Winter Woes -- Heated Water/Freezing Water

[dianneS]

My horse just went through a mild case of winter colic. I think it was a lack of water too.

We are building a garage and the builders used my mares big water tub to haul water to mix their concrete! I had no idea that she was without water all day, then that night the buckets froze, so she had very little water within a 24 hour period. I wasn't furious about it until she colicked.

I've got my heated buckets plugged in now and my mare seems to be over her colic.... I hope!

It is tricky trying to keep things from freezing. I need to get some sort of de-icer to my goats. Rigging up the cords so that the goats can't chew them is going to be difficult.

 

[Stauffer]

pvc pipe over the cords help a LOT to prevent chewing! I had a gelding that liked to chew cords, so PVC pipe it was...

 

[fadetopurple]

If you have a horse that thinks cords are tasty, or likes to pull floating de-icers out of the tank, most tanks have a drain hole with a plug near the bottom. They make de-icers that fit this hole, so they are anchored at the bottom and the power cord comes out through the hole. The one time I used one, it wound up stripping the threads and I had to hack the hole bigger and jury-rig a new plug with some plumbing artifact from the hardware store. But hey, that's better than having multiple ruined de-icers or horses colicking from lack of water or electrocuting themselves on cords.

Something like that might work with goats, too, if you have a big enough tank for them. It's a lot easier to make the cord inaccessible when it's not coming out of the top of the tank/bucket.

As far as running an extension cord out to the pasture... I don't even like running one from one side of the barn to the other, but you do what you have to do.

 

[lupinfarm]

Fadetopurple, I ended up using a heated muck bucket with a cord that comes out of the bottom and goes under the fence. It's wrapped in wire and neither of my girls seem interested in the cords. *shrug*

They also make a regular flatback bucket that would be small enough for a couple goats, the muck buckets could be used for a bigger herd of goats.

 

[dianneS]

If you have a horse that thinks cords are tasty, or likes to pull floating de-icers out of the tank, most tanks have a drain hole with a plug near the bottom. They make de-icers that fit this hole, so they are anchored at the bottom and the power cord comes out through the hole. The one time I used one, it wound up stripping the threads and I had to hack the hole bigger and jury-rig a new plug with some plumbing artifact from the hardware store. But hey, that's better than having multiple ruined de-icers or horses colicking from lack of water or electrocuting themselves on cords.

I was considering getting a floating de-icer for my troughs, but on second thought, I think I'll stick with the heated buckets I have, and perhaps add a heated trough. I'm sure that my mini horse will find a floating de-icer a great new toy to play with and find some way to get ahold of it!

 

[FarmerChick]

I have a 2 sided heated automatic stock water tank out near the barn.

best thing I ever bought!!!!!!

but of course if power goes out, poof it is out also.

So only if I hear bad weather is coming I fill up 2-3 big stock troughs and that is back up water if needed.

Investing in any good automatic stock water equipment is worth every penny to me!!

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I have the heated buckets for my dogs, my poultry have a dish that has a pond heater in it and the horses have a 100 gallon tank that has the bottom heater that goes into the drain plug. Mine were too playful for any other type. Those drain plug heaters are very expensive to run so get yourself a timer and put it on for just an hour or 2 as needed. Here until -20 C I can just run it in cycles, 3 a day of 1 hour most of the winter but wind chill is a big factor. What I do is unplug it and wander out there every few hours to check. When it is frozen to the point that a horse would not just push through the ice skim I plug it back in. Check it to see when it's ice free. Then you have your cycle time. Now I just have a feel for it. And you can tell in the morning if it froze up much and the horses drank after it thawed because the ice line will still be there on the sides. Topping it up will get the ice back in the heater range so no worries. Besides I know my horses are only without water for a few hours and as noted they used to be given water only a few times a day. Wild horses don't always spend the night near water either.

Salt is very key in this too and remember that horses can't lick salt blocks enough to get ahead. Loose salt and mineral mix is important in winter and if they look down mine get sloppy beat pulp with salt in it.

The heated buckets are way cheeper to run so if you can get away with them do!

I ran extension cords for 2 winters and it worked. I left them on the ground but got the really good quality ones and made it all one run, not connected cords. I too use the PVC pipe where the critters could get to the cord, just not worth the risk.

 

[ducks4you]

We are building a garage and the builders used my mares big water tub to haul water to mix their concrete!

You might want to check these builders'work. Every time I've had a worker to my house that has produced craftsman-like work, he/she brought ALL OF THEIR OWN TOOLS, including containers to mix with. The poorer quality workers have broken/ruined things on my property, like the plumbers who cut into a rough-hewn oak floor support in the basement of my 100 year old house!! Ever the guys who fenced in 4 acres in Feb., 2008, were totally self-contained, didn't ask for any tools or containers, and even supplied their own port-a-pot.
Sorry about your poor, sweet little mare!

 

[dianneS]

We are building a garage and the builders used my mares big water tub to haul water to mix their concrete!

You might want to check these builders'work. Every time I've had a worker to my house that has produced craftsman-like work, he/she brought ALL OF THEIR OWN TOOLS, including containers to mix with. The poorer quality workers have broken/ruined things on my property, like the plumbers who cut into a rough-hewn oak floor support in the basement of my 100 year old house!! Ever the guys who fenced in 4 acres in Feb., 2008, were totally self-contained, didn't ask for any tools or containers, and even supplied their own port-a-pot.
Sorry about your poor, sweet little mare!

These guys do great work, but for some reason they've been using my hoses and buckets. Maybe they just don't want to get theirs out of their trucks? They're traveling really far for this job. The garage is finished today, just waiting for the concrete to dry, but they were using my barn hose to clean up their concrete mess! They did make a big mess of my yard and driveway with their trucks! I was expecting that though. They didn't bring a port-a-pot and I've been wondering all week where these guys have been "going"?? They're either holding it or going behind the barn or in the woods!

My mare is back to her old self again. She's drinking more water too. She does love that heated bucket and prefers to drink from that over any other container!

 

[FarmerChick]

PVC pipe is a great deterent for electrical lines or water hose lines etc.
they do for "overhead" carry also.

I have some elec. cords strung in the air from one barn to the next and I run them thru pvc

great all around bite proof situation when used properly