- Jan 30, 2009
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When its too cold for my nipple buckets I use the black rubber bowls from TSC. when they freeze, I just turn them upside down, stomp on them & the ice comes out. I have also used small plastic buckets. A couple of hits with a hammer on the sides, loosens up the ice. Just have to be careful you don't hit too hard to break the plastic.
10 eggs today. WHY didn't I put a light in the large coop last year? I don't have enough birds to feed them without them laying. Silly me, I chose breeds I liked, not ones known for laying ability. I'm learning tho. I have 2 hens of some production breed (person I raised them for decided she didn't want to add them "in the winter". Blah) I can't wait for them to start laying so I can hatch their eggs and have some more green eggs. (probably light green, since they will lay light brown eggs)
Rancher, I highly recommend heated waterers. Saves me a LOT of work. I go down once a day with 2 buckets, one empty, one full. I pour the left over water into the empty one and refill it from the full one. If I had to go own 2 or 3 times a day, they would be very thirsty, cuz I just wouldn't do it. Too lazy and hate the cold. I DO have permanant electricity to my coop however, so no lead cords strung across the yard.
Some people put their regular waterer on top of a cookie tin heater. I guess I could have done that, since I have a load of cookie tins around the house, but ordering the dog bowls online was far easier than cutting holes in a cookie tin. If I am ever allowed another coop, I do think I'll try the cookie tin thingy, just to save some money.