Arizona Chickens

[5pinkarrows]

Gallo--That is a great idea about freezing the water in the summer! I never thought of that. We just have the metal water thingies, but I bet if I took a plastic ice cream tub, filled it with water, and stuck it in the deep freezer, it would make the perfect size cube to fit in there. I think I'll try it. And we have determined that chickens are gross. Ours love to drink water out of the dirt. Sometimes we spill it in their coop jut for a special treat. Their all time favorite is food on the ground in a puddle of water. In the summer I often go out and spray down the whole coop on a hot day and when it hits the food, they act like they are starved to death and found it for the first time. Also, I didn't realize you were by Reid Park. Maybe we can come say hello on our next trip to the zoo!

Becky--That is precious! The things my kids say keep me smiling all day. Well, when they aren't arguing.

NoSkiveez--I'm glad it's not serious. Will this affect his test coming up? I didn't realize your hubby was law enforcement, too. We will have to get our guys together sometime. I don't know why, but they always seem to get along with other guys that carry guns for a living.

 

[AZBootsie]

Gallo, I spent the past 30 minutes drooling at your set up. It is perfect!! At 10-15 degrees cooler, I would spend my afternoons under your grape vines too. I will be starting some new runs next month and plan to utilize some of your ingenius ideas.

 

[vegaschick]

Quote:
What material are you using to insulate?

 

[Mahonri]

We are so lucky that the rain and cold will be south of us!... but Thurs. morning it says 32 degrees... guess I'll water the night before.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Oh, AZBootsie, you are so kind! Whenever I can't find my daughter in the summer I know I just have to look into the run where she likes to hide with the chickens, reading a book.

vegaschick, I used this reflectix material: http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 It's very easy to work with and is surprisingly effective for what it is--looks like bubble wrap with a layer of mylar on each side. My biggest concern with a insulating material was finding something my chickens didn't try to eat. I have it in both my coop and tractor where the chickens can have free access to it and they haven't tried to eat it....so far.

Of course, that's not to say someone else's chickens wouldn't try to eat it. I plan to cut a piece for the bucket lid, remove the handle and wrap the bucket and then put the handle back on. I think that small bit will keep a gallon of water frozen for much of the day.

 

[ca]

I use nipples from QC. I have a 5-foot PVC pipe attached to a 5-gallon bucket (bucket outside the henhouse, pipe inside. I have about 20 nipples on that pipe. Plenty for everybody. I have a float in the bucket so it fills automatically. Nipples are very low maintenance and guarantee clean water. I adjusted the pipe height several times while the chickens were growing. I think it is easiest for them if the nipples are somewhat overhead.
I also have a drain valve at the end of teh pipe. Just in case.

 

[ChrystalGail]

Sorry for the delay... here is the pic of the new system. It gives each pen 6.5 gallons each. I LOVE it!

I only have to fill it up once a week. Soooo nice! Lol...
Plus, the total cost was only $18.

 

[5pinkarrows]

That is a GREAT set up, Chrystal!!! I can't believe it was so cheap. The water things I buy are like $30 each! If I extend our chicken quarters, I may ask to see that again. Where did you get the big blue container?

 

[ChrystalGail]

Quote:
Thanks! It's just your typical blue plastic 55 gallon barrel. I got it from 4Gs in Maricopa. It was $10. I also cut them & use them for feeders and water buckets for my horses. I guess I didn't take into consideration the cost of the nipples, but I already had them in use in the pens, so I didn't have to buy them. But to be fair you can add $17 to the cost since I paid $1 each nipple. Still not a bad price to water 40+ chickens!

 

[NoSkiveez]

Quote:
He's not. He applied in March but they were on a hiring freeze and he just got notice they are hiring. He's excited. I hope he is ok in time to do the running. He will be bummed if he can't do it.