The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Bright Raven on November 28, 2010, 08:08:06 pm
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What do you do to keep the water drinkers from chugging up with ice?
Ours were over an inch thick with ice inside the container walls this morning so I cleaned them all out with hot water and refilled them. They were full of ice again this evening.
I have another drinker causing me a problem. The design is like a barrel with a thin 20 cm tube that feeds the water down into a bowl. It is hopeless in this weather.
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someone recommended a drop of glycerine. I tried that last year but with the duck bowls it was pretty useless. I suppose you can try any liquid fat, like a bit of sunflower oil? It will give the birds a bit of extra warmth, too. :&>
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no secrets here, we do exactly as you do! wish there was a better, more efficient way but I cant think of it...
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Hi we have the same drip feed drinkers and they are just a frozen block of ice!! They are fab in the summer as they hold 30 litres each but this is our first winter with them. Today we have been going up every now and then with bowls of fresh slightly warm water and hoping they are eating enough snow ;D. They seem to be enjoying the odd mouthful of snow. Wish there was a solution to free flowing fresh water at minus 10 degrees :wave:
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i only got small 5 ltr drinkers so i bring them in at night then have a cup of warm water added every hour to de-ice the ring
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I use a big old plastic dog bed - so a pointy stick poked in now and then works.
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OH has just raided the pantry for the vegetable oil, great tip, we will let you know how we get on.
We have abandoned our drip feeders for shallow buckets, they are brilliant in the summer but just useless in these conditions. :dunce:
I shall be stopping at the co-op to pick up some lard after work tomorrow so I can make up some oaty fat slabs. They have always been a winter winner.
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Oil works until it snows
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I poured cold water into one of my frozen plastic water drinkers and it just shattered! Might have to try the oil trick.
BTW what's the recipe for 'oaty fat slabs'? I might give them a whirl too.
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I've got those 30L drinkers & they are all frozen solid. Several pens, with several drinkers is a logistical nightmare. Yesterday before I let everyone out, I took out the kettle(several times) and melted the block of ice in the pan. Then I was out there every 2 hours with warm water to top the pans up.
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Would a few layers of hoticultural fleece with straw in between work? :-\
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I watched my hens popping their heads out and eating snow - they will not die of thirst ;D :&>
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Get a terracotta plant pot, one with a hole in the top, raid it off the floor enough to allow a small draft underneath, put 3/4 tea lights under and light them, then put a shallow, fire proof pot on top.
i used this last year, it works well until Snow really drifts around it. blocking the ventilation
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Ive given up with my usual drinkers. My call ducks now have a washing up bowl re-filled fresh every morning, and the same with the hens. This works for me fortunetatly its not cold enough for the water in hens run to re-freeze. When i put the animals to bed aswell i empty the water out so i dont have to deal with ice in the morning!
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I just bring my drinkers into the house for a wee while to thaw out & put back out again.
I don't use hot or warm water for thawing anything, as it freezes quicker than cold ;)
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Get a terracotta plant pot, one with a hole in the top, raid it off the floor enough to allow a small draft underneath, put 3/4 tea lights under and light them, then put a shallow, fire proof pot on top.
That is a brilliant idea!
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My water troughs for the animals are up on blocks and I fill the space under them with fresh manure about once a week (wheelbarrow full).
If you can keep it 'working' the amount of heat it generates helps stop the water freezing.
Iv'e not tried it with poultry.
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Brilliant ideas folks, I like the idea of compost method and have been mulling it over.
How about this as an idea to keep the compost warmer for longer.
Dig a hole (before the ground freezes) about 30cm square and about 60 cm deep.
Fill with lovely hot compost and pop an old metal grill on the top.
Pop the drinker on the grill.
Well the ground has now frozen solid now so I don't have the time to experiment !!! Also my knowledge of composting is a bit thin. Perhaps some sort of air pipe would need to be rigged up? :D
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Manure? What a fantastic idea!!
I posted some pics previously (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php/topic,5470.msg50816.html) of the heater used last year. This year I'm hoping to have electricity, so will do something with an anti-frost heater, as I hope that will be a bit more controllable. However, until I do, this one's going to be pressed back into service!
