Pictures of winter waterers & how you handle?

[Miss Lydia]

Perfect - thanks, Miss Lydia! Is your wood secured to the buckets, or do they just leave it alone?

Screwed down to the rim.

 

[StevenW.]

Rubber tubs. The ducks keep the ice from freezing over. When I lock the ducks up at night I just dump the tubs out.

 

[Going Quackers]

Rubber tubs. The ducks keep the ice from freezing over. When I lock the ducks up at night I just dump the tubs out.

but to how cold? i too have rubber tubs for water that said in extreme temps(deep winter) forget it, i could stand on them, there so frozen lol

 

[Wynette]

Yep, that's my issue. I work full time - I'm in the barn at about 5:15 - 6:15 a.m. If I filled non-heated buckets then, by the time I'm back to the barn after work, they'd be frozen solid in my neck of the woods.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Wynette, you're my neighbor. I'm trying to figure out a solution myself! 22'F this am and solid ice.

Miss Lydia, I really like those pics! Are you using those for your 'Scovies? I'm wondering if my smaller ducks would have issues. But great pics for sure, very helpful.

Anyone doing the cookie-tin warmer?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wynette, you're my neighbor. I'm trying to figure out a solution myself! 22'F this am and solid ice.
Miss Lydia, I really like those pics! Are you using those for your 'Scovies? I'm wondering if my smaller ducks would have issues. But great pics for sure, very helpful.
Anyone doing the cookie-tin warmer?

My Scovies don't have a problem drinking out of them but I do have those pieces if wood in front for them to use if they need too. I have a heated dog bowl for my chickens to use.

 

[Wynette]

HollyDuck - are you in Holly? FANTASTIC! We can most definitely compare notes!

I bought (from Family Farm & Home) a 5 gallon heated flat-back rubber bucket for my ducks, I'm just not 100% sure on how to put it to the best use. I'm thinking that this weekend we'll (hopefully) finish the project and, if so, I'll get some pictures of my set-up for this thread. My place is BY FAR not the Taj Mahal, but it's safe and the ducks & chickens have all they need. The water thing is perplexing to me for the ducks...admittedly, I'm a bit paranoid about them running out of water during the day when I'm not home. So far, though, I have 3 small buckets (supplement buckets from horse medicine) that I fill up each morning. I've been dumping/rinsing them out at night when I tuck the ducks into their coop, so they are empty & ready for filling in the morning (thus no ice). The water is bone cold by the time I dump it after work, but the ducks don't seem to be minding it!

What I end up with must be easy and quick, as I don't have a ton of extra time in the mornings. My DH is super handy, and so hopefully my thoughts have been heard & I've been able to convey my wishes accurately.....but cross your fingers for me anyway!

 

[Wynette]

Okay, based on the feedback I got in this thread and what I found in the rest of the waterfowl section, here's what I rigged up for the winter. Please give me your honest feedback on whether you think it'll work out okay, and if you see things I can do to improve it. I'm also going to add "sidebar notes" for anyone wishing to do something similar.

We use tons of pallets on the farm, and I found this mini-pallet and got an idea! Put the heated bucket on top, and used a pencil to draw around the base for a cutting guide.

Sidebar: We cut a bit larger than the line due to the bucket being slanted upwards, but it's best to GO SLOWLY as you can't put the wood back that you cut off. I also made sure to leave enough room at the BACK of the pallet so that the rim doens't smash up against the building, since mine will be put right up against the wall.
Sidebar 2: Another thing of note - this particular pallet had 4 slats on this side, and only 3 on the bottom side. If we had cut out of the side with only 3 slats, the bucket would not have ended up fitting as snuggly, due to the spacing between the slats. So give that some thought, too, as you decide which side to use.



Here is the pallet after the final cuts were made.
Sidebar: Note that on the back side, where the plug will go, we left PLENTY of room around it so that I'm not squishing the cord at all.



Then, I added hardware cloth over the slats to be sure no accidental flipper injuries occur when they're stepping up for a drink.
Sidebar: We had enough cloth to wrap the cut edges over the sides so they are smooth, and the cut side isn't right up against the side - this way, they won't cut themselves on it when hopping up & down or walking past.



