My top method for keeping water unfrozen

[Digger]

As much as I love the convenience and dependability of heated water bowls, I don't have electrical outlets all over my homestead to make it happen. I've tried different things over the years to keep the water unfrozen. My new go-to method is to keep the water moving through the use of fake fish. Some of the fish operate through solar energy and some are battery powered (battery lasts for a whole season in my experience) and they're small enough to be non-obtrusive. I've only tried this with the smaller animals that are unlikely to swallow the fish like chickens, quails, and the barn cats. It's an inexpensive solution that's worked a treat for me. What do you do to keep the water from freezing over?

 

[Henderson]

I don't use metal tanks in the winter because they freeze more quickly than thick plastic tanks. So, I switch out the tanks and add a milk jug filled with a saltwater solution. The milk jugs buoyancy makes the water ripple which helps keep the ice from freezing. It isn't really effective once the temps reach the single digits though. At that point, it's just a matter of doing rounds several times a day to break the ice up. Even heated tanks can freeze when it gets that cold.

 

[William Van]

Wherever your water is, try to keep it moving. Like a drip system with hot water. Water that is moving tends not to freeze as quickly as still water. Think of the pipes in your house. If you have exposed water lines outside that feed in, you leave the inside taps dripping/light stream overnight so the lines outside don't freeze.

 

[Jonny B Goode]

This is going to be a brutal winter in some areas so, really, the only way to keep water from freezing up totally is to keep breaking up the ice that forms

 

[Farmallh]

That's a great idea! I knew you had to keep water moving to keep it from freezing. I never thought about using fake fish. That's very intelligent! We use heated water bowls.