Sponsored Post Looking for a way to get fresh water to your chickens?

[zazouse]

I wished i could have a couple set ups like this but i am on a well and when the water table gets low we have alot of iron in our water and i would think the nipples would get clogged up.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I wished i could have a couple set ups like this but i am on a well and when the water table gets low we have alot of iron in our water and i would think the nipples would get clogged up.

I'm on a well too. We don't have an issue with iron, but we have high calcium in our water. Hasn't clogged anything up yet.

 

[TheChickenFount]

But how do you keep the chickens from pecking at the heat tape? My girls peck ANYTHING that looks to be "out of place" including freckles. They pecked the duct tape that held the plastic lining their bathtub brooder. They pecked the blue foam board insulation on the nest box while I was preparing to install it.

To quote a famous king: "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera "

Bruce

Chickens are very inquisitive that is for sure! The heat tape is a very rugged though some are molded right into a heavy duty PVC covering that is very very durable. The you can also get it in white where it just blends in with the PVC pipe that we use to construct the unit. The chickens may try and peck at it when you first install it but they will soon realize that nothing happens and quickly loose interest. Even if they do they are not going to hurt it or themselves. The name "tape" is a little misleading, it's not really a tape but a heavy duty wire encased in flexible PVC. There are typically two wires that run side by side with a space in the middle of it. When you apply it you need to use either "zip ties" or a strong tape. I use the zip ties because it is much easier to remove once winter is gone....Hope this helps...

 

[TheChickenFount]

I wished i could have a couple set ups like this but i am on a well and when the water table gets low we have alot of iron in our water and i would think the nipples would get clogged up.

We are also on well water here on the farm and the water runs through a charcoal filter. We always get bits of charcoal in our washing machine filter. I have installed the little screens on all of my garden hoses and washing machine lines. Its a little 3/4 inch round indented screen that snaps into the hose, Lowe's and Home Depot sell them for less then $0.75. They really help to keep the water flowing without an any issues. Every few months I take and clean the the screens out, which takes about 2 minutes. If any particles ever do get into The Chicken Fountain our drippers are designed split in half by unscrewing and the clog flows right out. Then you just screw it back together and you are good to go!

 

[kellieetal]

Bruce--that red spout is exactly what I'm anticipating using for my garden. I think the spout itself will ahve to be insulated, but I didn't want to mess with draining hoses every time I use them in the winter, an re-rolling up cold hoses, so I was going to use a short length through the wall, connected to the fountain continually but capped off on the garden spigot end when not in use. Then it would stay drained all by itself when not connected to the spigot. The post was a couple days ago and was late at night, so I am not really sure WHAT I was thinking to be honest. lol I think I was also just hoping to be able to fill the resevoir a couple times a week only with that hose segment, rather than carrying in a pitcher/bucket, and rather than having to leave the water spigot continuously hooked up/running in the winter. I"m not concerned about the growth of algae, as that is primarily from exposure to light, and with a closed system like this, light exposure would be negligible. I'll look at the heating chicken coop thread for that other information. But then, I'm not really looking for the necessity of heating a coop for the birds' sake but just for the sake of keeping the water from freezing. We'll be living in Illinois, about an hour northeast of St. Louis (between St. Louis,MO and Springfield, IL). I've never seen a winter there. Husband grew up there, but it's been 22 years that he's lived away from that region, and I suspect, as in my own home state, that the winter weather isn't like it used to be 20+ years ago.

 

[bruceha2000]

Bruce--that red spout is exactly what I'm anticipating using for my garden. I think the spout itself will have to be insulated,

No need. All the water that comes up to the top will immediately drain straight back down when you shut it off. Works great. They were designed specifically for the purpose of having water out in freezing locations without endangering the valve.

But that does bring up another thought. I would DEFINITELY get quick connectors because it will be no fun trying to screw on a hose at -20F. BUT make sure you get the kind that do NOT have built in shutoffs. Not really the right description, they have a ball at the end of the source connector that keeps water from coming out if nothing is connected and the "use" connector pushes the ball back when you connect it letting the water through the connector pair. The intent is that you can disconnect something like a sprinkler from the end of a hose and snap on a hand sprayer without going back to the shutoff. If you use this kind, the water WON'T drain back down the pipe. So you have to get the kind that would make a huge mess if you forgot to shut off the valve before removing the sprinkler.

I know this is REALLY confusing. Here is a picture of the connectors, I don't know if these particular ones have shutoffs or not:

but I didn't want to mess with draining hoses every time I use them in the winter, an re-rolling up cold hoses, so I was going to use a short length through the wall, connected to the fountain continually but capped off on the garden spigot end when not in use. Then it would stay drained all by itself when not connected to the spigot. The post was a couple days ago and was late at night, so I am not really sure WHAT I was thinking to be honest. lol I think I was also just hoping to be able to fill the reservoir a couple times a week only with that hose segment, rather than carrying in a pitcher/bucket, and rather than having to leave the water spigot continuously hooked up/running in the winter.

I'm with you on the not carrying water into the coop. I slopped enough of it before I made my nipple waterer.

I'm a little concerned about the capped off length of hose though. It won't drain if it is capped. If it is full of water, it will freeze and rupture.
If not capped, all the water will drain out of the fountain. You could hang the spigot end above the waterer but since it feeds from the bottom, there will always be water in the hose even when there is none left in the waterer. It could work IF the hose connected at the TOP of the fountain and is left open but that isn't the fountain design.

You probably need to put a shutoff ball valve right under the fountain. But I don't know how you keep THAT from freezing and cracking. I guess it would work if you are keeping your coop above 32F or have heat tape around the fountain and include the ball valve. I've had to replace a couple of sill cocks over the years because I forgot to shut the water off in the basement and open the cock then drain the water out of the shutoff valve.

Bruce

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I'm in Fl. Looks like a great product! My little flock is so picky about having clean fresh water. Busy person I am, this is a winner! You'll hear from me.

You have SMART chickens! Most will drink from the dirtiest puddle around even if there is fresh, spring water in a crystal bowl closer to them! lol You and they will LOVE The Chicken Fountain!

 

[AZChickenQueen]

Just received my first Fountain today and can't wait to get it up and running! Instructions look very comprehensive and hubby is VERY handy, so hopefully he will have time over the weekend to install it and I will report back! Rally looking forward to not having to deal with those old, icky galvanized waterers any more...

 

[TheChickenFount]

Just received my first Fountain today and can't wait to get it up and running! Instructions look very comprehensive and hubby is VERY handy, so hopefully he will have time over the weekend to install it and I will report back! Rally looking forward to not having to deal with those old, icky galvanized waterers any more...

Thank you so much for your business...I hope you and your flock enjoy The Chicken Fountain!

 

[AZChickenQueen]

Well, thank YOU and we ARE enjoying the new addition - the girls are figuring it out very quickly, and it was a breeze to install. I will probably be ordering a second unit fairly soon for the "lil peepers" yard - once they are big enough to integrate with "Crazy", my older and slightly combative RIR - LOL!