I DO NOT LIKE IT!

[Guinea Goonie]

Quote:
Maybe you need one of those REALLY long and expensive and bright colored and .... Extention cords ? !

I remember the last place we had or was it a nightmare... anyhow, We had 200 feet of extention cords out to the horse waterer and then from there pluged into to that was another 50 feet to the portable building we were using as a chicken house. 3 Fans going so the poor chickens would not pant themselves to death. They could get out, but the sun was relentless.

Here, we are the ones who are spoiled. water at every building and electric at every turn.

 

[mothergoose1963]

We also have extension cords running every which way for heated waterers and heaters in the pools. I saw a post last year where someone bought an old crock pot at the Salvation Army and used that for a waterer. I thought that sounded like a cheap alternative to the heated waterers--unfortunately, I had already bought mine!

 

[BethinIrving]

Mom2emAll, everything will be ok! LOL!! And I'll bet you are right on the mark -- they probably did do it on purpose. Mine sure do.

I'm in Texas and we've had a slight touch of cold weather. Nothing like the cold I've seen described on some of these postings, and I always wonder when I read them, how in the world does everyone manage their flocks in weather like that?

My birds are so spoiled it's unreal. When it comes to food, I was even adding canned corn at one point to their crumbles. They absolutely hate those crumbles. When they were chicks I had planned on feeding them crumbles at least 5 months. They sure weren't having any of that. Before they feathered out, they were fussing at me to let them out of the cage so they could catch bugs.

Now I mix the crumbles with scratch and wild bird food. And they get leftovers.

That water problem is a pain in the get-along. I have water back there but still have to refill everything at least three to four times a day because the goose gets it muddy.

I hope someone smart and creative can come up with something we can do about this.

And you have my understanding sympathy for having to slosh water in freezing weather.

 

[Mom 2em All]

I am feeling better now.

Of course, it is time to go back out and see if their water is frozen.

I have electricity out there. I have a heat lamp in the coop. However, putting their water in there just gives them an uncontrollable urge to build shavings mountains so they can fill the waterer up with shavings. If I hang it- well, some of them are very small banties and I worry that I wont get the height right to bypass shavings and still allowing the small ones to drink.

Its not giving them the water that I mind doing- its carrying it out there and no matter how careful I am, it sloshes. What starts out as warm water quickly turns cold when it is plastered against my skin in temps that are in the teens.

I remember that I was going to buy an electric waterbowl so they wouldnt have frozen water. Must have gotten distracted ordering hatching eggs back then, though- because LOOK! Now its freezing out there, and I still havent gotten it yet. Maybe that is what I will ask Santa for this year.

 

[Their Other Mother]

What are you carrying the water in? I would get a 5 gallon bucket wtih a lid from home depot or some place. Even if you can only carry it half filled, pop the lid on and no more splashes. As for the cold, Sorry, I can't even relate. Still have mid 80 daytime temps and I haven't even gotten out a sweater yet for the nights.

 

[Chicken Woman]

:cdIf you give them some oatmeal mixed with cracked corn they will probably eat it all up. My girls wont eat whole corn but they will eat cracked corn in there oatmeal.

 

[truechick]

I use a two gallon watering can to take water out to the girls. It dosen't slosh like a buket does and i can aim the water at the waterer with less spashing. I have a heated dog bowl for when it freezes.

 

[RW19290]

Quote:
I live in CA were it still feels like summer. 89 F forecast tomorrow.

 

[Katy]

I too have to carry water to my pens from the house once it gets too cold to mess with hoses. Instead of buckets to carry the water I save and use the big plastic jugs that cat litter comes in. They're much easier to carry and the water doesn't slosh out all over me.

 

[Akane]

Hot water freezes just as fast as cold water. It was a science experiment in high school. The greater the temp difference the more heat is lost so that the hot water will freeze in about the same amount of time as the cold water. The birds might enjoy hot water (there are some arguments for health issues giving hot things to animals out in the cold) but it won't help keep your waterers from freezing or give them water much longer than if you just used cool water. Only thing hot water is really useful for is when your stable pipes freeze you can use hot water to melt snow in the trough so you get away with hauling half as many buckets from the house.

Until I get electricity run I've actually kept my water from freezing as fast by burying it in the bedding for insulation. My coop has a heavy duty wood floor (old hardwood several inch thick boards not plywood) along with thick layers of shavings and then straw. If I settle the little rubber feeder filled with water down into the bedding it will take 3 times as long to freeze and they usually drink it or it freezes before it's filled with bedding.

To haul water, trust me I've hauled lots of it with 8horses and power outages or pipe issues, use the water refill containers with caps. Most grocery stores sell ro refill water for a few cents per gallon and the refill containers hold 3-5 gallons for about $3 each. These have handles and caps. I can carry two 3gallons or one 3 and one 5 without spilling a drop or hitting my legs just by holding the handles and letting them hang at my sides.