emchook Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 (edited) Can anyone help with ideas ? I am going away for two days over christmas and with the current weather I am worried about the water freezing in my glug. Unfortunately I do not have any neighbours around to help !!! I am going to try a teaspoon of glycerine [ is this enough ? ] and a plastic golf ball with holes first .. be interesting to see if this works tomorrow morning ... what I am wondering though is if anyone has tried putting water inside the eglu .. and what container would you use to stop it being tipped over ? Also, I normally lock the eglu door at night .. do you think they will be ok with it open for two nights only ? Edited December 23, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hello there Ive read on previous posts that some people put a clove or two of garlic into their water to stop it freezing. I think they will be alright if the door is left open, as long as the run and porthole are securely locked, remember, the eglu is designed to keep them warm in winter xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 Well I have just put in a teaspoon of glycerine .. .and the holey golf ball has pretty much submerged itself ,, Poor old Houdini not sure about it at all Will let you know the results in the morning !! [sill snowing here ] If the glycenrine and ball dont work I will try the garlic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginfiend Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 This is probably a stupid question....(sorry) Do you peel the garlic cloves before adding to the water? I only got my chickens yesterday, so it's all a bit new to me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hello Not at all a stupid question, to be honest im not sure if you do peel them or not, but i think you do. Why not post a question on the forum? im sure somebody with a little more garlicky experience can help you xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I think you have to use a whole plastic golf/table tennis ball so it floats not sinks Are none of your neighbours friendly enough to pop in for you, with the bribe of keeping any eggs, just to make sure the water isn't frozen if nothing else......... Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanTheDiver Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 When I was told about the garlic in the water I peeled them, but they just ate it. I didn't put any more in after that as I was worried that they would go round smelling like chicken Kiev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 When I was told about the garlic in the water I peeled them, but they just ate it. I didn't put any more in after that as I was worried that they would go round smelling like chicken Kiev Just sprayed my coffee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Garlic doesn't stop water freezing, it just stops the poos from smelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-F-C Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Garlic doesn't stop water freezing, it just stops the poos from smelling Correct! Garlic will in no way rasise the freezing point of the water. Also the tennis ball / golf ball idea will not stop the water from freezing... it is simply an easy way of making a hole in the ice when you remove it... if you are not around to remove it, it won't be much use to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barkisland Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I have two of these: http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Electric_Drinker_Heater.html Extremely useful in very cold weather, but you need a handy weatherproof power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmurffi Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Does a whole garlic bulb float in the water and do the same as a golf/ping pong ball perhaps?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I use ping pong balls in my glugs (2 per glug). The water does sometimes freeze, but the hens have learnt to peck the balls to break the ice An ice cream tub in the eglu would probably be ok? Maybe in the corner next to the nest box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 Good news ! There was still ice on the ground this morning .. But apart from a few shards of ice in the water it had not frozen solid and was happily sloshing around. So the glycerine seems to have worked !!! Although the holey golf ball was a complete waste of time - I did not think that one through properly at all ! On the positive side [ now its snowing heavily again this arvo] the weather may be a bit warmer over xmas so I may not have to worry too much about being away for a couple of nights !! Apparently we are in for 5cm of snow overnight so we will see what happens to the water. In the meantime I will continue to shut their eglu door to keep them toasty at night . Seems a bit mean to experiment with that at the moment ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoura Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 You'll probably think I'm terribly mean but I leave the coop open all the time...(the run is closed of course). Provided they have lots of feathers and have plenty to eat the chooks should be fine on cold nights---after all the small garden birds survive if they've got enough food to keep their body temp up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 No I dont think you are mean at all ! Mine is more of a safety issue as this seems to be fox and badger central recently ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I have to say for the past two years now I have not shut the cube door (very secure run) and the weather has not affected my hens at all. A couple snuggle up in the nesting box which is the only down side, oh and them making one loud rackett at 5.00 am on a summer's morning when the fox has a nosy around. But winter weather is never an issue, I am sure they are all a lot hardier than we think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenfreek Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 So apart from possibly a bit of glycerine, is there anything else that will stop the water freezing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 My glug had completely frozen over, quite thickly too. I replaced it with hot water, will this stop it from freezing ?? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 My glug had completely frozen over, quite thickly too. I replaced it with hot water, will this stop it from freezing ?? xx only until the water temp drops to freezing again Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Well I think that I can honestly say that the glycerine works ! We had almost 3 inches of snow last night and the water is still sloshing around . Although the chickens did not appreciate coming out of the eglu and seeing the snow .. They were very miffed about it all . They were even more put out when I insisted that they have vaseline put on before going off to explore their frozen outside run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 ok it was snowing.... but what was the temperature? just cos it was snowing does NOT mean it was freezing... water freezes at a set temperature. I would carry on testing as the general opinion last freeze was that glycerine did not stop water freezing that you would need to add so much to alter the freeing point that there would be too little water. As to leaving the door open at this time of year I DEFINATELY would NOT on an Eglu. Think about it, the door is half the front of the Eglu \And as someone posted recently having left the door open and posting, went back to check on them at 9pm and found them all huddled in the nest box. Think about your home will it still be warm ef you left even just the front door open? The Eglu IS insulated but I can promise you that if it is -6 outside with the door open it will be -6 inside. Are there no cat or pet feeders minders in your area, have you checked the sitters list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 ok - since the glycerine post w.r.t it being toxic I am now trying an alternative idea .. I have put an icecream container inside an old cd shelf and popped it inside the eglu. As I am going away for a few days I am trying it out tonight to see if it will work ... If this works I will take a picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 If you have an electric supply, there was a post on here with an idea involving a tin and a lightbulb. Looked like a good plan to me. I've been using an aquarium heater in a plastic container which has worked very well - I'm going to stick with this in the future as it managed temps of -6.5c without a problem. Without electric, I don't think there is an effective / safe way of stopping it freezing, unless you run something off a 12v battery. On the Eglu door subject, I've never shut the door yet. Think they might get claustophobic if I started to shut it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 no - I dont have an electricity supply near the eglu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
