I've been a bit of an intermittent blogger this week, sorry but I've been busy just keeping things going.
Busy with just the day to day of living, of visiting family, of family visiting me ... but mostly trying to keep things thawed out so that the things that have to live outdoors on our property have water to drink. By things I mean our chickens, the resident sheep and the wild birds ... thank goodness that for now we have no other animal demands.
It's been so cold that I have needed to go over to the drinkers during the course of the day to refill them with warm water as once again they have iced up after the mornings defrosting. I keep a watering can near the house and fill it from the hot tap so that each time I let the dogs out for a toilet break I can check that everyone has thawed water available to drink.
They appreciate it, and drink their fill while the water is still warm.
Someone asked me the other day if chickens drink a lot of water, and the answer is yes. Eggs are composed of lots of water and the laying girls especially need to drink even more than they need to eat, but all of them appreciate some warming water on these cold and frosty days.
Yesterday when we got back from Mum's with my younger son Jason, everything was green again. All nicely thawed out, the sheep were making the most of having lots of grass to nibble at and I went to bed thinking that I would have a morning off from the hot water rounds, but this morning the hard white frost was back and once again it was -3 inside the polytunnel and no doubt a degree or so colder outside, so I donned scarves, extra socks and gloves and did the rounds.
Now it's time to do the rounds again before me and Jason head for an afternoon at the cinema, not a bad way to spend a frosty December day, it's a good way to keep me going :-)
Sue xx
We have a fish pond (no fish these days but the birds use it). There has been thick ice on it every morning for the last two weeks. Mrs Blackbird sits beside it or hops round my feet when I go outside until I break the ice for her to have her morning drink. I check it several times a day as it keeps freezing over. I have given her an apple cut in two several days as she is so hungry. Her hubby came along to share.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely thing for you to do, I'm sure she and her partner appreciate it every single time :-)
DeleteMy garden bird bath has been frozen over for the last two days and I have had to break the ice. My pigeon (who we hand reared) comes every day with his friends for food and drink. The chicken coop water has been OK (so far). The frosty mornings sure look beautiful, but it must be harder work for you. Can't wait for Spring - already!!
ReplyDeleteThankfully temps above freezing last night, so no hand agony for me today. Need rain for my birds to have a drink and a splash in the potholes on my drive.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean
ReplyDeleteCarpet cleaning today !
Oooh poor you .... I should have been hoovering ... we're knee deep in dog fluff, but the cinema called :-)
DeleteInterestingly, the frosts have been so much worse down your way than up here in the North this week.
ReplyDeleteThings I have read...
ReplyDeleteIf you have Electricity there are bowl warmers.
Black plastic tubs with ping pong ball to float in the wind and make waves. Keeps the watermoving so no ice.
Solor but you need sun, They have solar disks that float and make like a bubble fountain to keep the water moving.
This one is mine.
Or do like I do for my fruit trees, light bulbs. Keeps the air for the tree warm if I cover the trees. You could plant a bulb on a brick and cover it with another brick and set bowl on top or near it it would stay warmish. I do solor for my ponds but unless Canada is mad at us and send down a huge freeze like the one that just about whiped out my citrus gove, this works for me.
Save you the walk back and forth.
I just read about chickens I don't have any.
cheers, parsnp
There's no electricity in or near Chicken World, and as you can see from the metal drinkers in the photos no room for fountains or balls to make wave
DeleteI'll just keep plodding over with hot water, it really is the easiest option 😊
Poor chickens, nothing worse than needing a drink and not being able to get one. I hope the frost stops for awhile.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
We are having to keep the water up to the animals for the opposite reason. It's our first week of summer in Aus and we have been greeted with a heatwave. It was 32 degrees C here today and the humidity was around 75%.
ReplyDelete