If you are like me, you likely favor things made of metal over plastic. I tend to get more years out of metal products. Why talk about a winter plastic waterer then?
I have owned the galvanized steel waterer in the past. We got a couple years out of them before the constant pecking deteriorated the galvanized coating and started to rust. I did like the ease of filling them and no complicated flipping motion like the vacuum style plastic waterer.
Enter the EZ fill plastic waterer by Harris Farms. We have multiples of these and even rigged one with a plastic auto fill float for constant water level from a supply hose. The float design in the base keeps the water bowl filled while allowing us to open the lid and add water easily. Cleaning is admittedly more involved which we do on Saturdays during the summer.
Older models of this waterer had issues with a two part base float that would eventually fill with water. The reservoir would drain out and the waterer was not much help until the float was caulked. My new ones have a solid single piece float that fixed this problem.
Waterer recommendations aside, plastic waterers can run into a complication during the freezing months. How to keep them from freezing and breaking.
Poultry waterer heater base
Outside of the one or two integrated plastic waterer with heaters in the base the metal heating base is the most common solution. I have zero experience with the integrated waters and cannot comment on them other than they are vacuum design and that puts them in a less liked category for me.
Thermostats controlled and only on during freezing temperature this is a great and lasting solution. We have had ours as long as we have had poultry and it is still running perfectly.
I have not checked modern heating bases, yet when I purchased mine there was a nice warning against plastic waterers. My solution to this issue was a spare roofing shingle!
The extra layer keeps the plastic waterer from melting. We have never had the water freeze in our part of Virginia. I have been using this trick now into the 3rd winter!