Being in north Texas we don’t have to worry about cold temps to often but when we do Ron has found a way of making winter watering chores easier. Making sure animals have access to water is so important. They do not care if the temps are low and it’s cold outside. They need and want water at all times! That can be difficult if your system isn’t set up for cold weather. We can get water to our animals, our problem was keeping the water from freezing once it was in their bowls.
Check out how Ron made winter watering chores easier.
The Magic Plug
Ron came across this plug called the Dayton 48GP69 Freeze Protection Thermostat. We bought ours on Amazon for $30.
How Ron uses this thermostat is by plugging in the items he wants to make sure are started when the temps drop below freezing.
Chickens Winter Watering Chores
For the chickens he plugs in a heated dog bowl for one watering system for the chickens. He also has a heat lamp over another water bowl which keeps it from freezing and also places a bottle of water under it to keep thawed for the bunnies.
Rabbits Winter Watering Chores
For our rabbits we ordered each of them a heated bowl. These came from Amazon (Sliner 2 Pcs Outdoor Heated Water Bowl Dispenser Automatic Dog Bowl Smart Thermal Bowl 0.528 Gal Provides Drinkable Water in Winter for Animals Dogs Cats Chickens Rabbits Squirrels.) Ron plugs them into an extension cord which he then plugs into the thermostat. Our bunnies always have warm water on a cold winters day.
It doesn’t matter how big or little your homestead is. What is important is keeping the animals you have well taken care of. You can read more about how we do chores in the snow by clicking here.
Here is to your homesteading dreams,
Shawn
