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Has anyone else had enough...
- Thread starter Hugo's There
- Start date
clutterydrawer
Wise Old Thumper
Weather like this almost makes me glad I dont have outdoor buns, I would be worried sick 
I was at a friends hosue the other day and she has some huge plastic tubs which she collects water in, prob between 50 and 100 litres, and they were frozen absolutely solid :shock: so there's not much change of keeping bowls liquid.
have you tried putting a ping pong ball in the water bowl?
I was at a friends hosue the other day and she has some huge plastic tubs which she collects water in, prob between 50 and 100 litres, and they were frozen absolutely solid :shock: so there's not much change of keeping bowls liquid.
have you tried putting a ping pong ball in the water bowl?
Santa
Wise Old Thumper
Oh Liz I feel your pain, it's bad enough for me doing a couple of lots each day!
Depending on the size of the bowls, I wonder if it would be possible to get some big flat stones (like the sort you get for fish tanks) that you can heat in a bowl of boiling water and then fish out with a fishing net and plop them into the bowl? If the stones are flat-ish, they would be out of reach of the buns and it might help to keep it from freezing for a little longer?
Depending on the size of the bowls, I wonder if it would be possible to get some big flat stones (like the sort you get for fish tanks) that you can heat in a bowl of boiling water and then fish out with a fishing net and plop them into the bowl? If the stones are flat-ish, they would be out of reach of the buns and it might help to keep it from freezing for a little longer?
clutterydrawer
Wise Old Thumper
that is ingenious...I wonder if some kind of small paving blocks like you use for driveways would work - they would be nice and flat and you could pop a load in the bottom of the oven while something else was cooking. I bet they would hold the heat for ages.
parsnipbun
Wise Old Thumper
Last night the rabbits bowls (and hens water trough) froze for the first time this year - though they were unfrozen all day today despite it being minus 4 on the patio. But I do feel bad that its so cold .
Having said that all of the buns that are currently outdoor buns chose to come out into their aviary runs today when they could have stayed snug in their hutches, and Teasal and Robinia who can come and go indoors and outside as they like (during daylight hours) spent all day outside and they don't have winter coats (though Robinia is VERY plump!!!).
I feel bad about the two that are currently lone buns (one failed bond and another awaiting neuter and bond - both male alas). Have given them tons of straw and hay and snuggle safe - though when I let them out in the morning Nutmegs ears were toasty warm! (unlike my fingers).
Having said that all of the buns that are currently outdoor buns chose to come out into their aviary runs today when they could have stayed snug in their hutches, and Teasal and Robinia who can come and go indoors and outside as they like (during daylight hours) spent all day outside and they don't have winter coats (though Robinia is VERY plump!!!).
I feel bad about the two that are currently lone buns (one failed bond and another awaiting neuter and bond - both male alas). Have given them tons of straw and hay and snuggle safe - though when I let them out in the morning Nutmegs ears were toasty warm! (unlike my fingers).
parsnipbun
Wise Old Thumper
PS If you have run out of snuggle safes you can heat housebricks in the oven on low heat for a couple of hours (whilst baking potatoes!!) and wrap them in towels - the heat lasts even longer than snuggle safes. We did this last year, and my vet says she uses it to keep aviary bird water in troughs unfrozen.
I am sick of it to Liz, its horrible i have never known it to be this cold for this long before
It was -8 in the garden at 7.45am this morning and -4 when i got home at 5.30pm, all shed water was frozen but the water in the hutch block was fine, i have been doing 5 heatpads for a couple of days now and its meant to get worse
It was -8 in the garden at 7.45am this morning and -4 when i got home at 5.30pm, all shed water was frozen but the water in the hutch block was fine, i have been doing 5 heatpads for a couple of days now and its meant to get worse
Buuny_Friend
Mama Doe
I despise this weather.
If it gets much worse, I am going to have to consider bringing them in, especially our 2 groups of guinea pigs
If it gets much worse, I am going to have to consider bringing them in, especially our 2 groups of guinea pigs
Hugo's There
Wise Old Thumper
Liz, hopefully an extra 10 bowls should help... Just ordered them so hopefully you should get them before the end of the week
Call it a late Xmas Prezzie
Oh wow, thank you so much
I have just been adding up and I have 15 bowls outside. It doesn't sound that much but when you are going up and down the garden with them, then snugglesafes and then meds and anything else you need it takes for ever, especially with a dizzy head and slippery pavements :roll:
This evening I have had to do it all in the dark as the solar lighting wont work now as we have had no sunshine today. I ended up just smashing the tops of the water as it is freezing so quickly. I will go round and do it again later and Steve will probably do it in the early hours before he goes to sleep. If I get up early then at least they will be able to drink every few hours :?
Hopper
Mama Doe
I constanly feel awful and hate this weather. I cant recall it being this cold for along time!
