Hi All,
This is my first post and I'm very excited to share that I got my first egg today. I will post my first egg picture soon, to the appropriate thread.
I have many questions, but for now I'm thinking ahead a bit to the winter. I live in Wisconsin and we are below freezing for much of the winter. We have an insulated coop, so I hope that will keep my ladies warm this winter. I'm wondering what to do about water. Right now, I do have a large plastic waterer in the coop but also keep an open bucket in the run that I fill with fresh water everyday. Does anyone else just use an open bucket for water? It seems to work quite well and is much easier to fill. So my question is... could I use a steel open bucket on top of an electric base, inside the coop, to keep it from freezing this winter? Then I can just bring out a fresh pail everyday. Or is it necessary to use a fount type waterer? I of course want my girls to be safe, but I do not really have an appropriate place to fill a water fount during the winter mnoths. What type of waterers do you folks in colder climates use? And how do you fill it in the winter when outdoor hoses are no longer an option?
I have 1 ee, 4 RIR, 2 australorps, 5 bo, and 2 slw. And I think it was one of the SLW that laid her first egg for me today, but I'm not completely sure.
Thanks for your sugestions and help,
JPichler
This is my first post and I'm very excited to share that I got my first egg today. I will post my first egg picture soon, to the appropriate thread.
I have many questions, but for now I'm thinking ahead a bit to the winter. I live in Wisconsin and we are below freezing for much of the winter. We have an insulated coop, so I hope that will keep my ladies warm this winter. I'm wondering what to do about water. Right now, I do have a large plastic waterer in the coop but also keep an open bucket in the run that I fill with fresh water everyday. Does anyone else just use an open bucket for water? It seems to work quite well and is much easier to fill. So my question is... could I use a steel open bucket on top of an electric base, inside the coop, to keep it from freezing this winter? Then I can just bring out a fresh pail everyday. Or is it necessary to use a fount type waterer? I of course want my girls to be safe, but I do not really have an appropriate place to fill a water fount during the winter mnoths. What type of waterers do you folks in colder climates use? And how do you fill it in the winter when outdoor hoses are no longer an option?
I have 1 ee, 4 RIR, 2 australorps, 5 bo, and 2 slw. And I think it was one of the SLW that laid her first egg for me today, but I'm not completely sure.
Thanks for your sugestions and help,
JPichler
