Water Clean, Thaw, and Outside..?

[CindyinSD]

Someone here did it successfully...it was in a brutally cold environment too.
Member name is not coming up in my mind tho.

That would probably be R2elk in Natrona county, WY. I dunno... it works for him and it gets pretty frigid there. I already tagged him though and I don’t want to pester. I believe it was about 4” thick and of course you have to replace the manure every fall. It’s insulated by the ground around it. I might do it next year. This year winter snuck up on me, but most days carrying fresh water isn’t that big a deal so I’m not too worried about it.

 

[aart]

That would probably be R2elk in Natrona county, WY.

Ah, yes...there's an article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

Says: "I normally replace the manure annually.
I prefer to use horse manure but since I no longer have a horse, I use the chicken droppings that I collect from under their roosts."

Hey @R2elk ....this still working for ya?

 

[CindyinSD]

I visited him this past fall to get some of his beautiful Sweetgrass turkeys. Lucky me!

He showed me the waterer and he’s still successfully using the manure method. It’s especially a great alternative for folks who can’t or would rather not bring power to the coop. Plus it’s free except for the bucket.

My own personal regular bucket dumb experience speaking: don’t use any bucket you’re not positive your chickens can get out of in case they fall in. (No, the chicken didn’t die, but she definitely needed blow-dried.

 

[gtaus]

I've never done it, but I'm guessing the manure rots and gives off heat, like a compost pile. I don't know how thick the manure would have to be, though--probably at least several inches thick, maybe several feet thick?

This is my point exactly, a biomass would have to be rather large, and I would think much larger than a small hole with manure in it.

I have seen a number of YouTube videos using large biomass compost piles with a water hose curled up in the center and using the heat of that biomass to heat a greenhouse in winter. So I am aware of the concept. But those biomass piles were much, much larger than a hole in the ground.

 

[gtaus]

because the ground stays warmer than the air,

This is true, but where I live, the frost line is down to ~60 inches and historical cold winters we see 72+ inches deep. You would have to dig a very deep hole where I live before you get through that frozen dirt!

 

[CindyinSD]

I missremembered the thickness. According to the article it was 6-8” deeper & at least 9” wider. It naturally gets covered on the sides of the bucket with your bedding so you don’t notice the manure.

 

[gtaus]

Ah, yes...there's an article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alternate-method-to-prevent-water-freezing.73180/

Interesting article. I don't have a horse, or cow, and my chicken manure gets turned into the deep litter bedding of the coop. If the bucket in the manure hole works as well as stated, then that would be a great idea for some people.

For myself, I'm sticking with my metal 3 gallon water fount and metal base heater in the coop.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This is definitely the place to be if you want to learn something new every day!

 

[CindyinSD]

I could go out tomorrow morning and easily collect enough still-warm cow pies, but then I’d have to dig a hole, (she whined)...

 

[NatJ]

This is true, but where I live, the frost line is down to ~60 inches and historical cold winters we see 72+ inches deep. You would have to dig a very deep hole where I live before you get through that frozen dirt!

Even frozen, the ground might be warmer than some air!

I've read of some people putting a bucket in the ground and it staying thawed--they were in places where the ground didn't freeze more than a few inches down.

For this idea with the manure, I'm thinking the heat from the manure spreads into the nearby ground, keeping it warmer. The ground provides sort-of insulation and lots of thermal mass.

When I read the article aart linked, I find this:
"At -30°F I may have 1/2" to 1" of ice that I remove first thing in the morning and the water in the bucket stays open until it freezes the next morning."