The Quack Shack

[Supercow]

Best of luck to everybody.

Here we're just coming out of a 3-week period when snow stayed on the ground and temperatures only rose above freezing for an hour or so every so often. Unusual since normally we would have a frozen week at the end of January / beginning of February and be done. The ducks are becoming a bit more lively now

Tell me about it:
View attachment 4288978
Temperatures will be below freezing until February second here, that means kicking rubber bowls loose, flipping them upside down, jumping to break and remove the ice, then hauling warm water out by the bucket - rinse and repeat every four hours...

This is what worked for us: a larger vessel with a submerged heater that runs part of the time. Then i can refill the buckets from there instead of running to the house and back every time.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Apologies for not writing anything during the last two weeks, it was the real horror here, staring with a side-effect of one of my medications, catching what i thought was a cold and then a wisdom tooth extraction that ended up with an infected jaw. I have basically used up a good chunk of my sick-leave for this year already...
And i assume that "cold" must have been covid, because sweet food tastes sour, sour tastes chemically and everything else tastes artificially sweet, like the worse sweeteners that were ever invented.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Did you get all of that snow Frank? I hope not.

I wish we would have gotten SNOW!
We got snow, soaked with freezing rain, frost overnight, snow again followed by freezing rain, another brutally cold night and this morning snow again.
As a result my driveway is covered in 10cm of solid ice, attached to the concrete like super-glue. Only a few options to remove that without destroying the driveway completely, pick-axe, flame-thrower, or nuclear fission...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Best of luck to everybody.

Here we're just coming out of a 3-week period when snow stayed on the ground and temperatures only rose above freezing for an hour or so every so often. Unusual since normally we would have a frozen week at the end of January / beginning of February and be done. The ducks are becoming a bit more lively now


This is what worked for us: a larger vessel with a submerged heater that runs part of the time. Then i can refill the buckets from there instead of running to the house and back every time.

I have the waterer for the momma-duck shed sitting on a heat-pad, and it keeps some water liquid. But we have the coldest nights ahead. The issue is not that the water bowls freeze, frozen rubber bowls are an excellent way to get rid of a bad mood, you can let loose all of your bad imagination when throwing them to the ground, stomping and jumping on them...
But i have to haul heavy buckets of water from the kitchen sink over the patio down the stairs into the duck-yard. And i am still feeling weak from covid...

 

[Luv Ducks]

Apologies for not writing anything during the last two weeks, it was the real horror here, staring with a side-effect of one of my medications, catching what i thought was a cold and then a wisdom tooth extraction that ended up with an infected jaw. I have basically used up a good chunk of my sick-leave for this year already...
And i assume that "cold" must have been covid, because sweet food tastes sour, sour tastes chemically and everything else tastes artificially sweet, like the worse sweeteners that were ever invented.

So sorry to hear all of this Frank. I had covid over Thanksgiving and didn't get it real bad but bad enough. I have had it six times now. I pray that you feel better soon and that things look up for you.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I wish we would have gotten SNOW!
We got snow, soaked with freezing rain, frost overnight, snow again followed by freezing rain, another brutally cold night and this morning snow again.
As a result my driveway is covered in 10cm of solid ice, attached to the concrete like super-glue. Only a few options to remove that without destroying the driveway completely, pick-axe, flame-thrower, or nuclear fission...

Sorry to hear this Frank. Our snow is heavy and we have only been able to move part of it as we have to do it by hand. I have helped as much as I could but it is very heavy and I am no spring chicken. I still can help though and plan on going out again soon to move some more of it. This is another one of those winters to remember and to try to forget!!! I would rather have the snow than what you got for sure.

 

[Supercow]

I have the waterer for the momma-duck shed sitting on a heat-pad, and it keeps some water liquid. But we have the coldest nights ahead. The issue is not that the water bowls freeze, frozen rubber bowls are an excellent way to get rid of a bad mood, you can let loose all of your bad imagination when throwing them to the ground, stomping and jumping on them...
But i have to haul heavy buckets of water from the kitchen sink over the patio down the stairs into the duck-yard. And i am still feeling weak from covid...

That's the idea - have a very large container (barrel, IBC?) with a submersible heater in it so you can restock from there instead of returning to the house. It worked for us even in -17 C / -6 C days.

Sorry to hear about covid It's very random in its intensity and after-effects, some people hardly notice it and some are left with enduring issues, especially concerning lungs or veins. Fingers crossed it works out well for you.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have the waterer for the momma-duck shed sitting on a heat-pad, and it keeps some water liquid. But we have the coldest nights ahead. The issue is not that the water bowls freeze, frozen rubber bowls are an excellent way to get rid of a bad mood, you can let loose all of your bad imagination when throwing them to the ground, stomping and jumping on them...
But i have to haul heavy buckets of water from the kitchen sink over the patio down the stairs into the duck-yard. And i am still feeling weak from covid...

I got more heated water bowls from our Rural King recently and they were only around 20 some dollars. I have a 5 outlet current tap that is for the outdoors that I plug five of them in with an extension cord and another that will hold 3 on another cord. This is why I insisted we put the pens up next to our house so that things like this would reach our outside outlet. I was afraid the flex hose would freeze up yesterday with all of the snow so I carried water to them but today when it reached 17 degrees, the high for the day, I used it and was able to give them all fresh water. The buckets are froze to the ground but I can run the water quickly in a circle in them and they will empty out so I can put fresh in. It's difficult if you don't have power available to them. I feel for you Frank.