As many of you know, my winter water solution is cheap and low tech. I buy those plastic food containers, the square ones that sell 3/$1 at Dollarama. They hold about 16 oz. of water. I use two for each cage. One I pierce with an ice pick near the rim and on the base. I wire it through the holes in the rim to the cage. This serves as a holder. A second box fits inside and this liner is what holds the water.
On mornings like this one, where everything froze solid overnight, I am very grateful for this system. I take a bucket of hot water down to the rabbitry. I open the first cage, lift out the frozen food box and float it in the bucket. I fill the grain dish and put in hay. By this time the ice block has unmoulded can be dumped out. I scoop up warm water and replace the container in the holder. Close the cage and I'm done.
All the same, my fingers often start to freeze before I am finished. I can't work in thick gloves, so I use kitchen rubber gloves. Keeps my fingers from sticking to the metal and keeps them dry. And - bonus! - when my fingers get too cold I can plunge them in the hot water bucket and warm them. The remainder of the bucket of water has cooled a bit by the time I'm finished and I give it to the geese for their day's water.
When I get back to the house, I leave the rubber gloves on and rinse my hands under warm water until comfortable. No more agony while my fingers thaw out on their own. Sure does take some of the misery out of cold water care of the critters!
On mornings like this one, where everything froze solid overnight, I am very grateful for this system. I take a bucket of hot water down to the rabbitry. I open the first cage, lift out the frozen food box and float it in the bucket. I fill the grain dish and put in hay. By this time the ice block has unmoulded can be dumped out. I scoop up warm water and replace the container in the holder. Close the cage and I'm done.
All the same, my fingers often start to freeze before I am finished. I can't work in thick gloves, so I use kitchen rubber gloves. Keeps my fingers from sticking to the metal and keeps them dry. And - bonus! - when my fingers get too cold I can plunge them in the hot water bucket and warm them. The remainder of the bucket of water has cooled a bit by the time I'm finished and I give it to the geese for their day's water.
When I get back to the house, I leave the rubber gloves on and rinse my hands under warm water until comfortable. No more agony while my fingers thaw out on their own. Sure does take some of the misery out of cold water care of the critters!