Is it nessary to have a gutter on your coop to catch water?
Gutters?
- Thread starter Bantimna
- Start date
depends on how much overhang you have and weither or not you want the water running in your coop.
I would vote yes for mine. I had the coop above the run. The run was terrible as it was not solid on top but wire. we have just put up a gutter and it works great. Its according to where your roof causes the water to flow. If you have to go under this area, you don't want it falling on you either. Gloria Jean
we're putting gutters up because we want to do rainwater collection. all you need are the gutters and a collection tank (some sort of water-tight barrel or box).
we're using a 55 gal metal drum (the kind oil is transported in, but these are food grade) that we picked up for $17. you just need one usually. all you need to do is put your gutters up so that they have a slight slope toward the corner/side where your collection tank will be and cut a hole in the lid of your collection tank. the downspout would usually go all the way to the ground and deposit the water in a drain, or just in a puddle in your yard. instead, the downspout now goes straight into your collection tank and gives you all kinds of free water!
if you want, you can put a spigot at the bottom so you can easily fill your waterers. you can buy a spigot at most hardware stores and then you just need to drill your hole about 5 inches from the bottom of the barrel. this will gravity feed the water so you don't need a pump! (you probably want to elevate the collection tank so it's easier to get your buckets under the spigot.)
you do need to filter out leaves and whatnot somehow, and keep it algae and bug free. if you use a plastic collection tank, you can just cut a hole in the lid directly under the downspout and put in a hardware cloth screen. if you also use plastic waterers, you can treat the water in the tank with apple cider vinegar to discourage bugs and algae (never use ACV with metal!).
if you use a metal collection tank, the downspout needs to go into the tank with the lid fairly tight around it. use the hardware cloth to make a basket that hangs inside that you can easily clean. keeping it sealed like this should also keep the bugs and algae out.
we're using a 55 gal metal drum (the kind oil is transported in, but these are food grade) that we picked up for $17. you just need one usually. all you need to do is put your gutters up so that they have a slight slope toward the corner/side where your collection tank will be and cut a hole in the lid of your collection tank. the downspout would usually go all the way to the ground and deposit the water in a drain, or just in a puddle in your yard. instead, the downspout now goes straight into your collection tank and gives you all kinds of free water!
if you want, you can put a spigot at the bottom so you can easily fill your waterers. you can buy a spigot at most hardware stores and then you just need to drill your hole about 5 inches from the bottom of the barrel. this will gravity feed the water so you don't need a pump! (you probably want to elevate the collection tank so it's easier to get your buckets under the spigot.)
you do need to filter out leaves and whatnot somehow, and keep it algae and bug free. if you use a plastic collection tank, you can just cut a hole in the lid directly under the downspout and put in a hardware cloth screen. if you also use plastic waterers, you can treat the water in the tank with apple cider vinegar to discourage bugs and algae (never use ACV with metal!).
if you use a metal collection tank, the downspout needs to go into the tank with the lid fairly tight around it. use the hardware cloth to make a basket that hangs inside that you can easily clean. keeping it sealed like this should also keep the bugs and algae out.
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Most people do not have gutters on their coops. Of those people, some of them get away with it perfectly fine (those would be people with good roof overhangs, well-graded land, and very sandy free-draining soil). However MOST people without gutters end up with a muddy run, and if your coop is dirt-floored you can end up with dampness/flooding problems in the coop sometimes too.
IMHO if you have ANY HINT of a water problem, be it in the coop or run, it is a real good idea to put gutters on. This usually solves at least part of the problem.
Make sure the downspouts direct the water *well* away from the coop and run -- you can use nonperforated corrugated drainage pipe as an 'elephant nose' extension to make sure the water goes elsewhere.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
IMHO if you have ANY HINT of a water problem, be it in the coop or run, it is a real good idea to put gutters on. This usually solves at least part of the problem.
Make sure the downspouts direct the water *well* away from the coop and run -- you can use nonperforated corrugated drainage pipe as an 'elephant nose' extension to make sure the water goes elsewhere.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
CoyoteMagic
RIP ?-2014
Quote:
What they said!!
That's what I'm doing with mine too
What they said!!
- Jun 23, 2009
- 1,484
- 13
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I'm planning to add a gutter on one side of mine, to divert the water that runs off the coop and into the run.
One of these days ...
Has anyone ever completely finished building a chicken coop?
One of these days ...
Has anyone ever completely finished building a chicken coop?
Drip edge. This is more important then the gutters. Well that is if you have suffiecient overhang to allow the water to fall away from the building. This will save on the exterior of the coop and will keep the water from washing the dirt away from the foundation. Here is an example
jeremy
jeremy
Post # 957
Drip edge. This is more important then the gutters. Well that is if you have suffiecient overhang to allow the water to fall away from the building. This will save on the exterior of the coop and will keep the water from washing the dirt away from the foundation.
Oh yes, I have a drip edge! Yay for me ... I do not have gutters, but I sure do like atlargeintheworld's idea ! Questions: Where do you get one of those collection tanks? Would it work to have a kind of cheesecloth filter to keep out the *gunk* when collecting? I even have a couple spigots that I salvaged (brand new!) and could use.
LOVE the idea!
Oh yes, I have a drip edge! Yay for me ... I do not have gutters, but I sure do like atlargeintheworld's idea ! Questions: Where do you get one of those collection tanks? Would it work to have a kind of cheesecloth filter to keep out the *gunk* when collecting? I even have a couple spigots that I salvaged (brand new!) and could use.
My coop is going to have gutters because 1) slant of the yard makes the water run under the coop and 2) I'm gonna collect the rainwater instead of stretching my garden hose across the yard every day.
I made my coop 8ft wide because 2x4's come that long, but guess what also comes that long? 1 section of aluminum gutter I think is 10ft long so I will only need 1 piece! I hate trying to seal the seams on gutters - the ones on my house leak and I wish I could afford seamless for the house.
I made my coop 8ft wide because 2x4's come that long, but guess what also comes that long? 1 section of aluminum gutter I think is 10ft long so I will only need 1 piece! I hate trying to seal the seams on gutters - the ones on my house leak and I wish I could afford seamless for the house.
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