Can I turn a stock tank into a watering system for my chickens?

[Noymira]

I have a 175 gallon stock tank we used to use for our horse, and I re-purposed it for a brooder when my chicks were small. They've now outgrown that and it's back outside.

Can I clean it out and use it to collect rain water for the chickens? How would I keep mosquitos out of it? Screen over the top?

Our coop is a good haul from our house, so it would save me from hauling quite a bit of water this summer if I could rig something up out there.

 

[VelvettFog]

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Buy your self a few gold-fish -- you know, the kind you get from the store for about 20 cents each. They are called 'feeders'. They will control both the mosquitoes as well as the algae in the tank.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I've had a hen drown herself in a stock tank, so I suggest that you keep a cover over it.

 

[ailurophile23]

Seems like, if you could place the stock tank slightly uphill from where you water your chickens, you could even do a gravity feed to their waterers or to a nipple waterer system. I agree that it would be best to cover the tank, at least with screen or hardware cloth for safety and maybe with something somewhat more solid to keep yard debris out. We collect lots of rainwater in our troughs but that is for the horses and I haven't yet rigged one up for the chickens.

 

[Noymira]

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Really? I didn't know that! Great idea!

 

[darkmatter]

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See my BYC page for pics of my setup------I've been using a stocktank, rainwater collection for years.

 

[Noymira]

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Thanks for that, I'd probably cover it anyway since I also have a toddler at home.

 

[Noymira]

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That's a good idea, my brother's plumber, I bet I could get his help coming up with something.

 

[Noymira]

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Thanks! That's exactly the one I have!

 

[KentuckyFC]

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Really? I didn't know that! Great idea!

Or minnows will do the job too I believe. Fathead or Rosy Reds.