SLAG Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Mr. Pnut I trust that Mr. Basil has an outdoor shelter. Winter cometh. He's a very handsome felid, treat him right, please. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Why yes he does. I just last weekend found an igloo cooler that I cut a door in turned it upside down and placed it on a board sitting atop four bricks to raise it off the ground. I then put some hay in it to make it a bit more comfortable for him. I also built a box out of plywood to shelter his food from the rain. I did that months ago though. I need to figure out a way to keep his water from freezing over the winter.I'll have to do some research. Pnutl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Mr. Pnut, Some birders, situated out on the fanatic end of the spectrum, set out sheltered water 'feeders', and they keep the water from freezing with an aquarium heater. The thermostat is set to a temperature a few degrees above freezing. Such a setting reduces the minimal power costs Such heaters can be acquired cheaply, at yard sales, church rummage sales. and thrift stores. Come to think of it, new heaters are not that expensive, either. Have a great day fellow " threadlings" ! SLAG Have you considered putting waterproof material under the board, to minimize ground chill and air draft currents? Worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 TSC and other farm oriented stores sell submersion heaters for the horse trough. But they are about 6" in diameter. Also a cheap dollar store heating pad only gets up to about 80* or so. My old lady tried it out for her something-or-other that was bothering her and it did not get hot enough to help, just to give an idea of how cool they stay. I used one for an outdoor cat that we had. Put it in his box under a couple old blankets. Kept him warm for the winter. Scratch his noggin and toss him a couple treaties for all us "threadlings". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYCATS Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 To keep our chickens water from freezing we take apart an old lamp to just the light socket. Sit the water bucket on top of a cinder block with the light bulb inside the cinder block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Now that is a critical eye, for inspecting your work and it is a look of approval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 3 hours ago, pnut said: I need to figure out a way to keep his water from freezing over the winter. Electric Thereputic heating pads work great under a water dish. I use them for the feral cat water dish and for my chicken waterer with a heat lamp also over that one. *make sure it doesnt have the auto timer shutoff. Accidentally bought one of those once and it's no good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I was thinking about a heating pad, but was afraid it would start a fire. There's a TSC about ten minutes away. I think I'll see what they have first. Basil Bob sends his thanks. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 One of the way animals (dogs) can be kept more comfortable is with a wind proof enclosure, with a door from strips of fabric. On the floor use a double layer of cardboard and an old piece of rug. If it gets cold enough, water will freeze. Heaters will help some. Depending on the size of the animal and its need for a volume water, fresh water is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 It got down to twenty two below zero for about four days straight last winter but that was unusual. It usually varies between the thirties to the teens but you never know anymore. I can change the water multiple times daily if I don't come up with a better solution. I did notice a spot that didn't have snow or ice on it even during the worst of the weather last year but I hesitate to use it as a place for Basil Bob to drink until I find out if there's a health risk for him. It's the cover to the septic tank. It's a concrete tube about three feet tall with a sewer lid on it. The sewer lid was ice and snow free all last winter. I may put some water there as a plan B just in case the main water is frozen and I haven't been able to get to it yet. He's a feral cat and survived last winter just fine, but I plan on making this winter less of a challenge for him. I fed him last winter but he wanted no part of humans until he jumped in my lap about five or six months ago. He still doesn't like other people trying to get too close to him. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I like using a Styrofoam pad under the dog's run. Makes a very warm surface to lie on. As we get high winds around here it's easy to find large chunks of the foil faced foam insulation as the road to my casita went down wind of the most recent building site and the mesquite thorns do a good job of grabbing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I may cut a piece of that foam to place on the board that is the floor to his cooler. Good idea Thomas. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 The dog has a habit of shredding things. He dug tore up a piece of 2 inch thick cardboard in one night. Cedar shavings as bedding worked well as soon as he got to the hard plastic crate bottom and made himself a hole to sleep in. Use the rigid foam under the crate to keep the ground from pulling away the heat. Carpet as bedding turned out to be the best. Cheap, easy to install, warm, and it can be thrown away if it gets dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 My dogs are inside dogs so they wouldn't know what to do if they had to be out all night any time of the year. We use thick mat material that they used at my husband's last job to make mats that go under the trucks to contain any spillage (oil field). He was given permission to bring a LOT of scrap home. Anyway, we use them to roll up and down on the chicken tractors and rabbit runs. They are good for when it rains in the warmer months also. The goats have a shed and it gets filled with cedar or pine shavings and hay. I have to break the water in their trough with a sledge several times a day. Rabbits have a watering system, but it doesn't freeze up unless it's stays in the 20s for a peroid of time. If it freezes, I rotate water bottles in and out several times a day. I also change out chicken water. It's a pain sometimes, but that is farm life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 7 minutes ago, CrazyGoatLady said: My dogs are inside dogs so they wouldn't know what to do if they had to be out all night any time of the year. I used to have chow chows and if it snowed you couldn't get them to come back inside. They'd stay outside for two or three days sometimes. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Pnut; have you seen the Chows dyed to resemble Pandas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I've got one dog who loves the snow. But we don't really get much actual snow. It's mostly ice. Our winters are a wet cold. Chows probably love the cold with all that hair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusb Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 34 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Pnut; have you seen the Chows dyed to resemble Pandas? No, but I've seen one with zebra stripes and many with haircuts to look like lions. I don't think I'd do that to my dog. Every chowI've had has been aloof with strangers to say the least. A big furry panda chow would be too cute for some people to resist. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 One of the people I’ve been visiting for work for about eight years has two lovely chows: Tessie and Chow Mein. They are startlingly friendly for their breed, but they do know me pretty well by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Mr. Pnut wrote the following, (supra), and I quote, "I did notice a spot that didn't have snow or ice on it even during the worst of the weather last year but I hesitate to use it as a place for Basil Bob to drink until I find out if there's a health risk for him. It's the cover to the septic tank. It's a concrete tube about three feet tall with a sewer lid on it. The sewer lid was ice and snow free all last winter. I may put some water there as a plan B just in case the main water is frozen and I haven't been able to get to it yet." The area is safe. The heat comes the microbial life that lives in and breaks down the sewage. Heat is a by-product of that digestion. And there is lots of it. Similarly, compost piles also get heated up too. They can get up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and more. If the septic is covered Basil will be just fine. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I've done my fair share of shoveling steaming mulch on cold mornings working as a landscaper. I'm quite familiar with it. I don't miss it a bit. I didn't think it would pose a substantial health risk but I just don't like the idea of it. It emanates a pretty strong odor of sulfur. I know there's some pretty horrible pathogens in sewage but the only contact he'd have with it would be the gas it emits during decomposition. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Basil will let you know if he objects to the placement of the water container. If he does not like it he will avoid it. The foul odor, from it, results from anaerobic fermentation. That happens when there is not enough air for the aerobic bacteria et al. to set up shop. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Yes indeed. It's an oxygen poor environment. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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