Watering Cattle at -20ºC

Four or five years ago we had a decision to make about our old barn. It was unsafe due to years of neglect and because previous owners of the farm had used posts and beams from it for house and garage construction / repairs. Repairing the barn would have cost multiple thousands of dollars to make it safe, but we had also recognized the old barn was just too big and in the wrong location for the farm operation. We needed a smaller barn somewhere else on the property away from road drainage and flooding risks. 

We opted to locate the new barn on higher ground at the bottom of our pasture land, unfortunately a little farther away from the house than the old barn. While the old barn had electrical connections to the grid, our new small barn was going to be without electricity. We rationalized there was no need for electricity as its purpose was to store hay and provide a bit of shelter for the cows in the worst of the winter weather.

In the process of relocating to the new site access to water for the cattle was a real concern for which there was no easy and clear strategy. We were confident something could be sorted out. I mentioned above the new location would be at the bottom of our pasture land situated on the side of a drumlin moraine / ridge. I also knew there was lots of ground water at the site, a transition from moraine to cedar bog. Previously I had prepared a small 3ftx3ft cedar lined reservoir from which we operated a nose pump in the good months. I figured, I hoped something could be organized with the nose pump to provide all year water supply for the cattle, but I knew the reservoir would not be a reliable source at minus 20ºC. When the barn was almost finished we organized a plastic culvert with holes drilled in the bottom half, a load of gravel to be dropped and for the backhoe to be on site. They asked me where to dig and I confessed to them saying, “I don’t know exactly, although a small reservoir is just down there about thirty feet away, so let’s try just off the corner of the barn.” At fourteen foot down we hit a natural pipe of water, a lucky guess, and then proceeded to go a bit deeper, install the culvert, trench to the edge of the barn overhang, install the water line and back fill with gravel. Problem number one was solved. Problem number two, connecting the cows to the water, still required some thinking. Freezing conditions continued to be my worry.

Our barn is designed with an inner enclosed area approximately 20ftx30ft with two overhangs about 10ftx30ft on each side. With shovel in hand I finished the trench to the outside edge of the inner enclosed area, laid the pipe to the wall and backfilled. I now had a dug well with lots of water and a pipe sticking out of the ground at the wall. It was our intention to use the overhang area for storing hay and I reasoned the hay would also act as insulation for the water line, but I wanted to be absolutely sure and decided to build an insulated box where the pipe came to the surface as I intend to drill through the wall so the end of the waterline would be inside the enclosed part of the barn. Still, I had not completely figured out an arrangement for a nose pump inside the barn. Earlier I had considered a frost-free nose pump, but they were expensive and required pressurized water, no good for our situation. Eventually I concluded the only solution was a conventional drawing nose pump, we had two already, positioned inside a well insulated robustly constructed box that could be closed and opened so cattle could access the mechanism and trough. I also reasoned some low source of heat in the box in the the coldest weather would keep the water from freezing. The hand warmer idea with blankets did not work. Then my wife came up with the brilliant idea of using hot stones, a eureka moment.

The water box, as we call it, worked for the cattle and the wrapped up hot stone placed on the back of the nose pump and covered in blankets has been successful in -30ºC weather. Our water access issue was solved and no electricity was required. Currently we have eight animals and they simply take turns according to their pecking order. Oh, and one more comment, the stones are heated on the surface of our old Findlay Oval cookstove to the point where oven mitts are required to move it. I also wrap the stone in tinfoil, in a towel and place it in a cloth bag for carrying up to the barn. Last night the temperature dipped down to -16ºC. The stone had residual heat 12 hours later, an appropriate technology solution.