Has anyone used a rain water gathering system to

[Momagain1]

Thanks, however now i'm worried about offering it to the birds due to contaminents (sp?)...but the spicket for the hose is sooooooo far away...

 

[bluebird]

For summer, I put a splitter on the spicket and leave a hose attached to one side all summer. The hose is long enough to run along the fence line and out to the BirdHouse and our garden. Just turn on spicket when I need to water. I have another shorter hose attached to the other half of splitter to water plants closer to the house and wash bird dishes. The only place I had to worry about hitting the hose with the mower is in front of the gate. So I dug a little trench, push the hose in, and put some flat rocks on top of it. Works for me!

 

[prairiehen74369]

i'm presently using 55 gal barrels and a water trough to catch rain water for my critters and even use it to wash dishes boil it first to kill germs and heat the water to wash dishes and add a splash of

bleach to rinse water works great. saves money on waterbill, electric on heating (use a hot plate to heat the water )I don't use it for drinking wouldn't hesitate if i had a purification system of some sort. Washyour hair in it it is naturally soft your hair will feel great. I buy 55 gallon pickle barrels with twist off lids so i can keep mosquito lava out put a gold fish in the water trough to eat the larva. I catch all this water off the metal roof over my trailer house. As polluted as our water and air is these days i feel safer with the rain water than with water from the tap. Now I will admit the weather we just had did make for some HARD WATER ha!!

 

[moetrout]

Quote:
I'm thinking you haven't had your chickens long. If you've seen them eat the things I've seen them eating you probably would not be so worried about it. As long as the water in the barrel isn't all green and slimey it's probably ok. You could put a small amount of bleach in the barrel to keep it from growing or maybe some ACV like some people use for their water nipple systems. Chickens are hardy animals, don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
Are there any puddles at all in your run or any area where they graze? If there are, your birds drink far more contaminated water already. Mine tend to drink out of the puddle they're standing in whenever they get thirsty. Dose it with a shot of vinegar every now and then to keep it a little acidic.

 

[Pagan Prince]

Mine tend to drink out of the puddle they're standing in whenever they get thirsty

Lot of puddles here ... The girls are not toilet trained either.... They choose the water they drink. I give clean where I can, but if there is algai and mosquito larve ? all the better... as long as it is "Natural" and without being stagnant. .... I'll go get some pics of my "Scruffy" set up...

 

[Momagain1]

No, I dont have them at all right now; next wk..

but we are planning our coop; so we are wanting to make it to where we could water easily as the spicket is no where near the coop house area..

so I wont be so worried about the water..a friend of mine said I'm over-worrying lol he said his drank rain water for years...(In addition to regular water)

 

[Mervin]

You'll be worried over every little detail at first. You'll quickly realize that chickens are pretty tough and don't need a lot of coddling. What has really helped me is finally "noticing" all of the folks with birds around me. Some of them have been keeping chickens for a very long time and have a lot of practical experience. Also making friends at an independent feed store or mill (not like Tractor Supply), if you can, is pretty valuable IMO. Generally, these folks have been on the local agriculture scene for a long time and can point you in the right direction with "local" information. You will find some terrific information on BYC, but it really helps to see things in practice under similar conditions to your own. Just my $0.02.

 

[bartellb]

I don't know a ton about chickens, but putting a little olive oil (not much just a tablespoon or so) on the top of the water in the barrel will keep larvae out - it forms a film on the top of the water. Just don't let the whole thing dry out, and make sure that the spigot is an inch or two from the bottom of the barrel. You'll be fine, and your birds will love the water. - and you'll save some bucks!

 

[Liamm_1]

Rainwater harvesting has been used by hundreds of billions of people in 3rd world countries for centuries. That is their only source of water in many cases, and they use it for all their needs. It was used in this country prior to the invention of piped plumbing and the ever important 'Water Usage Fee'.
Rainwater harvesting is being put into use more and more these days in thsi country. One day in our lifetimes, I will expect to see the majority of new homes using these systems completely.
There are also gray water recycling systems being installed in homes all over the world. Water from sinks and showers, etc. is collected in a holding tank, filtered, and reused using a separate piping system to not conjoin it with fresh water piping. The gray water is then used to flush toilets, landscaping, etc.
Fresh water is a precious, natural resource that we must think of in terms of 'liquid gold'.
Only .4% of all the water in the world is available for drinking.
Collect it, store it, reuse it, in any way you can. Try to think of using tap water, only when no other source is available, and for drinking of course (I filter mine for drinking).
My water bill is not much, maybe $30-40/month. When I was out of the country for 2 months, I noticed my water bill was still $25/mo. I went to the water company and asked how this could be. I was told that $25/mo. is the Water Usage Fee (simply charged for being connected, lol) and taxes, surcharges etc.
So, my actual usage of water each month is 0nly $5-15/mo. Therefore I pay more each month just to be connected, than I do for actual water.