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parmaviolet

Frozen water

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Just thought I'd mention that Citricidal contains glycerine, so a couple of drops can be used to keep the water inside the peanut from freezing and will help to ward off any ailments at this time of year.

 

Personally I don't keep the peanuts in the run over night (as rats have been seen in next doors garden recently & I figure they must go through my garden too), so I've not had any frozen water yet, but I'll probably put some Citricidal into their water when we get a really cold day down here.

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That's a great idea for keeping water from freezing - I'll order some. I'm sure it will help ward off cold viruses over the winter as well. We didn't have any snow yesterday - much to daughter's disgust, she was hoping for school to be closed - but it is very cold now and my poor girl's water froze overnight. :(

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Hi all.

 

Okay so it stops the water freezing and it's good for keeping the chickens healthy but when do you use it?

Can you put a little of the Citricidal in their water everyday or is it something you only do occasionally?

 

All I seem to do is ask questions, sorry. :D

 

Sammi-x-

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Hi Sammi,

 

Ask questions :D !! That's what the forum is really for - not all the gossiping some of us can't help doing :oops: !

 

I e-mailed Johannes for advice on how/when to use Citricidal and he told me to use 2 drops per litre in their drinking water on a regular basis (I do it every day at the moment as winter is fast approaching) and you can also use 20 drops per litre for cleaning out the Eglu.

 

It's also suitable for humans to take when they've got colds but I tried some the other day and it's DISGUSTING :cry: !

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Thanks Kate. All I can do at the moment is asks questions, still waiting!!! :roll:

 

I have some other questions about feeding but I'll start a new topic for them.

 

I should really be doing the housework but I don't have any get up and go today, think i'm still in weekend away mode!! :wink:

 

Thanks again.

 

Sammi-x-

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Just thought I'd mention that Citricidal contains glycerine, so a couple of drops can be used to keep the water inside the peanut from freezing and will help to ward off any ailments at this time of year.

 

 

It must have been really cold here last night because my water feeder was frozen this morning despite having Citricidal in it :shock: . I think when the forecast is for frost, I'll bring it into the house just to be on the safe side.

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Morning All!

 

Wow - it must have been cold last night as our water was frozen despite having Citricidal in it.

 

I'm not too worried if I have to bring the water in overnight, but am concerned if we go away for a day/night and the chooks have to fend for themselves.

 

How much citricidal and/or glycerine do we need to add to stop the water from freezing?

 

Many Thanks,

Jim

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Well Jim Parmaviolet who first started this topic says a couple of drops to the peanut should stop it freezing............But the water in my chooks drinker froze overnight and I had added 2 drops, so think I might try adding 3 drops. Not sure if it is safe to add more maybe somebody else will know.

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I think I read somewhere that a teaspoon of glycerine is the right amount. Obviously NOT the same amount of Citricidal though.

 

I've been taking 4 drops of Citricidal in strong tasting fruit juice for the last couple of months, and seem to have missed all but one of the colds going around. I usually get all of them as I am permanently knackered :roll:

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You can stop a pond freezing over by floating a football on it - as it moves around in the breeze it stops the ice forming...

 

I wonder of a smaller ball would work in the water peanut - probably not, because it is enclosed, but it might work in a bowl - I'll give it a try and report back...

 

Phil

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I think it is best to bring the water container in overnight to prevent freezing. I don't think adding glycerine is the answer. One would have to add a LOT of glycerine (or citricidal, which contains glycerine) to the water to make much difference to the freezing point (trust me, I'm a chemist... :D ). I calculate that you'd need a 10% solution of glycerine to protect the water from freezing down to about -2 C (any colder and it would still freeze anyway). This is over 3 tablespoons in a peanut full of water :shock: , ie MUCH more than would be good for the chooks.

 

Here's a table that confirms my calculation (reassuring!)

http://www.dow.com/glycerine/resources/table8.htm

Edited by Guest
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Ruth - thanks for the Chemistry advice! I have been upping the dose of citricidal by two drops per day without stopping the water from freezing, so would have had a long way to go before I got to 10%!

 

I was looking at the 'solar sipper' as I thought that would be a great solution (a bird drinker using 'solar power' to keep water from freezing) but this only keeps the water from freezing during the day and is only really an insulated drinker.

 

Jim

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