UGH!!!!!! I gotta go take water to all the chickens ......

[fatboys farm]

are we going to get snow or rain? i have seen enough rain but i rather see more than snow. next spring i'm going to build a insulated brooder room, big enough to hold the youngest of all the chickens if needed. my shop is now the brooder house with fireplace.

 

[joebryant]

If I had no way of heating the waterers in my barn or coop duing winter because they were too far away, I'd never water my animals, including chickens, in the barn. They'd learn to come to the house for water during the summer; then in the winter, I'd plug in whatever it took to heat the water near the house. That way, if they wanted a drink, they'd come to house to get it, not wait for me to bring it to them.

Edit: If there were deep snow, I'd clear a makeshift path for them to the water at the house.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Quote:
I feel your pain completely! Gotta love this frigid state we live in and it seems to get colder and colder every winter. I have so many things plugged into the garage for the chickens this year that if I so much as turn on a bathroom light we blow a fuse. All for the sake of keeping the bantams nice and warm in their garage coop. The run area of the garage isn't heated and only half insulated so it is pretty frosty in that part. Every few hours I have to change the water. I have a heated dog bowl but no matter what kind of ideas I have for keeping the ducks out of it betty keeps outsmarting me! Never fails as soon as I change the water in that thing I go out a few minutes later and there she is just a floating away in that bowl.... I honestly can't tell ya how I have survived for years here with the cold but I have. Now I am wishing the housing market was better and we could move someplace warmer. The other day we were out driving and I happen to glance at the temp guage in the truck and it said outside temps were -12, 3 miles later we went from -12 to -17 by the time we got home it was -20 BRRRRRR! I learned my lesson last year not to leave my birds outside over the winter because they really suffered and some barely made it. Lugging water is still a chore but not as much as if I had to shovel a path of 3 ft of snow thru the acre to get to the coop out back.

 

[Terri O]

Thanks for that site! I am thinking of ordering somethings from farm innovators. Terri O

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

I'm with you Karen (aka Lockedhearts)...hauling water is getting to be a pain. BUT, thank goodness we live in the south. I couldn't deal with the weather in Minn, Ill, Wisc, Upstate NY, etc, etc

I really feel for you folks that deal with this kind of stuff year after year....YUK

It was 14F here this morning, calling for snow tomorrow (stores will be out of bread, milk, eggs and beer before sundown, LOL). Temps not supposed to be above 28F all weekend....AND my crazy boys are wanting me to take them deer hunting in this weather!!! UUGGGHH

I'm too old to deal with cold like this

 

[fatboys farm]

yerd full of rocks i here you on this rough cold weather but i keep thinking just a few more weeks and we want have any more real cold weather i hope. i saw 4 crows chasing a hawk this morning, we throw the crows some corn but i never knew they were working for their pay. my maran hen hatched 6 biddies today but i took them and brought them inside. i cant gamble on if she is a good mom or not, this is her first hatch. oh- she was not happy at all. i have some about 5 weeks old and we may see if she will adopt 1 of them. yall have a good day.

 

[ACraZyLittLeChiCkenGirl]

My hens are lucky. I turned a utility building into their coop and hey have there nesting boxes plus to heat lamps. they are in hog heaven !!