Added a rain barrel

[brains]

I figured I would add a rain barrel to water the chickens. I found a barrel in a ditch down the road and cleaned it out. I found some gutter and downspouts in the woods but they had holes all over. So this is what I came up with. I will use it to water chickens in the summer but use house water in the winter

 

[GuppyTJ]

Well done! I love rain barrels! Free water and easy access!

 

[crooked stripe]

Where do you find your barrels? I find them around here but they were used for antifreeze, cleaning fluids and car wash wax. I don't know what to use to cut the materials used in the old barrels to clean them out. I need to run water into the small heated shed to use this winter. With my new back problems I can no longer carry 5 gal of water all the way to the coop. I was hoping on running a hose to fill the barrel then use water out of that. Any advise would be appreciated. John

 

[txnative]

Tractor Supply, Home Depot, many garden stores will have rain barrels that haven't had potentially bad chemicals in them. I've got a chicken tractor with a waterer and mister attached but I haven't been able to use those because the hose water just gets too hot. So, I'm planning to get a rain barrel that I can keep in the shade, fill with the hose, and attach to the tractor.

 

[GuppyTJ]

One easy and cheap solution is to use a plastic garbage can for a rain barrel. It's not fancy but it works. The only watch out is to make sure they don't freeze while filled with water in the winter which can cause them to crack. This of course, applies to any type of rain barrel.

Guppy