Two questions about watering.

I water my animals by hauling 3 gallon pails on a toboggan in winter, but this property was not used as a farm for over 32 years. How long have you been farming on your land and how do you water in winter?

People have been watering on this land since the 1950s. At one point in time it was converted from a dairy farm to a cow/calf operation. Somewhere along the way an automatic watering system was put in. I do not use it and have been watering by hand either by hauling well water, collecting rain water or melting snow. Most animals have electric heated waterers. I have been here four summers.

Sorry I did not answer the poll as my information was too detailed.

We keep animals on this small piece of property, don't know if you could call that farming.

For years the horses were watered with 5 or more lengths of garden hose, strategically laid out to drain at both ends when undone. Without fail this set up froze all winter which lead to digging up buried hose, lugging hot water to the suspected frozen spot, pouring hot water to melt, then testing to see if mission accomplished.

After years I asked HUbby, isn't there a portion of our waterline in the horse pen? Yes. Shortly after a backhoe arrived, as if by magic, and we installed a hydrant. It is set almost 6 feet into the ground and never freezes. I bless that thing every day I water the horses. Although last winter with horses in two locations, I carried water by bucket to one of them all winter. Pain in the butt!

The chickens have water carried daily, but it's only a gallon, so that's not bad. Unless I slip on the ice and the only place I have ever spilled water seems to be inside my boot. Not sure how that happens, but it does.

Don't know how you manage Fat Ewe, water is HEAVY!

Oh..this was just a treed lot when we bought it. It had not been lived on or developed in any way. Bush and bedrock.

our cows have automatic waterer, there is no way i would be hauling water via small bucket for cows..LOL the chickens have large waterers i fill up every 3rd day

I haul buckets of water from the wellhouse sink to the chicken coops during the winter. In summer I have an automatic watering system set up. I have hydrants that fill stock tanks for the cows.

We have been poultry/waterfowl farming for just over 2 years. We think we have decided on Jurassic Creek Farm as a name, ...hope we get it. As far as watering, we have our chicken house and duck house (not yet finished) about 100 ft from the house. We can use a hose (so far) as it is not cold yet. Last year we had 2 days that the water froze but on the Coast we have more rain than cold. Once we get the other houses started we will have to figure something else out as it will be much farther away. Chickens get water at least 2x a day, sometimes 3, ducks, well you just can't keep it clean with their dirty little mouths.

I have a hydrant out beside the barn as well as 4 water bowls...We have been on the farm for 4 years, this is our 5th winter, before we bought it was always a cattle farm and is set up that way.
I fill 2- 5 gallon buckets at a time, i fill 2 doggie pools every morning for the geese. It takes 3 buckets to fill one pool so 6 buckets of water for the pools. I also have 3 coops that use half a bucket of water as well as the rabbits half bucket. I also use one bucket of water for in the barn. So I end up carrying 9-5 gallon buckets of water, I also use 4- 5 gallon buckets filled with feed each day to feed all the birds.
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At this time of year my numbers are at the lowest, so I can get away with carrying 2 5-gallon pails of water every second day. When the outside hydrant is frozen up I dip a coffee can in the cattle/horse waterer to fill the pails.
I have a lot more hauling to do in the spring/summer/fall when I'm brooding and growing chicks as I empty and clean all their waterers every day.

So far it seems that people with large livestock (cows and horses) are set up with automated water systems because the amounts of water necessary to haul is formidable, but those with small livestock tend to haul water in buckets.

For those using heated buckets for their birds, does the cost of the electricity escalate greatly in winter from the summer when no heat is required?

The lower wattage heated waterers don't seem to make much difference in hydro if they're thermostat controlled. We used to run four 1500 tank heaters for the horses, goats and poultry, but we swapped out 3 for 150 Watt buckets.
We aren't -20 for months on end though.

We have a heated pumphouse close to the house that I keep 200 feet of hose on for the days I need to fill the goose pool.

I use black waterers. Set them up where the sun can hit them and they don't freeze as fast (or will thaw quicker).

I use the heated stands to set my metal poultry waterers on. Seems to work best for me. I haul water about every second day, not to bad. Our cattle and horses all have heated waterers nomatter what field or pen they are in.

We have an automatic watering bowl for one sheep pen and for our cattle. The horses and second sheep pen are located right beside our new hydrant so I just dump a couple 5 gal buckets into their water troughs daily, or if we are away for a couple days I will fill them up when we return with a hose.
We are trying something new this year called a Thermosink, it is dug into the ground and uses the heat of the ground to keep it thawed. With only 3 horses using it there is a skim of ice that forms overnight but the heal of my boot easily breaks it open each day for them. So far so good, we will see once we hit really cold how it works. If it works this winter we are going to look into one for the sheep as well. No electricity and automatic water filling would be great in my second sheep pen.
For the birds most either have heated font bases (use 40-60 watts of power, on a thermocube so only cut in at 2 degrees and out at 7 degrees to prevent freezing), or I have heated water dishes for the smaller coops that use 15 watts each.
I find with incubation in the spring/summer and brooding it all balances out for electricity to keep water thawed in winter. The most electricity is the one horse pen that uses a 1500 watt heater for their water bowl, the rest are all under 100 watts except the heat lamp that will turn on in the cold for the main hen house.

We have two water hydrants at each end of the livestock areas so pretty easy access for hose or for water buckets. I haul an average of 6 - 5 gallon buckets for the chickens/sheep daily. We have a rack that goes on the back of the quad trailer hitch, so low enough to put the buckets on and drive them where I need them to go. Also use if for feeding. Works great, and saves my back a tonne.

I believe the longer you are farming/ranching the smarter and more efficient you get at doing things.