This is my rabbits 1st winter outside and boy are they getting it tough (I put them out last spring so have winter coats) They hate the cold and mainley stay in the bedding area of the kennel.
Thismorning was the 1st time I have found a frozen bottle and spout. I defrosted it by running it under wamr water slowly and refilled it with teppid water. I put 2 socks over and a bottle snug a member kindly sent me on here. Ive wrapped some of the sock round the spout part also and the kennel front is covered with plastic sheeting so I am hoping it wont freeze again. Its one of those bottles with the flowting ducks in and that didnt stop it freezing last night! There water bowl was empty thismorning as usual so that couldnt of froze, yet its a ceramic bowl on cold concrete in the run part :? My rabbits drink more at night also so put an extra bowl of water in tonight incase that bowl emptys and the bottle freezes.
I feel so bad for them, huddled in the sleeping part looking miserable, where as through summer they would be in the run part also, on the ledges and flopping out
This is my rabbits 1st winter outside and boy are they getting it tough
(I put them out last spring so have winter coats) They hate the cold and mainley stay in the bedding area of the kennel.Thismorning was the 1st time I have found a frozen bottle and spout. I defrosted it by running it under wamr water slowly and refilled it with teppid water. I put 2 socks over and a bottle snug a member kindly sent me on here. Ive wrapped some of the sock round the spout part also and the kennel front is covered with plastic sheeting so I am hoping it wont freeze again. Its one of those bottles with the flowting ducks in and that didnt stop it freezing last night! There water bowl was empty thismorning as usual so that couldnt of froze, yet its a ceramic bowl on cold concrete in the run part :? My rabbits drink more at night also so put an extra bowl of water in tonight incase that bowl emptys and the bottle freezes.
I feel so bad for them, huddled in the sleeping part looking miserable, where as through summer they would be in the run part also, on the ledges and flopping out
I'm really stressing about this weather, we always lose more of our older, weaker outdoor animals in the winter and this is the worst in a while. The rabbits/ guinea pigs are only getting short shifts in the indoors runs, the horses are only going out from 8am to 6pm, the goats aren't going out at all!
We have lost Frankie- quail and I put it down to the weather- they are also inside but can still get draughts and lack of sunlight doesn't help, I'm sure.
We have had another inch of snow today and Mike is away Thursday/ Friday.
I 've had to take those 2 days off work because it takes so long to get round all the animals as the water outside is frozen and we have to fill buckets from the house to get enough out to the large animals.
Have you tried wrapping polystyrene around the water bottles and then tin foil, we have also resorted, in the past to putting drops of glycerine in the water, but if temps are really low it doesn't really help.
It reminds me of the first Christmas we had with Benji. Mike was offshore and the temps we going to be - 20, I ended up trying to get him into the garage, in his big hutch on my own. The legs came off the hutch so I had to build it up with bricks, when Mike got home he screwed a tunnel heater to the underside of the hutch so he had underfloor heating.:lol:
It was a fantasic summer though.
We have lost Frankie- quail and I put it down to the weather- they are also inside but can still get draughts and lack of sunlight doesn't help, I'm sure.
We have had another inch of snow today and Mike is away Thursday/ Friday.
I 've had to take those 2 days off work because it takes so long to get round all the animals as the water outside is frozen and we have to fill buckets from the house to get enough out to the large animals.
Have you tried wrapping polystyrene around the water bottles and then tin foil, we have also resorted, in the past to putting drops of glycerine in the water, but if temps are really low it doesn't really help.
It reminds me of the first Christmas we had with Benji. Mike was offshore and the temps we going to be - 20, I ended up trying to get him into the garage, in his big hutch on my own. The legs came off the hutch so I had to build it up with bricks, when Mike got home he screwed a tunnel heater to the underside of the hutch so he had underfloor heating.:lol:
It was a fantasic summer though.
biscuitblossom
Warren Veteran
I too can't remember it being this cold for this long.....its horrid!
All the bunnies bowls were frozen solid ,and I mean solid, this morning,I've never known that happen before ......theyve got tons of hay,I went through a bale in less than a fortnight where it usually lasts the best part of a month. :shock:
All the bunnies bowls were frozen solid ,and I mean solid, this morning,I've never known that happen before ......theyve got tons of hay,I went through a bale in less than a fortnight where it usually lasts the best part of a month. :shock:
Lspacehopper
Wise Old Thumper
Boots do it I think??
You can get it from a chemist, it is a sugar so don't use a lot, but it does help stop the water freezing and we have had no ill effects.
Candiflare
Mama Doe
I'm fed up with it too, but it's nice to know you're all trudging down to the bottom of the garden at midnight in the freeing cold and dark as well :wave:
Willow_Warren
Mama Doe
You will also find it in the supermarket in the home baking section, it come in a little bottle a bit like the food colouring bottles. (you also use it to stop roayl icing going too hard!)
H
