# A Great Winter Watering Solution



## zimmzimm3 (Aug 17, 2007)

Everyone knows the hassle of trying to keep the water from freezing. Which can be expensive (if you buy fancy water heaters) and very frustrating. Instead of taking water back in forth to the loft or coop. A great solution is to give them snow. I have only tried this with my chickens but i imagine it will work with pigeons as well. My chickens loved the snow and it kept them hydrated. If anyone tries giving snow to the pigeons please post how it worked.


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

If the weather is cold enough to freeze the water......I would think that a pigeon would use a LOT of his physical reserves to melt and warm the snow so his body could ulilize it. A belly full of snow could shut down the system on an already cold bird. I don't think it is a good solution.....I think they need warm water in winter not frozen.,


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I've seen my birds eat snow when they had perfectly good water to drink. I don't think that I would give snow as an ONLY source of water. If the water is freezing, then you need to make a point of, AND take the time, to make sure that at least a few times a day, they have water available. Is it REALLY that difficult to do?


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

little bird said:


> If the weather is cold enough to freeze the water......*I would think that a pigeon would use a LOT of his physical reserves to melt and warm the snow so his body could ulilize it.* A belly full of snow could shut down the system on an already cold bird. I don't think it is a good solution.....I think they need warm water in winter not frozen.,


This is true for humans, and I would imagine, for animals as well. I would make sure to offer them unfrozen water throughout the day.


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## stach_n_flash (Mar 15, 2006)

Ok a good idea at least I think in some cases.

I use kitty litter pans for my pigeons waterers, so if you stacked 2 of them and put heated rice and or some other substance that stays hot on the bottum then it would keep the water in the top pan warm. Of course it would need to be checked still, and re heated


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

That is a good one, Michael!

I would also consider the source of the snow, is it really clean and pure frozen water? Give them water.


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*I gave up*

and paid the price for one of those bullet style water heatered fountains from Foy's after all my guys are spoiled beyond belief, it was the only thing I could do.

NAB


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

nabisho said:


> and paid the price for one of those bullet style water heatered fountains from Foy's after all my guys are spoiled beyond belief, it was the only thing I could do.
> 
> NAB


Well, I'd have to have 14 litter boxes.....LOTS of rice......... I've been out to the loft 3 times in the last 4 hours to thaw out the water. THANKFULLY, I don't have but 4 babies out there and they are only 3 and 2 days old, so there's not a major concern for water at the moment.
*I HATE COLD WEATHER!!!!!*


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

I would also be concerned about how contaminated the snow is.

We have so little snow here it wouldn't work for us anyhow but if my memory is right, seems like it would take a lot of melted snow to make enough water for them to drink.

BTW, we have one or two flakes flying in the air as I type.  Temps at 12 noon was about 26 degrees.


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## Pixy (Mar 29, 2005)

i got two water bowls from wal mart. i dont think that theyre too costly. i just ran an extension cord to my loft and its been working well. my runts love to bath in there and just sit there. -kind of defeating the purpose. now i still have to change it often.


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

My pidgies love to eat snow! They especially seem to love slush! Why? Donb't know, I've never tried it, myself! But I would NOT assume that replaces their need for water. I just bring the waterer up to the house at night, let it thaw overnight clean & re-fill in the morning.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

TheSnipes said:


> My pidgies love to eat snow! *They especially seem to love slush! Why? Donb't know, I've never tried it, myself!* But I would NOT assume that replaces their need for water. I just bring the waterer up to the house at night, let it thaw overnight clean & re-fill in the morning.



WHAT?! You have never had a SNOW CONE????  

Well, RENEE, I HEAR your COLD "pain!" NOW, you know why I live in ARIZONA...AND, to show you how MUCH I hate cold, I don't MIND staying in the Valley or complain during our HOT (_it's a dry heat!)_ summers!   

Golly, Nab...I am SHOCKED! I NEVER would have guessed your little ones were spoiled! What a surprise...ROFL

Shi


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

We had a pretty simple way of solving the frozen water.
See, we used to use your typical red and white poultry drinkers from Tractor Supply. In the winter, the water would slowly put cracks the plastic, so we had to fix it somehow. For our chickens, we had some of these metal feeders:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/wcsstore/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/images/products/600/2167141

Well, at the moment, I use the bottom part of it only for my pigeons. But we did have a couple left over, so we took the bottoms off. Then my dad put some kind of stuff (I don't know what material it was, but it was a good insulator) in the bottom and a heat bulb. Then we flipped it over and sat our drinkers on top 
The heat bulb put off just enough heat to keep the water from freezing, plus we already had the stuff, so for us it was free 

Of course now we use something like this for water, since the poultry ones kept getting messy from the birds sitting on it. http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/314-311.html
But it'll still sit on top of our homemade heaters, so I'm not worried about that. Oh and, we put some bricks around the drinker when we have it on the heater so they can easily get to the water.


Hey I just found something too.
http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/296.html
Our heaters we made looks exactly like that, for WAYYY less.


