I DO NOT LIKE IT!

[Skip]

Try placing a heat lamp near the waterer. It worked in my chicken coop even in below 20 degrees.

 

[ironjerry]

I use old water cooler containers to carry water. They are 3 gallons so not too heavy and 3 fit in wheelbarrow just right. No sloshing and plenty to fill my waterers for a 24 hour period.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

Quote:
That is a good idea. Also, one could use some of those plastic containers that cat litter come in. If you don't have water cooler containers or a house cat, you could go to Walmart (or store of choice) and buy 2, 3, or 5 gal plastic gas cans. These also have a comfortable handle and handy spout, which makes pouring nice and neat.

I hope this is not redundant. I didn't read the whole thread.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
At present, very happy I live in Phoenix!

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

i am from southern california where it was summer all year long....coming out here (no offense) SUCKS! i guarantee you that i hate the cold more than anyone in the world...i wish i could put all my animals in my bedroom with me in the winter! seriously though, i am thinking of putting, at least the chickens, in the dog kennel in the basement for a while. i hate watering! that is the worst! at least for some of the horses we just got an automatic waterer. once i get brave enough to let the chickens back out, i will make them drink out of that. but just getting out of my house period is tough. thats why i am on here so much now, because i am ALWAYS (when possible) indoors. i hibernate in the winter and fall and parts of spring. im a summer person all the way....or california....well....same thing. i dont even like getting in my truck to go anywhere because it take 20 min for the heater to work. i can let it sit and warm up normally bc it sucks up gass like you wouldnt believe...gosh it feels good to vent sometimes about how i hate the weather. and sorry, but, its so nice to know there are people as miserable as i am lol.....most people i talk to dont act like anythings changed....this is the only reason that i will not hunt....tooooooo dang cold....i want to get a light bulb and heater to my chicken coops, but i would have to run an extention cord through the paddock where the horses are and i dont want them to get hurt. also i dont want to dig and burry it bc, again too cold for any of that nonesense.....also cant put it up high, nothing to hang it on....wheeeewww....animals are tuff

 

[ml]

Just save your empty laundry detergent bottles, rinse out well and reuse them with caps on to carry water to the peeps. I use a small wagon to pull it out to the coop and refil what ever needs to be refiled. Like the rubber dishes/bowls when the freezing temps hit at night. Ice can be broken out of them easily and wont break the rubber. If the hoses are frozen, fill like 8 of the bottles and head out to the barn and coop area.

Warm water is offered each am to my flock and horses.

ML

 

[MichiganWoods]

After spilling water on myself a few times, I started keeping a few empty 2 liter pop bottles that I cleaned out and use for taking water out to my chickies. I clean the water dishes in the house and take them out empty, with a 2-liter under my arm.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I don't get freezing water anymore

We have to wait on electricity for our coop until summer because it's been a real pain trying to find an electrician, but I ran a heavy duty extension cord in through the wall (sprayfoamed to seal it), with an outdoor hanging light set, and a 100W bulb in that for light and just enough warmth to keep the waterer flowing. Sounds dangerous, but it's not lol, everything is off the ground, and the light is on a timer.

Works great, now I just have to solve the problem of the chickens making their waterer into "part of their coop," and filling it with shavings, here come the cinder blocks.

 

[Badhbh]

Heated base. I want to make sweet whopee with mine I love it so much.

The nice thing is that it doesn't even come on until the temp hits 35*. So it's not like it's always on. After the first couple of mornings of chipping ice out of a galvanized waterer, I went and got one.
Since you're having issues with the wood shavings, may I share what I did? I had some scrap 2x4s out in the barn that were pretty chopped up. I made a clear spot on the floor. Then put the 2x4s in a square-ish shape in the clear spot. They seem to be a bit too heavy for the girls to move in the course of normal scratchings. It keeps the shavings SOMEWHAT at bay- they still creep over- and I plunk the waterer right down in the middle. It makes a shavings-dam. Every few days i'll go out and clear the shavings, but it really did help

My water hose froze up the other morning, so i'm now on the milk jug wagon.. two jugs filled in the morning, one trip out. Refill in the evening, another trip out

Beats the snot outta buckets.

 

[mothergoose1963]

We have been spending the last few weeks preparing for winter. Here, in the frozen tundra of Iowa, winters can be brutal and preparing in advance can allieve many of the difficulties. My biggest problem is water. Keeping water hydrants from seizing up, hauling sloshing buckets of water and keeping pools and waterers thawed and functioning is a never ending struggle. Needless to say, my electric bills soar in the winter keeping poultry comortable. We learned by putting heat tape around each hydrant and then placing a five gallon pail over the head of the hydrant when it wasnt in use was the best way to keep them thawed and functional. Still, I had to haul hoses to each barn and pen, then haul the hoses back up a steep hill to make sure they drained before the ice clogged them and rendered them useless. There is no getting around it, there is just a lot more work in the winter time.

Another hazard for me has been slipping on the ice. You cant have waterfowl and pools without lots of ice! After falling on my !@@ a few times (I am so graceful!

)I discovered some contraptions that slip on my boots call Yaktraxs. They were great, but kept slipping off of my boots and I would lose them in the snow. This year I ordered the PRO version of Yaktrax that have a velcro strap that secure them to my boots. I also ordered waterproof gloves. It didnt take long for water to soak through my leather gloves and in sub-zero temps my fingers froze quickly last year.

I love the gas container for water idea that I read on here--now I cant remember whose great idea that was--but thanks for it anyway. That sounds much easier than lugging a really long hose up and down a hill to make sure it drains properly! I am going to try that this year. I have a Gator, I will just fill the back with my gas cans filled with water and drive them to the barn. It was twenty below here for almost two solid weeks last year. I am hoping we dont have a repeat of that this year! Thanks for the great ideas!!!