Automatic watering

[Our Roost]

Hawgon! Are you sure this is to code?? My girlfiend keeps telling me I need one of those thingees that hawgon has on his! Which thingee? He has a thousand of them!! Tee Hee.

 

[Our Roost]

James Brown! I would have never guessed. Good vibes.

 

[Hawgon]

I must be about done because I am running out of screws! Luckily I dont live with-in the city limits so we can pretty much do what we want when we want. Has just been alot of fun finding ideas on this website and then adapting or changing them a bit and then running with it. I dont show pics of my "oops pile" where the ideas didn't come out quite as I envisioned. That is why most of the coop and run is just cedar fence boards (the cheapest at Home Depot) so I can afford to make some mistakes and it still looks nice and last a long time.

Thanks for the comments....

Hawgon! Are you sure this is to code?? My girlfiend keeps telling me I need one of those thingees that hawgon has on his! Which thingee? He has a thousand of them!! Tee Hee.

 

[CraftyChicky]

Hi all, I am wondering if the watering cups will be able to be used by day old chicks that I will be receiving a delivery of in May. I have ordered the cups, but am now wondering if the little chickies will be able to use them.

 

[Our Roost]

Hello Crafty! First off, I hope you didnt pay too much for the cups. Hope you did some searching on different suppliers and options. The nipple feeders alone work just as well. And yes, according to pictures and articles provided via the internet, chicks pick up on nipple and cup feeders quite quickly. It may take a little introduction on your part to press their beak against the nipple or in the cup and wet their beak. After that they adapt on their own by pecking it.
This is my first year for raising chicks. Way back in the depression days, money and jobs were scarce. Our grandparents farmed and raised chickens and such to provide table fare during hard times. I remember it as a child being a lot of work for them. Today we have so many new inovations to lighten the maintenance load and upkeep. A lot of us have adapted a water ( rain ) barrel source to pvc piping with nipple waterers. Its a great approach to letting mother nature do the work for us. Tractor supply sells a floating water heater for about $30.00 dollars to keep the water from freezing during winter months. I want a hanging bucket waterer to put in my run outside the coop and yard area so the chicks dont have to run back to the coop all the time for a drink. Constantly exploring these new ideas can save you lots of time and monies. Next on the list is feeders! A couple of new ideas and applications are out there, but nothing really has me sold just yet. I like the pvc fill feeder approach as it attaches to a coop wall and takes up less space. I will probally make 2 of these to start with.
So Crafty! I hope this has helped you somewhat.

 

[Our Roost]

Have you tested out your rain barrel waterer yet? I have mine all piped but still need gutters hung and water spigot attached to barrel. Hoping there is enough downward water pressure to seat the nipples and keep them from dripping? I have my barrel elevated above the piping but not as high as yours. I'm also concerned about my floor height to nipples. Set at about 10 to 12 inches right now. Might need to raise as chicks grow. I hadn't planned on that when plumbing! I pretty much guessed based on photos on web. Chicks arriving soon. Just about set. I got suckered into buying 2 pekin ducks! Hope they mix well with the chicks. Cute as a button! Guess I'm hooked.

 

[Hawgon]

I got mine hooked up and works great. Put 4.5 week old chicks in there this weekend and they all were using it fine. I will post a pic tonight or tomorrow of it in the run. I make it a little high and then put several steps for them to reach if they are a little short. Works fine...I found that I almost have to much pressure with the 15 gal drum 6ft off the ground....They got a mouth-ful in a hurry.....I might restrict the flow with one of the on/off valves....I will show in my pics but I have two couplers on the vertical pipe so i can literally take it out and put a short or longer one in if I need to(I bought a couple of extra couplers and pipe)..Just in case....Good Luck and enjoy the ducks

 

[keith brickhouse]

gotta make sure u can clean them out every now and then to keep disease down

 

[Hawgon]

Good to know Keith, I put plenty of couplers and on/off valves in mine for disassembly and cleaning purposes. How often you thiunk?

 

[Our Roost]

Keith! Sounds like you have been using something like this for quite a while? Debris and sediment build up causing contamination concern me. I have a quick disconnect to seperate my drum from the pvc to clean the barrel, and a removal cap on the end of the water tube for flushing with the garden hose. I have heard that apple cider vinegar is good to add to the barrel on occaision to help sterilize the barrel and lines. I'm not sure if bleach is a good idea or not. It appears that the barrel and lines will have to be flushed occaisionally. I wonder if a pool company has a water tester to check for water purification? A shot in the dark, but someone must have something. Maybe the well drilling guys!