Pictures of winter waterers & how you handle?

[Going Quackers]

My biggest worry is that there will be enough water to last them all day (I have 5). Right now, I fill 2 or 3 supplement buckets that hold maybe a gallon each for the 2 small, and then maybe 2 gallons for the large. But there are 3 of them, my concern is that if they are drinking all from the SAME bucket, maybe they'll be messier/spill more?

ETA: HI, HEIDI!

It's a reasonable concern but if you close half of it shouldn't be to bad.. i had a small bucket in the main part of my barn so that was 9 ducks.. it was never empty by morning... right now 4 stay there, mind you i had 5 last night lol (my adult females rotate around with drakes) it is barely down at all. (the one in my pics) of coarse i do realize daytime is different...

When i had the 17 they had access to pools and water containers but none were ever empty and the girls did do a float in the bowls(large rubber livestock ones) i only plan on two small heated buckets for my group.. it's now a flock of 10...

I bang out all the rubber containers and so forth it's not cold enough for then to remain frozen yet anyways ... If it comforts you, perhaps add an extra bucket? even a small one like i have...

 

[Wynette]

What a dork I am. I was just thinking that same thing, Quackers! Sheesh. Even if the two smaller buckets woudl free over during the day, they'd have the heated one that would not, and I'd be able to monitor how much water they were consuming (and spilling!). Thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

My biggest worry is that there will be enough water to last them all day (I have 5). Right now, I fill 2 or 3 supplement buckets that hold maybe a gallon each for the 2 small, and then maybe 2 gallons for the large. But there are 3 of them, my concern is that if they are drinking all from the SAME bucket, maybe they'll be messier/spill more?

ETA: HI, HEIDI!

I like that set up alot. But I am with you about them dumping or splashing the water out thats why I have 3,all you can do is try it one day and see how it goes. Great setup though. Looks like it would be hard for them to dump it though since it's sitting inside the pallet.

 

[Wynette]

Well, of course, as soon as we got it completed, the temps went up. Sigh. I hate to say this, but I want it to freeze again!

 

[Going Quackers]

Well, of course, as soon as we got it completed, the temps went up. Sigh. I hate to say this, but I want it to freeze again!

no, no .. no don't say that! actually i do get it, we've been above freezing here too but come the weekend that is about to change, it's suppose to snow, which should be fun i have some new ducks and chickens that have never wintered so their reaction will be priceless lol

 

[Wynette]

Well, after using my winter water set-up for about a week now in freezing (nightime) temps, I am not thrilled.

Does it work? YES! Fantastically. I haven't had to put a board over the top, as they do not attempt to get in. I dunno why. The pallet keeps the bucket SUPER secure, so no tip-over incidents. Water has been ice free. There has been plenty of water for them all day. Those are the good points.

Now, the bad. Because of the little roof that DH put up over the top of the bucket, which seemed like a really good idea, I have a difficult time removing the bucket to rinse out/add fresh water. I have to get on my knees & sort of crawl underneath. The cover to the electrical box is annoyingly difficult to open (it has a sort of lip on the edge as a safety measure), adding to my frustration. And, the hardware cloth surrounding the bucket is now covered with chunks of solid ice. I guess only so much will drip through before it begins to accumulate and feeze.

Sigh.

I seriously doubt we'll be able to make any changes before spring, so I'll struggle with this through the winter. But, I am committed to finding SOME way of making winter watering easier!

 

[Amiga]

Well, after using my winter water set-up for about a week now in freezing (nightime) temps, I am not thrilled.

Does it work? YES! Fantastically. I haven't had to put a board over the top, as they do not attempt to get in. I dunno why. The pallet keeps the bucket SUPER secure, so no tip-over incidents. Water has been ice free. There has been plenty of water for them all day. Those are the good points.

Now, the bad. Because of the little roof that DH put up over the top of the bucket, which seemed like a really good idea, I have a difficult time removing the bucket to rinse out/add fresh water. I have to get on my knees & sort of crawl underneath. The cover to the electrical box is annoyingly difficult to open (it has a sort of lip on the edge as a safety measure), adding to my frustration. And, the hardware cloth surrounding the bucket is now covered with chunks of solid ice. I guess only so much will drip through before it begins to accumulate and feeze.

Sigh.

I seriously doubt we'll be able to make any changes before spring, so I'll struggle with this through the winter. But, I am committed to finding SOME way of making winter watering easier!

Wynette, thanks for the update. It may be cold comfort

but your story will help others avoid that kind of thing.

 

[Wynette]

Wynette, thanks for the update. It may be cold comfort

but your story will help others avoid that kind of thing.

I hope so! I mean, I guess I wouldn't say to not use this method, as it most definitely is effective. It's just more work than I think it needs to be, but I'm not creative enough to figure out how to fix it. Maybe someone on here will have suggestions?

I do have an opaque barn panel over the top of the pen where the waterer is, so it does have a roof over it, just not one that is down low enough that it would fend off a whole lot of snow if we got a bunch in one night. But, maybe that panel is enough? In any event, if we removed the little roof we have over the top now, it would require patching and painting, and it's way too cold now to do that. So, we'll address it in spring.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Wynette, thanks indeed for the update! I used your idea, complete with a recycled pallet from FF&H and what I think is the same 5gal heated bucket. I however have been stirring other pots here and have yet to actually place the water into the hole I cut into the pallet. Currently, my ducks feed is over the hole; my thinking was that my ducks needed to get used to the idea of climbing up onto the pallet. Anyway, in my pen, I have placed the pallet base along an outside wall, my plan is to run my outdoor electric up and over back to the barn. My coop has no roof per se, only the basic 2x12 structural boards. I have tarps, hay bales, and recycled steel panels that shield the west side of the pen. I wonder if a small, hoop style frame could be used as the roof structure that you need overhead. Thinking that over before, in terms of my setup here, I decided that no roof was better than one that would be compromised from snow load. But, as long as you have a sturdy frame, that allows for fall to the ground, the snow load shouldn't sit and shouldn't be an issue, right? Keep me posted, I thank you for sharing.

 

[Wynette]

Hi, HollyDuck - I'm glad you got some ideas from this thread! Maybe if you can get some pics & post them, other folks can offer some feedback for your specific situation?

I think DH has come up with a good idea, but when we will be able to put it into action I am not sure. We've had so much rain the last few days it's a mud hole in their run right now. But, he said he thinks if we put the little roof on hinges that I should be able to swing the roof up while I'm changing out the water, and then back down again. He just has to work out how to go about this! That's the really tough part for me (goodness, I felt like I invented electricity when I came up with the pallet idea), but he's a former engineer, so his mind just works for that sort of thing.

Anyway, if we're able to do the hinges and figure out a way to hold it up & out of the way while I work under there, and then back down & STABLE, I'll post some pics!