Here it is placed in the pen. My hope is that since the bucket fits so snuggly into the pallet that they won't tip it over. DH ran electric from my horse barn out to the duck coop, and then added a GFI outlet with a cover on the outside for me. I'm super proud of him - he read about basic electrical in a book from Home Depot & put his new knowledge into super helpful practice - it's fantastic!
Sidebar: I'm going to take a tip from Miss Lydia and add a piece of plywood on top of the bucket to cover about half of it so they are not tempted to take dips in their drinking water.



And from a distance - here, you can see that it's just outside their pophole door. That's Dolly heading in...she's camera shy. The 5 gallon bucket was DH's seat for the outside part of the project.



Then, DH added a "roof" and a wind break to the side. Bad part about this is that all we had to use was OSB...DH REALLY wanted to get the project done, and it's a bit of a drive to our local Home Depot for better wood. So, "hopefully," this OSB will last until spring when it's warm enough to paint it. It's much too cold out for painting this time of year.



So, that's my winter waterer for 5 ducks. I'll change the water each morning and hope it's enough to last them for the day while I'm at work. Please - any thoughts, additional things I can do to make it better, other thoughts - are all appreciated!

 

[Going Quackers]

Okay, based on the feedback I got in this thread and what I found in the rest of the waterfowl section, here's what I rigged up for the winter. Please give me your honest feedback on whether you think it'll work out okay, and if you see things I can do to improve it. I'm also going to add "sidebar notes" for anyone wishing to do something similar.

We use tons of pallets on the farm, and I found this mini-pallet and got an idea! Put the heated bucket on top, and used a pencil to draw around the base for a cutting guide.

Sidebar: We cut a bit larger than the line due to the bucket being slanted upwards, but it's best to GO SLOWLY as you can't put the wood back that you cut off. I also made sure to leave enough room at the BACK of the pallet so that the rim doens't smash up against the building, since mine will be put right up against the wall.
Sidebar 2: Another thing of note - this particular pallet had 4 slats on this side, and only 3 on the bottom side. If we had cut out of the side with only 3 slats, the bucket would not have ended up fitting as snuggly, due to the spacing between the slats. So give that some thought, too, as you decide which side to use.



Here is the pallet after the final cuts were made.
Sidebar: Note that on the back side, where the plug will go, we left PLENTY of room around it so that I'm not squishing the cord at all.



Then, I added hardware cloth over the slats to be sure no accidental flipper injuries occur when they're stepping up for a drink.
Sidebar: We had enough cloth to wrap the cut edges over the sides so they are smooth, and the cut side isn't right up against the side - this way, they won't cut themselves on it when hopping up & down or walking past.



Here it is placed in the pen. My hope is that since the bucket fits so snuggly into the pallet that they won't tip it over. DH ran electric from my horse barn out to the duck coop, and then added a GFI outlet with a cover on the outside for me. I'm super proud of him - he read about basic electrical in a book from Home Depot & put his new knowledge into super helpful practice - it's fantastic!
Sidebar: I'm going to take a tip from Miss Lydia and add a piece of plywood on top of the bucket to cover about half of it so they are not tempted to take dips in their drinking water.



And from a distance - here, you can see that it's just outside their pophole door. That's Dolly heading in...she's camera shy. The 5 gallon bucket was DH's seat for the outside part of the project.



Then, DH added a "roof" and a wind break to the side. Bad part about this is that all we had to use was OSB...DH REALLY wanted to get the project done, and it's a bit of a drive to our local Home Depot for better wood. So, "hopefully," this OSB will last until spring when it's warm enough to paint it. It's much too cold out for painting this time of year.



So, that's my winter waterer for 5 ducks. I'll change the water each morning and hope it's enough to last them for the day while I'm at work. Please - any thoughts, additional things I can do to make it better, other thoughts - are all appreciated!

I think that is fantastic! and i'd appreciate if you would come by and make me one

As long as you partially cap the top all should be well, as you know i opt for the smaller bucket to avoid the bathing beauties ...

 

[Wynette]

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!