Do goats need water overnight?

OneFineAcre

OneFineAcre

Herd Master
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
9,139
Reaction score
10,265
Points
633
Location
Zebulon, NC
When we have really cold weather when we feed in the afternoon we fill buckets with warm water
A couple of ours are like camels
They will drink a half gallon
We refill with even warmer water and they will have water for a while before it freezes
We give warm water in morning too
 
NH homesteader

NH homesteader

Herd Master
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
3,815
Reaction score
3,857
Points
353
Location
New Hampshire
Yep us too. They get water at least 3 times a day in winter. And I lug it all out of the house in 5 gallon buckets so they'd better appreciate it!
 
Bruce

Bruce

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
17,439
Reaction score
45,794
Points
783
Location
NW Vermont
My plan is to use plastic cat litter jugs (Cats Pride fragrance free). I'm not sure how much they hold but ~ 2 gallons each I would guess. No desire to lug a 5 gallon bucket (~ 40 pounds) down to the barn in the snow. Rather be balanced, 1 jug on each side ;)
 
Bruce

Bruce

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
17,439
Reaction score
45,794
Points
783
Location
NW Vermont
41.8 pounds if full! Complain away.

But unless you have a cap on it I ASSUME you aren't taking a full 5 gallons in each bucket. Complain anyway. No fun carrying weight through the snow and ice.

My chickens are easy. They don't drink much and their winter water is in a 5 gallon insulated drink cooler. I just toss in a gallon every week or so to top it off. Will be much different with the 2 alpacas. Sure wish that freeze proof faucet in the barn still worked. Can only guess the plastic line (installed by "do everything on the cheap" prior owner) ruptured. Weird thing is it stopped working BEFORE deep frost. I stopped trying to use it and when I turned the water back on in the spring, the well pump never stopped and no water ever came out of the faucet. :confused:
 
babsbag

babsbag

Herd Master
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
7,886
Reaction score
9,317
Points
593
Location
Anderson, CA
So glad my frozen water mornings are few and far between. I think that last year I had 0 days and maybe 2 or 3 the year before. All my animals have auto water troughs, and if I have to run PVC above ground to do it I do. In the winter I just put pipe insulation on it, but I am sure that wouldn't work in some locations. I have some garden hose water lines right now since we moved into the new barn. I might have to put pipe insulation on those too. I am NOT hauling buckets, no way, no how, not ever. You guys are tougher than I ever want to be.
 
Bruce

Bruce

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
17,439
Reaction score
45,794
Points
783
Location
NW Vermont
We will see! As I said, its been REAL easy with the chickens ;) I might be whining a bit by February.

It would take a heck of a lot of insulation to keep a PVC pipe from freezing and breaking open at -20F :lol: I can't even use the frost proof spigot that comes out of the house. It just closes far enough back in the crawl space (where the hot air furnace lives) to keep IT from freezing.
 
Latestarter

Latestarter

Novice; "Practicing" Animal Husbandry
Golden Herd Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2014
Messages
11,384
Reaction score
17,481
Points
623
Location
NE Texas
If you opened the tap Bruce, and the pump ran continuously but no water came out, you have an underground break somewhere along the line. If anything like CO, you'd need to bury that waterline a minimum of 4 feet down to ensure it was below frost line. They do make no freeze drinkers/hydrants for large animals... Not exactly sure how they work, but supposedly they do. When I get the barn built here I will absolutely be running an underground water line to it. Like Babs, no way am I carrying buckets of water. I'm just too danged old and lazy for that anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Sister Sites

BackYardChickens.com
SufficientSelf.com
TheEasyGarden.com
Top