Providing water during extremely cold winter

[psue]

psue, what do you have in your pens? Is that bark or wood shavings? It looks like it stays nice and dry (although that could be just from the lack of rain

).

it's from lack of rain

. We used hay and mowed grass clipping as much as possible... both require raking and I'm the only one without "hay fever" so all hay work is done by me. At the time of the picture we almost had the fence to the ajoining yard done so I'd gotten behind in the pens. They enjoy the adjoining yard and are only in the pens at night now or if all of us will be gone all day. I dont trust the neighbors to not "visit" and leave a gate open. Our most frequent visitor is about 4, she does love to look at the critters.

How ever they will have to go into their pens in the winter for water... I'm not putting heated buckets out in the yard as well as the overnight pens.

 

[ChristineR]

it's from lack of rain

. We used hay and mowed grass clipping as much as possible... both require raking and I'm the only one without "hay fever" so all hay work is done by me. At the time of the picture we almost had the fence to the ajoining yard done so I'd gotten behind in the pens. They enjoy the adjoining yard and are only in the pens at night now or if all of us will be gone all day. I dont trust the neighbors to not "visit" and leave a gate open. Our most frequent visitor is about 4, she does love to look at the critters.

How ever they will have to go into their pens in the winter for water... I'm not putting heated buckets out in the yard as well as the overnight pens.

Oh, OK. It looked kind of like hog fuel and I've wondered if that would work for pens.

 

[psue]

Oh, OK. It looked kind of like hog fuel and I've wondered if that would work for pens.

hog fuel?

 

[Miss Lydia]

hog fuel?

I saw that and wondered what it was too.

 

[wildpeas]

Hog fuel is a very rough ground/shredded bark mulch. I would not use it for ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hog fuel is a very rough ground/shredded bark mulch. I would not use it for ducks.

Wonder why it's called hog fuel?

Quote:

 

[wildpeas]

I can't remember exactly but I am pretty sure the 'hog' part is short for 'hogged' which is a term for the process of grinding/shredding. Don't hold me to that though, my memory isn't what it used to be.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I can't remember exactly but I am pretty sure the 'hog' part is short for 'hogged' which is a term for the process of grinding/shredding. Don't hold me to that though, my memory isn't what it used to be.

Join the club.

 

[aoxa]

This will be my first year with geese. Will they venture out into the snow unlike chickens? I really hate putting water for them inside the barn. I had ducks last winter that spilled a lot and created some slippery messes :/

 

[Iain Utah]

My geese do not mind sunbathing in snow if the temps are warm. Otherwise, they pack down a trail from food/bedding area to stream and rarely venture off path. But, on really cold days, their feet freeze so bad that they walk a few steps, stand with one leg tucked for a minute, walk a few steps, stand with other leg tucked, until back to their shelter with warm bedding. Poor things.