Natural Ways to Help The Livestock Water Buckets from FREEZING.
It seems that North America has been gripped by bitter cold and snow so I thought it only appropriate to share my Canadian Knowledge about homesteading with my community. Through my years having taken a few courses on raising livestock, and spending many evening on the bone chilling nights at my farmer friends down the road, I know the headaches it can be for farmers and homesteaders with Livestock. The Ice and snow bring a few challenges that I would like to point out and provide some solutions.
Winter`s in Canada can be nasty and down right cold. I spent some of my evening this week at my farmer friends, helping him with his livestock. What I have experienced is that cows and horses exert more energy in the colder freezing temps, so this means that they tend to eat much more than on a normal less chilly day. So when these animals eat more to stay warm, they also drink more water.
Research has found that cows when relying solely on snow for their water needs, showed that they had mineral deficiencies, which can cause female cows to experience spontaneous abortions. University of Alberta and The University of Saskatchewan.
Cows on average need 10 gallons of water intake per day during the colder winter months. My Farmer friend, provides water several times per day for his cattle. He puts all the water troughs close together and only fills it up to the point that they would drink most of it, so that does not allow it to freeze. If they are close together then when they come to drink the huddle around the troughs and have body heat which will help to keep the water from freezing.
Another method that my farmer friend uses for his horses is a system where the water is on a constant cycle. So water circulation. The concept is much like a running river, where the water rarely freezes over. He uses a pump system similar to that of a garden waterfall in the summer. The tank is wrapped with a form of insulation, similar to a hot water tank coat that most people use here in Canada to conserve energy.
There are many other products that you can purchase at home stores to help like water heated trough and many many others, that are costly and require an abundant amount of electricity. Just think about how the farmers kept their water from freezing way back in the day. As I mentioned in an earlier post if you have single or a small herd you can also take coals from your fireplace and place them in a metal bucket them double it up with the metal water bucket that will keep the water from freezing as well.
Well Folks I truly hope that this will provide help to those down in the southern states who may not be accustomed to these climates.
Happy Farming Trails my friends and stay safe and warm
Image Sources:
http://www.hydrogenappliances.com/stocktankheater.html
What about using a ,,pavlovian classical conditioning" on the cows? You use a sound (ex. bell) and teach the animals to associate it with food /water. If the animal comes towards you and you are not using the bell, you must ignore them. Basically you are teaching them to drink all the water on a regular pattern, and no water remains to freeze. I wish you all the best.
The coals in the metal bucket!! Brilliant! So timely too haha! Ugh its crazy cold this year, I will try that. I was going to rig an old tire stuffed with straw and a bowl in it tomorrow, trying your suggestion first:) I feel bad for the farmers with lots of livestock and frozen everything these last few weeks!!
Here in Canada it is a yearly event the bitter cold at this time of year. The farmers around here know so many tricks and tips. I feel bad for the farmers too this is why I posted this right now as you all are going through this. We are in this together, and learn from each other.
I am using the old go out there at least 3 times a day method right now for my hogs. lol Thanks for the ideas @gardengiricanada!!
Traditional ways are sometimes easier, more work but less hassle.
Pretty informative post, keep up the good work :)
Thank you
WOW! I didn't know this! That's a lot!
I just stumbled on this post through Steemit blogger, i decided to read... And i have learnt something worthwhile ... Though I'm from the African continent , Nigeria in particular. We don't experience the freezing condition posed by the winter weather. We currently experience dry wind (harmattan).
But at least i have learnt something cool about animal farming tips in your region @gardengirlcanada
I use tank heaters, but I have power very close to the water for both chickens and sheep. If my animals were away from power I would most likely just give them access to our creek for drinking water. The heaters use a good amount of power but it is the easiest for me.
I've seen some solar heaters that work okay but the night time is the hard part to deal with.
Solar you say I have heard of them but nobody I know uses them to tell me they are effective!
Learning some new things here. Thanks for sharing. As Malaysia doesn't have a winter climate. We only have rain or shine. :)
I wish it was warm all the time here. Enjoy your sun. LOL
Haha, and coming from a sunny/rainy place all the time, we wish there would be snow to play. Like they say, 'the grass is always greener on the other side'. :D
@gardengirlcanada, I love all animals and am so glad to hear of ways we can help them thrive. I could just imagine them all huddled up. 😍