|
Post by theozarkan on Feb 11, 2021 20:33:47 GMT -6
Pretty slick. Unfortunately my pens are scattered around to far from electric for me to do that though. Guess I'll just have to keep doing it the hard way.
Actually it's been a pretty mild winter up until recently. Hopefully I won't be breaking ice too much more. Just wishing this really cold spell was over already.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2021 21:37:49 GMT -6
Yeah, it's driving me bonkers with the rabbit water bottles. I finally started going out about every hour, hour and half and shaking the bottles and torching the nipples.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 12, 2021 9:28:12 GMT -6
I didn't think up the idea, so I can take no credit for it. It's just an idea that I saw on Pinterest or somewhere like that. I appreciate the simplicity of the design though. It certainly was easy to rig up and I'm sure my chickens will enjoy having easy access to water from now on. The hard thing will be remembering to check the bulb every day.
Light bulbs that are not disturbed by cutting a switch off and on, frequently last for many, many, years. It's not the current surging through them that tears them up, it's the extremes in temperature from being switched off and on that kill them. So, it's possible there will be no interruption in service, as long as the bulb is not disturbed.
A few years ago, I invested in a duplex power cable leading from my house to my garden, almost 600 feet away. It was very expensive to do at the time, but over the years it has paid for itself many times over in convenience, as I now have lights at each of my animal enclosures and maybe even more valuable than that; the ability to plug in power tools at each location to help build sheds and things that I need periodically.
The one drawback to running power that distance, is the occurrence of voltage drop. In order to have 20 amps available at that distance, I had to run #4 aluminum cable to compensate for the 600' feet of line resistance. I ran a duplex cable, but instead of running two circuits to provide 220 volts, I paralleled the wires to get twice the ampacity on a single 110 volt circuit. It's weird to see the breaker box end of that circuit originating at a regular 20 amp light switch.
It's really hard to foot the initial cost of a project like that, but it's an investment that will last the rest of your life and probably beyond.I left an extra lightbulb inside the webbing of the cinder block, just incase the good one ever goes out. That thing sure makes a good hand warmer when you reach inside it to change bulbs. All I had on hand yesterday were those economy 43-watt lightbulbs. I've since then bought some 200-watt bulbs.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 14, 2021 16:18:39 GMT -6
Update on the chicken water warmer. It was 7-degrees when I took these photos. The water has been sitting, unprotected from the elements for at least two days and two nights (since February 11th) today is the 14th.
There are barely any ice crystals forming around the outside edges, even with the high winds and the snow falling.
There is a 200-watt lightbulb inside the webbing. Probably a 100-watt bulb would have been plenty, but I couldn't find one for sale when I went into town looking for one. They had 200-watt, 300-watt, and 60-watt or lower. Nothing in between.
This is Just a photo, showing the way it's set up with a ceramic socket from an old chick warmer light inside the webbing of a cinder block. This is a 12" inch concrete patio paver that I swiped from my summertime charcoal grilling spot, to set on top of the cinder block to hold a water tray. The paver also keeps rainwater and snow from entering from above. There is no protection from flooding though, so this is not fool-proof. (P.S. the warm cinder block also makes a good place to warm your hands during chore time.) I was splashing a stick in the water in this photo, trying to photograph the waves. I'm not sure anyone can see that though? It was 3:00 pm, 7-degrees, and snowing when I took this photo. At this point, the water had been sitting out in the open for about two or three days and nights without freezing.
Tonight is forecast to fall below zero, so there is still some testing to be done, but so far, it has not been cold enough to overcome the 200-watt bulb set up inside here.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 16, 2021 16:24:27 GMT -6
The homemade chicken water warmer made it through last night's 15 below zero weather without freezing. Good thing it had a 200-watt bulb in it though or it might not have.
This morning, there was snow piled high on the edges of the water pan and ice was forming around the edges, leaving fresh water only about the size of a one-gallon paint can unfrozen in the very center.
I believe the 200-watt bulb will be over-kill in less severe weather though. I'll have to shop around to see if I can find a 100-watt bulb after the snow is melted.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 22, 2021 21:21:16 GMT -6
Today is February 22nd, it was 63-degrees today. It was 15 below zero on the morning of February 16th. That's a 78-degree temperature variation in the span of 6-days. That kind of temperature change is very hard on the livestock.
Today's high temperature melted not only snow, but all the moisture that was locked up in the soil below the snow. That mud, accompanied by manure, plus all the straw and hay they've been walking in causes terrible compaction between the cloven hooves of our cattle, sheep, and goats alike. (Straw and mud basically equals bricks) so you know that stuff is probably not going to just fall out on its own. Once temperatures build up enough for fungus to develop, things like that can cause hoof rot.
Watch your animals and try to provide them with a hard, fairly dry place to stand at times, so their feet can get a break from the nasty conditions out there. When I was a kid, and winters like this were more common, we'd have to rope the cows that were limping and tie one leg back, so we could clean their hooves out with a stick. We'd soak each hoof in a gallon can of bleach, then soak it in a gallon can of diesel, to kill the fungus. Things like that were no fun, but were necessary to keep a healthy herd.
|
|