Having water available for animals spring, summer and fall is easy - usually rain fills their watering pond. If the water level goes down - we get a hose and pump out and move water. The hard part is keeping water de-iced when the days and nights turn to - 30 degrees F.
Maintaining open water must have been a problem for the old-time farmers so I researched any possible clues as to how they did it before electric energy aeated or heated water. Very little information is available and I found no clues as to how they managed their animal watering systems.
So, in asking around to forums, blogs and putting forth the question to other more experienced farmers - I found few answers since most of the "top-notch" cutting edge farmers of today are from a warmer climate. So, here are some suggestions though we still use small de-icers, we would love to find other ways to keep water open for the animals.
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Aerating the water takes less power. Unfortunately, when the barn gets about 20 degrees, the water also freezes, though not as deeply and if the bubbler is placed where the animals drink - some of the larger animals can poke through it, but not all animals can. Chickens in particular need very thin ice or none at all.
Fill the barn or shelter with more animals which in turn creates more warmth. As we build our stock up I'm hoping this will be a solution and so we are hoping filling all the stalls and better barn insulation (though fresh air must move through the barn at all times) will reduce the need for powering water systems.
Keep more compost in the barn and even bank it around the watering containers. I might try not cleaning the barn out in the spring and do this since compost can get very hot (up to 120 degrees F) just from de-composing. If I pile it under the watering troughs, and around the sides in November, then any water the animals drip onto the compost will help it heat up even more. We use 50 gallon tanks and top them with a piece of floating insulation to help keep the heat in so this might be enough to keep water open longer.
Email me if you have a trick to share on low energy animal watering for northern climates!
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