No Freeze Winter Watering System (for coturnix quails)

here's something I'm trying with a lot of success this winter 2023. easy peasy and barely any setup if you want to switch your current water system over to something like this. Hope this helps others out there not need to cull back so much for winter and spend less time dethawing water bowls and refilling them.

[@vickikenton5439]

Tons of great hands on experience! Thank you for explaining all the nitty gritty!!

[@featheredknechtionshomestead]

You’re so welcome! Hope it helps! I’m so glad we finally found a way that works for us

[@dawns.2492]

Nice one Kelli! Love your tips! I get down to 22 at night regularly right now. 30 may be the high but later on we'll be lucky to get 17 for the high. I heated each cage to just above freezing with our DIY heaters. This is the second winter with them.

[@featheredknechtionshomestead]

Thanks Dawn! If you’re heating the cages up you’ll be good to go for a lot of things. Do you have a video on how you did that?

[@dawns.2492]

@@featheredknechtionshomestead No I don't have a video, but I do have pictures and in the winter I put plywood over the sides of the cages. The backs are solid anyway. Then on the front I snap plexiglass on. They are not air tight. The heaters hang on the front over the wire and plexiglass pieces around it.
I do love it because I can turn the heaters up to hold 7 day olds in the winter and then decrease temp daily. The heaters are built into plastic ammo boxes and hold an inkbird controller. Very simple design.

[@featheredknechtionshomestead]

@@dawns.2492 wow that’s amazing! My down the road goal is to brood chicks outside but we can’t do it as safely as I’d like atm so it’ll be a process

[@dawns.2492]

@@featheredknechtionshomestead My cages are on the porch. We cover it with plastic in the winter so I can put young ones out in heated cages. But say 10 day olds, when I open the door of the cage to change water or feed they get a blast of cold air. Not wind just real cold air. I try not to hatch during the deep part of winter but here I am doing a Christmas hatch lol. I'll see how it goes. I know Jan and Feb are the worst.

[@graftedbranchhomestead]

Nice. Great tips! And could save allot of problems! I love those waterers and how you have them installed. I need to get some of those.

[@featheredknechtionshomestead]

Those were recommended to us by Guidroz Family Farm and I’m so glad we switched. They’ve been so much better overall any time of year

[@featheredfriendshomestead]

Thanks for the tip we used to use buckets with nipples on them

[@edgotbait]

You could use heat tape for plumbing

[@featheredknechtionshomestead]

I’ve heard of doing that but so far haven’t really had to do that and plus if I have to go out later at night I get the eggs before they freeze too

[@dsgardenadventures]

Awesome.