Water hose

[DuckMom2017]

Hey folks,

I've read a lot on here about keeping water from freezing in buckets. At my home right now the temps are dipping down close to 10 degrees at night and get over 30 during the day.
I'm not so worried about their water buckets freezing because I have the ducks put away before it gets that cold and I dump them before it freezes. But I haven't seen any advice on how to refill!
I can't leave the hose attached to the spigot because it'll freeze over night. And I really should probably cover my spigot so my pipes don't freeze...
Do people just reattach it every day?
Or carry the buckets to the spigot?
Or is there a special magical 'no freeze' hose?
So far I have 2 buckets I've been filling inside my home but it's a nightmare, so any suggestions help. But they have about 4 water buckets and their pool.
Again- not too worried about the buckets freezing, but how to refill them when everything is frozen.

Thanks!

 

[lazy gardener]

First of all, you need to have a frost proof sill cock. this has the valve inside the house so the water does not freeze in the pipe. Then, if you choose to use a hose, you will need to use it only in the warmest part of the day. Attach the hose, use it, drain it completely, and then store it in an above freezing location. I find this to be too much of a nuisance, and will not bring a hose out of storage unless the day gets above freezing for at least a few hours. I may see that in March. I simply keep milk jugs by my back door, and every time I head out the door, grab a jug or two and take it with me. I use plastic snow sleds to carry heavy loads to/from coop in the winter.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just ordered the hoses that expand when water is turned on and deflate when water is drain then I can put them into a bucket and bring them in over night. They work fine I just attach to the spigot everyday evening for water fill ups I also use heated buckets . Right now my house over winter looks very much like the inside of a room in a barn with buckets of hoses sitting around and FF buckets too. But being able to NOT haul water is just awesome. my other 2 sprung leaks after 2-3 yrs of use.

 

[DuckMom2017]

I just ordered the hoses that expand when water is turned on and deflate when water is drain then I can put them into a bucket and bring them in over night. They work fine I just attach to the spigot everyday evening for water fill ups I also use heated buckets . Right now my house over winter looks very much like the inside of a room in a barn with buckets of hoses sitting around and FF buckets too. But being able to NOT haul water is just awesome. my other 2 sprung leaks after 2-3 yrs of use.

That's a pretty good idea. I like the idea of being able to bring it in. Bringing the buckets in is such a pain. And their pool is just nasty if I can't change it. Thanks for the idea! How cold is it up your way this week?

 

[1cock2hens]

like my lazy associate said I fill empty gallon jugs in the house and carry them out. takes time ig you got a lot of watering but it's a solution

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's 16 here this morning with high in low 30's but next week we will be in single digits. Thank goodness for heated buckets and bowls.

I ordered off of Amazon and it is awesome to be able to fit 2 50' hoses in a bucket and bring inside.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do have one of those expanding hoses, but it is not long enough to get the job done. I need about 100' of hose to do that. However... I could connect 2 hoses together. Let me know how well yours works out for you.

 

[DuckMom2017]

It's 16 here this morning with high in low 30's but next week we will be in single digits. Thank goodness for heated buckets and bowls.

I ordered off of Amazon and it is awesome to be able to fit 2 50' hoses in a bucket and bring inside.

Yea it's supposed to be 12 here tonight. Not excited....

 

[PirateGirl]

Thank you for asking this question. I've been wondering the same thing and I'm following in hopes of more clever responses. I've been wanting to get ducks but concerned about water in winter and giving them some swimming water. This might be hard to do a gallon at a time. or maybe their pool is smaller in the winter... I don't know. Trying to figure it all out before taking the plunge. I like the idea of the expandable hose mentioned. I have not tried these, but Family Dollar carries them in spring at a cheap price. I have broken traditional hoses in the past when it was too cold (even without frozen water in them, the older hoses froze and snapped when I tried to move them on a cold day).

 

[3bird]

We thought seriously about buying a heated hose, and we spoke with several people locally who had experienced good success with one model in particular. Ultimately we did not because the run from the house to the duckhouse is more than 100', and you can't daisy chain the heated hoses.

For what it's worth, our current routine with this bitter cold (-5 to -10 F for the foreseeable future) is to carry out a small pail (full) and a large pale (empty) in the morning. We also bring out their "soup" and put it in the run. I top off the heated water bucket in the run, and we then open the duckhouse door. Because they don't have access to water overnight, we let them all get a good drink. Then I empty the heated bucket in the run into the large empty bucket I brought out. I dump that, and then go fill it in the house. Finally I fill the heated bucket with fresh water, and we're done...except for a mealworm snack, of course.