6 Best Heated Livestock Waterers For Mixed Animal Farms Old Farmers Swear By
Ensure your mixed livestock have ice-free water. We review 6 time-tested, durable, and efficient heated waterers that veteran farmers swear by.
There’s a special kind of dread that sets in on a sub-zero morning before you’ve even had your coffee. It’s the thought of the axe, the frozen water trough, and the numb fingers that follow. For a small farmer, winter isn’t just about shorter days; it’s about the constant battle to keep fresh, unfrozen water available for your animals. Dehydration is a real threat in the cold, impacting everything from milk production to a horse’s risk of colic.
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Why Iced-Over Troughs Are a Farmer’s Nightmare
The daily ritual of breaking ice is more than just a chore; it’s a relentless drain on your most limited resource: time. Swinging a sledgehammer or an axe at a frozen stock tank before sunrise gets old fast. It’s hard, cold work that has to be done, often twice a day, regardless of the weather or what else is on your plate.
This isn’t just about convenience. When animals can’t drink freely, they don’t drink enough. A dehydrated cow gives less milk, a dehydrated goat is more susceptible to illness, and a dehydrated horse is a prime candidate for impaction colic. Providing a constant source of liquid water is one of the fundamental pillars of good animal husbandry, and in the winter, that requires a reliable tool.
Ritchie OmniFount 2: The Automatic Fill Champ
Keep your livestock hydrated all winter with the Ritchie Omni Fount 2. This automatic, heated waterer features easy maintenance, a large access panel, and energy-efficient insulation for reliable performance.
When you’re ready to invest in a permanent, automatic solution, the Ritchie OmniFount is the standard. These units are built like tanks, with a stainless steel trough inside a heavily insulated polyethylene body. You plumb it directly to a water line, and it keeps a small amount of fresh water available at all times, refilling automatically as animals drink.
The OmniFount 2 model is perfect for a fenceline setup, allowing you to water two separate pastures with one unit. It’s a significant upfront investment in both money and installation—you’ll need to run power and a water line below the frost line. But the payoff is years of not having to think about water, which is a freedom few pieces of farm equipment can offer.
Little Giant 20-Quart Heated Bucket for Stalls
Not every situation calls for a permanent, 100-gallon trough. For an animal in a stall, a sick pen, or a temporary enclosure, the simple heated bucket is a lifesaver. The Little Giant 20-quart model is a common sight in barns everywhere for a reason: it’s simple, affordable, and it works.
The concept is straightforward: it’s a heavy-duty flat-back bucket with a heating element in the base and a protected power cord. You still have to fill it manually, but it completely eliminates the chore of chipping out a frozen block of ice every morning. Just be sure the cord is secured where a curious animal can’t chew on it. This is a perfect solution for individual animals or for bringing water into the barn where a larger system isn’t practical.
Behlen Super Trough: For Large Herds and Horses
If you’re watering more than a handful of animals in a single pasture, you need volume. The Behlen Super Trough, often found in 100-gallon or larger sizes, is a workhorse for small herds of cattle, a group of horses, or a mixed flock of sheep and goats in a dry lot. Its large thermal mass means the water itself helps resist freezing, so the heater doesn’t have to work as hard.
These are typically made of heavy-duty structural foam, which provides excellent insulation and can take a beating from a pushy cow or a kicking horse. They aren’t fancy, but they are incredibly durable and effective. The main tradeoff is energy consumption; heating that much water costs more, but it’s a necessary compromise when you need to serve a larger group from a single source.
Brower MF2E: The Most Energy-Efficient Choice
For those of us watching the electric bill, energy efficiency is a huge factor. Brower waterers are legendary for their low operating costs, thanks to smart design. They use an incredible amount of insulation and often feature a small drinking opening, sometimes covered by a ball or flap the animal pushes, minimizing heat loss to the cold air.
The Brower MF2E is a popular double-sided model that embodies this principle. Like the Ritchie, it’s a permanent, plumbed-in unit. Its efficiency comes from heating only the small amount of water in the drinking area, not a massive reservoir. This makes it an excellent choice for extremely cold climates where heating costs can become a major winter expense.
API Heated 16-Gallon Tub for Goats and Sheep
Goats and sheep have their own needs. A deep stock tank can be a hazard, and they often prefer to drink from a cleaner, more accessible source. The API 16-gallon heated tub hits the sweet spot. It’s large enough to water a small flock for a day but shallow enough to be safe and easy for them to use.
This is a plug-and-play unit with a built-in thermostat, so it only kicks on when the temperature drops near freezing. Its portability is a huge plus. You can move it from a winter paddock to a kidding pen without any hassle. It’s an uncomplicated, reliable solution perfectly sized for smaller livestock.
Miraco Lil’Spring 2800: Frost-Free Reliability
Miraco is another top name in the automatic waterer world, known for its tough, rust-proof poly construction. The Lil’Spring 2800 is a fantastic fenceline model that provides two separate drinking areas, keeping dominant animals from hogging the water source. The design is all about passive efficiency.
The water is protected by insulated ball closures that animals simply push down with their nose to drink. This simple lid system keeps water clean from debris and, more importantly, traps heat and keeps cold air out. When you combine that with the heavily insulated body, you get a waterer that stays frost-free with minimal energy use, even on the windiest days.
Key Features: Power Cords, Drains, and Materials
When you’re comparing models, a few details make a world of difference in daily use. First, the power cord. Always choose a unit with a steel-wrapped, anti-chew cord. Livestock get bored, and a frayed electrical cord in a wet environment is a disaster waiting to happen. Always plug into a GFCI-protected outlet.
A good drain is non-negotiable for any waterer larger than a bucket. A frozen trough full of dirty water is bad enough; trying to tip it over to clean it is a miserable, back-breaking job. Look for a large, easily accessible drain plug that allows you to empty and scrub the unit quickly. A frozen drain is a useless drain, so check for designs that protect it from freezing solid.
Finally, consider the materials. Stainless steel is incredibly durable and easy to sanitize but comes at a premium price. Modern structural foam or polyethylene plastics offer a great balance of toughness, excellent insulation, and affordability. For most mixed farm uses, a high-quality poly unit is the most practical and cost-effective choice.
Choosing the right heated waterer isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic investment in your animals’ health and your own sanity. The best choice depends entirely on your specific setup—the number and type of animals, your climate, and whether you need a portable or permanent solution. By trading a bit of money for a reliable tool, you buy back countless hours of hard labor and gain peace of mind knowing your animals have the fresh water they need to thrive all winter long.
