long periods of time in 2010 here in Connectictut and my waterers never iced over the way they used to without these heaters. It doesn’t seem as though a humble, 40 watt lightbulb should be able to produce enough warmth to keep the water in a plastic waterer from icing over, but remarkably, it does!
Supplies:
-
10″, metal cookie tin (available at most dollar & thrift stores & likely in your garage or basement)
-
lamp assembly kit (available oniline, at hardware & home improvement stores OR buy a thrift store/tag sale lamp and take it apart)0
- 40 watt, incandescent light bulb (in deep-freeze conditions, use a 60 watt bulb)(in light of the government phase-out, some users recommend 40 watt candelabra bulbs or CFL bulbs, but I have not, so I cannot vouch for their effectiveness)
- Drill with 3/8″ drill bit
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Drill a hole in the side of the cookie tin.
2. String the pre-threaded lamp stem assembly through the hole & tighten the screw on the stem.
3. Screw in the light bulb. Voila!
TO USE:
Put the top on the cookie tin and place the tin on a cinder block or another level surface in the chicken run. Plug into a GFI outlet. Place metal or plastic waterer on top of the water heater when freezing temperatures are anticipated. Disconnect when not in use or use a ThermoCube to turn the unit on when temperatures reache 35°F.
When I made my first cookie tin water heater, I found it difficult to believe that this device, which barely felt warm to the touch, could possibly do the intended job. I was only convinced the first frigid morning I went out into the run and found no ice ring to chip out of the waterer. You may have to try it to believe it too.
Kathy Shea Mormino
Affectionately known internationally as The Chicken Chick®, Kathy Shea Mormino shares a fun-loving, informative style to raising backyard chickens. …Read on
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Winter brings many challenges for the backyard chicken-keeper, and frozen water is chief among them. You can make your own waterer heater for use with either metal or plastic waterers. It will cost less than $10, cost pennies to run and you can complete the project in under ten minutes!
We had record-breaking, sub-zero temperatures for long periods of time in 2010 here in Connectictut and my waterers never iced over the way they used to without these heaters. It doesn’t seem as though a humble, 40 watt lightbulb should be able to produce enough warmth to keep the water in a plastic waterer from icing over, but remarkably, it does!
Supplies:
-
10″, metal cookie tin (available at most dollar & thrift stores & likely in your garage or basement)
-
lamp assembly kit (available oniline, at hardware & home improvement stores OR buy a thrift store/tag sale lamp and take it apart)0
- 40 watt, incandescent light bulb (in deep-freeze conditions, use a 60 watt bulb)(in light of the government phase-out, some users recommend 40 watt candelabra bulbs or CFL bulbs, but I have not, so I cannot vouch for their effectiveness)
- Drill with 3/8″ drill bit
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Drill a hole in the side of the cookie tin.
2. String the pre-threaded lamp stem assembly through the hole & tighten the screw on the stem.
3. Screw in the light bulb. Voila!
TO USE:
Put the top on the cookie tin and place the tin on a cinder block or another level surface in the chicken run. Plug into a GFI outlet. Place metal or plastic waterer on top of the water heater when freezing temperatures are anticipated. Disconnect when not in use or use a ThermoCube to turn the unit on when temperatures reache 35°F.
When I made my first cookie tin water heater, I found it difficult to believe that this device, which barely felt warm to the touch, could possibly do the intended job. I was only convinced the first frigid morning I went out into the run and found no ice ring to chip out of the waterer. You may have to try it to believe it too.
Excellent idea!! This is something that I’ve been meaning to do!
Excellent suggestion. I built one in minutes using spare lamp parts and a tin my wife did not want. Mine kept the lid at 95 degrees with only a 15 watt bulb. Great idea.
Is it safe to use a 100 watt bulb?
Yes, but you shouldn’t need a light with that much wattage unless it gets in the sub double digit temps.
I use the nipple style waterers because my chickens get dirt in their water otherwise. Is there anything to do to keep those from freezing? I typically put the Igloo cooler in the garage at night and that does provide some protection from freezing.
If they’re the style that retains water around the nipple, no, there is nothing you can do.
Wow! I’m amazed – this works like a charm! 19° in the coop, with wind gusting 24 mph outside, and not a trace of ice in the metal gutter of the waterer. Finally, some peace of mind!