Keeping stock watered in winter can be a challenge. With that in mind we thought we’d check with our neighbors to the north to see what kind of solutions they’ve come up with to make watering easier in even the coldest winters. We found this factsheet from folks in Manitoba with four different solutions as well as some good tips to consider when you’re setting up for winter watering. Here are four different options. For details on setting them up, download the full factsheet.
Motion Detector Water Pump-Up System
Cattle drink from a small bowl which only fills with water when a motion sensor detects movement in front of the drinking bowl.
Portable Ice-free Waterer
Cattle drink from a water trough which only has a small area situated outside of a well-insulated building. The building temperature is moderated by the latent heat of the hundreds of gallons of water stored within the building in a poly tank.
Here’s how a farmer uses this concept to water his pigs in the winter.
Mining Tire Geothermal Waterer
Cattle drink from a water trough made from a used industrial mining tire. The bottom side of the drinking water trough is kept relatively warm with geothermal heat rising from below the frost line.
Geothermal Ice-free Waterer
Cattle drink water out of the top of an insulated galvanized tube which contains about about 500 gallons (2,300 litres) of water. The water is kept warm from geothermal heat and the latent heat contained within the water itself.
If you have winter stock watering solutions that might help others, share them in the comments below!
