Bought a fancy heated chicken waterer for $60 and my hens just pooped in it all winter

I spent $60 on a heated poultry waterer from a farm supply store in Vermont last November and by January my girls had turned it into a frozen poop soup because they kept standing on the rim, has anyone else had luck with just a regular heated dog bowl instead?

2 comments

2 Comments

fox.jesse21d ago

@grace_fox3 pretty much nailed it with the dog bowl idea. I tried one of those heated chicken waterers last winter too and had the same exact problem. Ended up switching to a basic heated dog bowl from Tractor Supply for around $25 and it worked way better. The hens still try to perch on the edge sometimes but the bowl is shallow enough that the poop just falls out instead of floating in the water. Not a perfect fix but beats throwing another $60 down the drain.

grace_fox321d ago

Read some backyard chicken forum that said the heated dog bowls work fine as long as you don't get the super cheap plastic ones. The hens still might try to sit on it though, mine treat anything warm like a nest.