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/Chooks/Anti-Freezer/20100109_4.jpg)
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Hmmm, you lot have got me thinking again!! ;D
I'm thinking of giving this wee aquarium heater (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-Submersible-Adjustable-Auto-Heater-25W-H-555-/320561928210) a shot, as it's less than a tenner, and fully submersible.
(http://images5.fotop.net/albums7/AquariumHK/HeatingCooling/Huimei25W_H_555.jpg?h=480,w=640)
It looks as though the lowest the thermostat will go is 17 degC, which is admittedly a bit higher than we would need, but then again, with only a 25W output, I can't see the water getting all that hot anyway.
Any thoughts folks? Has anyone else tried this sort of thing, or am I to be the nominated TAS guinea pig? ;)
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Womble... does the tin get hot?
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Yes it does, but not hot enough for roast chickens or anything. You'll notice in the photo that the water bowl is actually sat on top of the vented lid of a quality street tin. This means that there's no direct contact between the 'flame chamber' and the bowl. I found that this was just enough to keep the water at about 10 degC last winter, though I'll be honest, there was a bit of faffing involved to get the flame trimmed to the right height.
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What an ingenious bunch of folks we are!! :love:
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Yes it does, but not hot enough for roast chickens or anything.
:lol:
not like a slow cooker then?!
And they reach it ok? Sorry, of course they do, otherwise there's no point! just looked abit high at first glance.
I'll be out tomorrow, buying & eating Roses ready to drill holes in the tin ;)
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Last year I used old tin pie dishes (fray bentos) when water froze hard to empty.This year I am trying old Chinese plastic carry out cartons and they are working fine. Necessity is the mother ------------ .
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Hi Womble - Let us know how you get on with it, sounds interesting :)
They seem spoilt for choice in The States Heated Waterers (http://www.amazon.com/tag/heated%20water%20bowl?ref_=tag_dpp_cust_itdp_s_t&store=1)
All the best
Sue
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Often there is very little alternative to simply smashing out teh ice and re-filling as needed.
There are a few ideas on you-tube for drinker warmers and there could be an idea there which you could adapt.
Henhouses are usually brim full with flammables and so I would strongly advise against any form of naked light or any appliance which reached scorching heat. Chooks have a habit of kicking their litter randomly and fires are more easily started than put out.
Good luck
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Haven't you all been looking at the other animal threads about drinkers being frozen? :o ::) Add some vegetable oil to their water and it won't freeze over. ???
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I shall do that in the morning Anne! I have been running in and out with hot water....
BTW can you feed chickens those fatty ball things that you buy for wild garden birds? ??? Might keep them amused..
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Check the ingredients to be sure, but I can't see how something that is good for one bird could be bad for another. The only thing that might be affected with some stuff is eggs and I don't suppose you're getting many of those just now anyway. ::)
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Well folks, the aquarium heater arrived at the weekend, and has been on trial for a couple of days now. All I can say is that it looks to be nothing short of a triumph!
Basically all I did was to take an old plastic bucket, and cut a hen-head sized hole about a third of the way down, so they can lean in and drink. I then turned the heater thermostat to its minimum level (20 degC unfortunately), dropped it in, and set it going.
It's a 50W heater, which initially turned out to be a bit much for just a wee bucket, in that the water was sitting at about 15 degC. To get around this, I fitted a mains timer (the sort you might use to unsuccessfully fool burglars into thinking you're on holiday), and set it to switch on for 15 minutes every hour. This has been just about perfect so far, with the water sitting un-frozen at about 5 degC, despite thick ice all around, and icicles forming on the handle of the bucket! Our outside tap was frozen solid this morning, so all I did instead was to throw a few lumps of ice into the bucket, which then slowly melted and topped up the level! ;D
I'm afraid I can't post photos from this computer, so they will follow. However, I do reckon this is worth a try for anybody who has mains electricity out to their coops. The heater is this model (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370344015205), which cost me £7.99 including postage, from an E-bay seller called "Koi and Ponds". I chose it because it was firstly cheap, and secondly had a plastic guard around it.
If I had my time again, I might go for the 25 Watt version. However, using the 50 Watt model plus the timer does give a bit more flexibility for tweaking the temperature, and having it turned right down at night.
Have fun folks!!
Womble.