Any Ideas For Automatic Watering System For Ducks?

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Here is the link for an automatic waterer that attaches to your garden hose. I am looking at the same issue for my 22 ducks as well. I am trying to make ducksitting as easy as possible for friends and family for those few times my wife and I head out of town.

http://www.horse.com/item/automatic...code=GPHORSE&gclid=CL_X4oaHvL8CFW4Q7Aod7VwApg

Fortunately for me, my duck pen is about 75' from the well and I already have enough hose for it. Unfortunately that is 75' of hose in direct Florida sunlight, so for most of the year the system will provide them with a bowl of very hot water. The other option would be to set the faucet to a slow drip, then let the water slowly fill into a reservoir (in the shade) then a small pool. That way by the time the water gets to the ducks, it will have been out of direct sunlight and at least tepid enough for them to drink.
 
Richb353 said:
Unfortunately that is 75' of hose in direct Florida sunlight, so for most of the year the system will provide them with a bowl of very hot water.
Click to expand...

You might want to consider burying some 'poly irrigation tubing', since you don't have frosty winters in FL it doesn't even need to be buried that deep to work all year... Even if you do have winters they have automatic drains now that will drain the line as soon as pressure is turned off, so even in areas like IL where I live you can bury it about 8" deep, and use it all summer and even much of the winter if you turn it on and off between use and have a good drain field for the auto drain that doesn't freeze up during the winter months... I ran my auto drain line 48" down so it drains even in the dead of winter as it's well below the frost line... And it's cheap, you only need a spade shovel to bury it the 8" and a 100' foot roll is only about $13, a few extra bucks for connectors and you are golden with a cool not sun baked water supply...

Example

http://www.lowes.com/pd_248743-1359...100-ft+5/8-in+tubing&productId=3136515&rpp=32

This is the stuff I used, they also make a 1/2" version and sell it in shorter or longer rolls...
 
So this is the direction I'm thinking of going in.

Saw this system sold by BEC. You can see a video of it below:
0.jpg


Runs about $100 plus shipping if you're in the UK. If you're not, forget about getting it shipped stateside as it would be very expensive.

Looks relatively easy to DIY though. Just need a suitable container (I'm going for a 13 gallon HDPE drum barrel that I got on eBay here; $24 shipped)



Cut holes manually or get a whole saw (I would think 6" diameter holes would be big enough).

Install a simple ballcock valve with an adapter to hook a hose to it like this one ($6).


Last, devise a wooden support structure to keep the system stable and level and you're done (probably $20 in wood and screws). So, all told, you could make a decent automatic watering system that would allow the ducks to dunk their heads and drink for less than $50.

So here's my dilemma... as we all know, ducks make a huge mess out of their watering containers. This system would be no different, so how could I design it to make it easy to clean?

I'm thinking I could cut it down the middle so it could be opened and easily cleaned out and/or, create some sort of hatch system to allow access to clean out the dirt. What about adding a 1.5" PVC drain line with a stopcock to it so I could flush the dirt down the line to a drainage area when rinsing it out? I would think 1.5" would be plenty big enough so it wouldn't get clogged when draining it.

Anyone have any thoughts on this design and/or how to make it maintenance friendly? I already got the HDPE drum so I'm vested in getting this done.

smithmal
 
smithmal said:
Anyone have any thoughts on this design and/or how to make it maintenance friendly?  I already got the HDPE drum so I'm vested in getting this done.
Click to expand...


You can do what I do for my llama and goat water... Instead of having a float valve keep it full, I have a sprinkler timer hooked up to a hose positioned to stir up the water when it's on, this hose floods and overfills their waterer for 10 minutes every morning and thus for all intents it flushes out the old dirty water and debris and fills it up with fresh water every day... I could of course have it do it more often or longer if needed... Not ideal if you live somewhere were there are water restrictions, but it works for me as a maintenance free water solution until winter...

I use the Melnor 3015 timer, shop around I got several of them on clearance, so I'm set but you can find them for right around $20 if you shop around online and on Ebay...
 
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Completed my build.

You can see a video of the end product and it in use below.

0.jpg


Brief directions:

Material:

Procedure:
A. Creating watering drum
1. Cut watering holes' make sure all holes are in line with each other (I made mine with a 4" hole saw bit)
2. Cut spigot hole; hole should be at the height you want your water level to be (using 1/2" spade bit)
3. Cut clean out hole; hole placement should 3/4 of the way around the drum from where the watering holes are (using 1.5" hole saw bit)
4. Cut pole holes; make sure holes are both the same height for each side of drum (I made mine 3" down from top of drum side when watering holes are facing directly at you; used 3/4" spade bit)
5. Screw float valve into the inside of the spigot hole
6. Screw swivel hose connector onto float vale from the outside of drum
7. Remove lid clamp; remove lid, add thin bead of adhesive around the lid grove
8. Replace lid making sure pole hole is in the right placement; place lid clamp back on; add thin bead of adhesive around where lid rim meets drum
9. Allow to cure for 24 hours

B. Make drum stand
Make stand for what ever height you'd like. I buried my stand in the sand so I made it extra high. Burying stand in the ground ensures ducks won't tip it over.
1. Cut sides with saw (I made mine 30" high)
2. Cut base piece (I made mine 30" wide)
3. Cut pole holes with 3/4" bit (I made mine 3" from top of side pieces)
4. Attach sides and base with L brackets and weatherproof 2" screws
5. Add footings on base if you want to stabilize it (I used 2x 10" 2" x 6" scrap I had sitting around)

C. Assemble and Test
1. Add pole to support
2. Thread pole through drum and hang on support
3. Note where spigot lines up against side piece; cut a 3" notch into side piece
4. Wrap garden hose with teflon tape and then screw garden hose to spigot adaptor; make sure garden hose and spigot are tight
5. Turn on water
6. Adjust float valve using the wing nut on the valve so you have the float turn off the water at the desired height
7. Make sure drum is leakproof and then turn off water and empty drum
8. Cut edge rubber material to appropriate length and attach to the rim of the drinking holes
9. Bury stand; ensure that it is level; turn water on
10. Done


Lessons learned:
1. Purchase a sealed HDPE drum (like this one) rather than one with a lid. There's no reason for the drum to have a lid and making the lid leak proof is an unnecessary expense and labor when creating the system
2. If you can put the spigot in the back of the drum rather than on the side; you won't have to worry about notching your stand side to allow the garden hose access to the side of the drum. Just make sure the inner float doesn't interfere with the ducks ability to dunk their head through the watering hole
3. You could also design this without the clean out pipe; just put a bunch of 1/2" holes on the other side of the drum from the watering holes and spin the drum to empty it. I wanted a clean out pipe so I could direct the water out of my duck yard

Thanks,

smithmal
 
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