Lowest maintenance feeding/water

[U_Stormcrow]

For Water, I put gutters on my barn (one side anyways) which feeds a 275 gal tote, set 3' in the air (provides shade/space underneath for the birds to hide from the heat of the day, but could have been storage, etc. I then plumbed some PVC from the valve at the base and attached chicken cups, and at the end, an automatic dog watering bowl (one of the float things) because the cups are too shallow for my ducks. 1" of rainfall per week (my year round average) equates to about 240 gallons of water collected, so its frequently coming out the overflow, actually. So much that I added a second 275 gal tote for additional water storage (and for filling the trough for my goats when they are added to the farm in the coming months).

I have another gutter on one side of the hen house, which empties into a 4' long plastic trough as an additional water source for them, too.

For feed, I'm using three 4' PVC "J" style gravity feeders made from DWV fittings - not even glued together. Combined, they will hold 40# of pellet, or 50# of crumble. That's lazy, will feed my flock for days. Unfortunately, my Cornish X are ALSO lazy, and won't move from them if there is any food in them - so unless weather is really bad, or I will be absent for several days, I don't use them. They are also not the most convenient to fill w/o spillage. I don't recommend this design *IF* your circumstances are like mine.

 

[Carson213]

Also Why have chickens if it's too much work to keep them. I feed my birds once a week and they have auto waterers. To have a months worth of feed in a feeder, I would be worried that at months end it may get moldy or buggy. I like to keep my birds feed somewhat fresh. I do collect my eggs every day. Letting them set for a week you won't know what eggs are the freshest. I do sell my eggs. I also have around 400 birds. Just curious. Good luck...

i have back roll outs...so the ones at the bottom would be the oldest. growing up, we never refrigerated any of them. we put them in the cellar during the summer...but kept eggs for weeks. have you had issues with 1+ week old eggs? we never had a lot of eggs very long but we have a sand paper type egg cleaner and probably had eggs 3-4 weeks sometimes...with no issues. obviously, we stored them small side down, never reusing paper crates, and never gathered eggs outside the nesting box....my grandpa was strict about the last one!

 

[Carson213]

For Water, I put gutters on my barn (one side anyways) which feeds a 275 gal tote, set 3' in the air (provides shade/space underneath for the birds to hide from the heat of the day, but could have been storage, etc. I then plumbed some PVC from the valve at the base and attached chicken cups, and at the end, an automatic dog watering bowl (one of the float things) because the cups are too shallow for my ducks. 1" of rainfall per week (my year round average) equates to about 240 gallons of water collected, so its frequently coming out the overflow, actually. So much that I added a second 275 gal tote for additional water storage (and for filling the trough for my goats when they are added to the farm in the coming months).

I have another gutter on one side of the hen house, which empties into a 4' long plastic trough as an additional water source for them, too.

For feed, I'm using three 4' PVC "J" style gravity feeders made from DWV fittings - not even glued together. Combined, they will hold 40# of pellet, or 50# of crumble. That's lazy, will feed my flock for days. Unfortunately, my Cornish X are ALSO lazy, and won't move from them if there is any food in them - so unless weather is really bad, or I will be absent for several days, I don't use them. They are also not the most convenient to fill w/o spillage. I don't recommend this design *IF* your circumstances are like mine.

In my state it’s illegal to catch rain water. Considering that I live in Oregon...where it always rains...this seems pretty stupid

 

[Carson213]

In my state it’s illegal to catch rain water. Considering that I live in Oregon...where it always rains...this seems pretty stupid

great ideas. i was thinking of building a hopper to hold 4 bushels of feed that drops into their feeder. i can buy high quality feed locally in bulk for about .21 cents per bushel.

 

[Carson213]

i have back roll outs...so the ones at the bottom would be the oldest. growing up, we never refrigerated any of them. we put them in the cellar during the summer...but kept eggs for weeks. have you had issues with 1+ week old eggs? we never had a lot of eggs very long but we have a sand paper type egg cleaner and probably had eggs 3-4 weeks sometimes...with no issues. obviously, we stored them small side down, never reusing paper crates, and never gathered eggs outside the nesting box....my grandpa was strict about the last one!

400 chickens is a lot! are you selling eggs all to eat or to hatch too? does it pencil out? i love chickens and would love to know more about this.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

In my state it’s illegal to catch rain water. Considering that I live in Oregon...where it always rains...this seems pretty stupid

It was my understanding (no, I am not a lawyer, and am not licensed to practice anywhere in the US or elsewhere - I just had a passing interest in the law, and the development of water rights east/west of the MS was a great example of the law's divergence across states) that a private person, even without water rights COULD harvest rainwater in OR, so long as it was collected off an impervious surface and channeled into a tub, barrel, or similar. My 275 gallon totes would probably be pushing the envelope some, but the whole "Illegal to catch Rainwater" thing isn't quite the hard "no" most people grew up hearing. Though County, City, and HOA rules may be more limiting.

You may find this helpful: Oregon Smart Guide - Rainwater Collection

 

[cmom]

i have back roll outs...so the ones at the bottom would be the oldest. growing up, we never refrigerated any of them. we put them in the cellar during the summer...but kept eggs for weeks. have you had issues with 1+ week old eggs? we never had a lot of eggs very long but we have a sand paper type egg cleaner and probably had eggs 3-4 weeks sometimes...with no issues. obviously, we stored them small side down, never reusing paper crates, and never gathered eggs outside the nesting box....my grandpa was strict about the last one!

I had my first flock around 50 years ago. Things have certainly changed since then. I do refrigerate my eggs because to sell them, I'm required to.

 

[Carson213]

I had my first flock around 50 years ago. Things have certainly changed since then. I do refrigerate my eggs because to sell them, I'm required to.
View attachment 2320964

Do you have this right at your house?

 

[Carson213]

It was my understanding (no, I am not a lawyer, and am not licensed to practice anywhere in the US or elsewhere - I just had a passing interest in the law, and the development of water rights east/west of the MS was a great example of the law's divergence across states) that a private person, even without water rights COULD harvest rainwater in OR, so long as it was collected off an impervious surface and channeled into a tub, barrel, or similar. My 275 gallon totes would probably be pushing the envelope some, but the whole "Illegal to catch Rainwater" thing isn't quite the hard "no" most people grew up hearing. Though County, City, and HOA rules may be more limiting.

You may find this helpful: Oregon Smart Guide - Rainwater Collection

Wow! I hadn’t actually looked up the rules...I had just been told by two different people(farmers) that it wasn’t legal. I am going to make a trip to the store and I’ll post a picture later. Thank you for the info!

 

[Carson213]

In my state it’s illegal to catch rain water. Considering that I live in Oregon...where it always rains...this seems pretty stupid

Would you mind sharing a couple of pictures of the feeder that you made as well as the waterer?