Over the summer, the alpacas water intake increased a lot. So we added a second water bucket to each corral. The second bucket meant we were washing and refilling buckets once each week which was fine in the summer.
So as the weather turned colder, I purchased extra de-icers to keep the six buckets defrosted.
The extra de-icers tripped our circuit. So I removed one each night and learned that we could only support three de-icers. That's one for each corral, which is what we used last winter. However, the increased water intake meant we were refilling buckets at least twice each week.
Without snow on the ground it wasn't that big of a deal. But now that winter has finally arrived it has been difficult to ensure the hoses were also frost free.
So I purchased three livestock water tanks. These are small as far as livestock tanks go, but much larger than the plastic buckets we have been using for the last year.
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| Don't worry, the metal trough is full of open water |
I swapped out the buckets and filled the tanks on a nice day we had early last week. And then our circuit was being tripped again. I suppose there is a larger load with the larger volume of water being heated. So I found a few extension cords and spread the load across two circuits which has solved the issue... at least until we grow beyond three corrals or install water and electric in the barns and corrals.
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| No ice even though it was 25 deg F with five inches of snow when this photo was taken. |
How often we need to refill and wash the troughs is still unknown. But after several nights below freezing, a few days in the teens and 6-7 inches of snow, all three troughs have remained completely free of ice. So I think we can call this good.
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| Alpacamundo's Augustus striking a pose |
More good news about the new tanks: I now have plenty of old water buckets to use as feed buckets and won't have to replace cracked buckets for a long time. I love being able to use what we already have. :-)
And, just for fun... a photo of yesterday's beautiful day.
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| 48 deg F and melting like crazy |
very nice! It looks like your alpacas are happy and healthy! :)
ReplyDeleteMore alpaca photos, please! :). I just realized after looking at this one that you haven't posted a ton of them recently. They just look so cuddly and adorable. I will live vicariously through you.
ReplyDelete@Sarah - Thanks. I think they are happy and healthy. My parents tell me they are more friendly since they've been with us a while.
ReplyDelete@Jaimie - I realized a couple of weeks ago that I haven't posted much about the alpacas recently. My goal for 2011 is to remedy that. I'm glad you like them. :-)