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

mr squeaks said:


> WHAT?! You have never had a SNOW CONE????
> 
> Shi


LOL! I didn't know they were really made of snow!  No wonder they like it!


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Eating snow and ice*

I have read in a reliable source that

... it is okay to eat snow or ice if you have excess body heat to disperse or get rid of.

However, if you need to conserve body heat, eating snow or ice will lower your body temperature. Do not try to melt ice or snow with your body heat to replenish your water needs. You will lose more water than you take in. You will need more water to metabolize energy stores (burn calories) to raise body temperature than you will take in from the snow or ice. (I don't recall the source or authority for this, but it was a good one, and reliable). 



> Because it takes a great deal of heat to melt ice and snow you should never try to quench your thirst by eating it. The amount of water you gain in this way will be minimal as it takes a surprising amount of snow to make even a small cup of water. By eating snow you are only wasting precious calories and body heat.


http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/winter-survival/


Another link I found (but not my original source):
http://www.equipped.org/primer.htm

Larry


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

Birds are way different than humans. I don't think this is a good idea but I do believe they may live on snow. Last year here we had close to 30 days where the temp did not get above freezing. How do you think all the feral pigeons survived?


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

Flowing streams.....pools on tops of warm buildings.......dripping fire hydrants ,etc..... AND feeders who carry warm water in jugs to the feeding places so the flock can drink after eating......AND the good people who put warm water out on fire escapes and at their backyard feeders for All the birds. If anyone want to experience what it would feel like to have to eat snow in the winter to survive......try this......put on your normal outdoor wear, go sit on a cold park bench in freezing weather and eat a whole pint of ice cream. Then sit there for a couple hours while your body warms your stomach contents.


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

It was too cold for flowing streams or any melting period it was mostly around 0 degrees. I have a flock under a bridge about a half mile from my lofts and it is way out in the country. Here it is mostly fields, and there are not any animal farmers anywhere around there. I don't know anyone that puts out water for birds in the winter here either it would freeze so fast they probably would not get it anyway. I would be extremely suprised if they did not survive on snow for water. I do think this is a bad idea to give this as a water source in your loft but believe wild birds live on it when they have to.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

I know that on the rare occasions we have had a really heavy snow - like 20 inches - and everything is covered, I see most of the birds eating snow. We do put out water every day in two places in our yard but when it is cold, it does freeze back right away.


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## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

I must say eating snow is a bad idea, that is why those survival experts say you must first melt the snow before consuming it!


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

Yes they probably do live on snow if they have to but I'd wager most who have to resort to snow don't survive if it's a long period. Unless you feed them every day and come to recognize individuals....you can't tell who is missing come spring time.


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## zimmzimm3 (Aug 17, 2007)

zimmzimm3 said:


> Everyone knows the hassle of trying to keep the water from freezing. Which can be expensive (if you buy fancy water heaters) and very frustrating. Instead of taking water back in forth to the loft or coop. A great solution is to give them snow. I have only tried this with my chickens but i imagine it will work with pigeons as well. My chickens loved the snow and it kept them hydrated. If anyone tries giving snow to the pigeons please post how it worked.


Sorry for the bad Information i got it from a poultry magazine that i receive called Backyard Poultry. Sorry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hey ZimmZimm - don't feel badly about posting this type of information. That is the nice thing about this forum - we can discuss different things and get different opinions. To me, it is a learning process.


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

Yeah...ZimmZimm3......I'm also glad you posted about winter watering.......people need to be reminded how our ferals amd the song birds rely on us for winter water. Another tip for people feeding feral flocks is to take a whole head of lettuce and chop it very fine and sprinkle it down when you scatter the seed for the flock and they will eat it all. Yes...I'M talking about that worthless ice berg lettuce that has no nutrition but it's a great vehicle for water.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

LB, that is great idea to give them lettuce. Every day we learn something new. 
We could use it down here during the drought periods too, I guess.

Reti


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

zimmzimm3 said:


> Sorry for the bad Information i got it from a poultry magazine that i receive called Backyard Poultry. Sorry


Nothing to be sorry about! It is a good idea, and it's always nice to hear all kinds of ideas, that's how we end up with the ways that work best for each of us.  The first (and only) time my previous chickens saw snow, they were eating a bit of it too. Of course, they drank Coke every chance they got, so maybe they weren't the best judges of character as to what's good for you lol.  

Renee, let me echo you on the hating cold weather. Give me sun!!! It gets to about 45-50 here for about four minutes each day and then temps drop back down into low thirties. Okay, I know a lot of you are in snow and real freezing temps. . .26 at noon?!. . .I can't even think about it, brr, I'm going for some hot cocoa.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

TheSnipes said:


> LOL! I didn't know they were really made of snow!  No wonder they like it!



Actually, I think SOME HAVE USED SNOW...just add flavoring*...

* for HUMANS only!  

I seem to remember waaaay back when I DID live in the froz...er...cold NORTH...

Shi


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