Inexpensive chicken water heater

[Beekissed]

That reminds me of a tomcat my sister used to have. He would disappear for a couple of months and every time he came home he'd have more pieces missing. He was born without a tail to begin with, then got his jaw broke from playing with the horse's tails while they were eating...got a swift kick, then got run over in the hay field by the hay mow~ so he was already short a tail, part of a foot and an ear, with a tooth sticking up and over his upper lip.

He'd come back in with scars, pieces missing, etc. and just love on everybody, be a big ol' sweety and pretty soon he'd head on out to go see a lady. One day he just never made it back home. And that's the way of tomcats, I suppose.

 

[AMKuska]

Ok so the idea that Gentlemen suggests is wrong on so many levels. He buried an electrical cord that is not rated for being buried at all... conduit or not, that surge protector will likely be toast(if it doesn't cause a fire) after a few high humidity days, not to mention that particular plug has 2 plugs facing down toward the board. Ever see a tip of a towel "wick" water? That board is going to do the same thing right into those two downward facing plugs, not to mention that if it gets around zero the bulb(not being rated for outdoor use) will just explode(Thermal shock).

We like to use this: https://www.strombergschickens.com/product/universal-electric-fount-heater/fount-heaters
Yeah its about $50 but its wiring is insulated, grounded, virtually chicken proof, and only turns on when temperatures get below 34f. This means we just leave it plugged in all winter and don't have to run outside if it starts to get cold.You should be able to easily find these online or a decent feed store(then you can actually look at it and decide). Its only downside is the smart chickens figure it out and huddle around it lol. My suggestion is don't reinvent the wheel to save a few bucks, spending a little more for a dependable water heater COULD mean the difference between life and death.

Edited to add: My OH wrote this. He's a cable guy, and I asked him to answer the question since he knows a bit about wires and such.

 

[Jared77]

What if they had limited access to the drinker but full time access to water? That way the bird couldn't get to the electric wires? That would help shelter the drinker & keep it warm.... I'm just thinking out loud here