Rain Barrel: Hose or rain filled? Simple setup ideas?

[GetFitWithKrista]

Hi all,

For water for 5 hens in New Jersey:

1. Do you have a simple rain collection system you could share?

2. Is using a dark colored barrel and keeping it in the shade enough to prevent algae?

3. What happens to the setup during cold freezing weather? Hot summer?

4. Do you think it would be better to set the barrel out to collect rainwater naturally or place it under the gutter?
My thoughts on this are: Maybe there would be less contamination since it's not running off the roof and picking up junk and I wouldn't have to deal with runoff. Maybe there wouldn't be enough rain to keep it full though?

6. Any issues with it sitting stagnant for a while until it's filled again or while rain is collecting?

7. Do you have any suggestions on how to prevent bacteria and diseases?

 

[Rurumo]

Basically, that kind of thing only works for watering plants during the warm months. If you leave water in them during the winter, they freeze up and might get damaged. The water gets funky very fast and isn't good for either people or chickens without treatment/filtration. Some people set these water collection systems up with uv sterilization and filtration, that's a different story. Just an fyi, but even if you store tap water inside for emergencies in 5 gal containers, it needs to be treated with bleach or something comparable, and you should replace the water (and bleach) at least yearly.

 

[RoyalChick]

I collect rain off the roof of the Chicken coop into a rain barrel.
I have a leg of pantyhose over the downspout to filter out leaf debris - I pull that off and empty it from time to time.
I leave it out all year.
In winter I try and drain it at least half way down before it gets very cold and in summer I put one of those dunks in that kill mosquito larvae.
Chickens seem to do fine on that water and it is cleaner than the puddles they drink from when free ranging.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I collect rain off the roof of the Chicken coop into a rain barrel.
I have a leg of pantyhose over the downspout to filter out leaf debris - I pull that off and empty it from time to time.
I leave it out all year.
In winter I try and drain it at least half way down before it gets very cold and in summer I put one of those dunks in that kill mosquito larvae.
Chickens seem to do fine on that water and it is cleaner than the puddles they drink from when free ranging.

This is awesome, thanks so much for responding! And you're in NJ!

Here is the info I've found. Can you tell me your thoughts?

It seems like the biggest problem with rain barrel collection is with potential algae, bacteria and parasites.

I first thought about collect rain as it drops which would be good because it won't be hitting the roof then the gutter picking up junk. But then we have to screen the whole top of the barrel to collect enough rain water but also strain the leaves and debris. That makes me nervous because of the bird poop and mosquito situation.

Then I thought we could use the gutter system that you use which requires only a very small opening in the top of the barrel since water is pouring directly in, correct? This would also have a strainer (you use pantyhose?) but then you have to deal with the junk from the roof and gutters contaminating the water, right?

With regard to algae, I've read that if I use a dark colored barrel and keep it in the shade, it would be okay. Some barrels are resistant to algae, mold, mildew? This seems like it would help keep the water cool in the summer, too. My husband and I also discussed using a pump so the water is constantly moving which would prevent it from freezing in the winter and ward off bugs, as well as prevent algae. Do you have freezing and algae problems?

Lastly, how do you prevent bacteria and parasites from getting into the water? You mentioned dunks for mosquitos? I'm not familiar with that.

Any info you'd be willing to share is most appreciated.

 

[RoyalChick]

This is awesome, thanks so much for responding! And you're in NJ!

Here is the info I've found. Can you tell me your thoughts?

It seems like the biggest problem with rain barrel collection is with potential algae, bacteria and parasites.

I first thought about collect rain as it drops which would be good because it won't be hitting the roof then the gutter picking up junk. But then we have to screen the whole top of the barrel to collect enough rain water but also strain the leaves and debris. That makes me nervous because of the bird poop and mosquito situation.

Then I thought we could use the gutter system that you use which requires only a very small opening in the top of the barrel since water is pouring directly in, correct? This would also have a strainer (you use pantyhose?) but then you have to deal with the junk from the roof and gutters contaminating the water, right?

With regard to algae, I've read that if I use a dark colored barrel and keep it in the shade, it would be okay. Some barrels are resistant to algae, mold, mildew? This seems like it would help keep the water cool in the summer, too. My husband and I also discussed using a pump so the water is constantly moving which would prevent it from freezing in the winter and ward off bugs, as well as prevent algae. Do you have freezing and algae problems?

Lastly, how do you prevent bacteria and parasites from getting into the water? You mentioned dunks for mosquitos? I'm not familiar with that.

Any info you'd be willing to share is most appreciated.

Mine is a dark colored barrel with a closed top and the down spout goes straight in. Then I put the panty hose over the down spout to catch leaves etc.
I am sure crap gets in there but probably less than the crap they take in wandering around outside.
I try and empty it quite often so the water isn’t too old. Particularly before a good rain I empty it out (water the plants) and then I know the water in it is fresh from the new rain.
Is it operating room clean? For sure not!
The mosquito dunks are literally called that - get them on Amazon. They float inside and have a bacterium (I think) that destroys mosquito larvae but is safe for everything else. I just put a little bit in every couple of months in the summer.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Mine is a dark colored barrel with a closed top and the down spout goes straight in. Then I put the panty hose over the down spout to catch leaves etc.
I am sure crap gets in there but probably less than the crap they take in wandering around outside.
I try and empty it quite often so the water isn’t too old. Particularly before a good rain I empty it out (water the plants) and then I know the water in it is fresh from the new rain.
Is it operating room clean? For sure not!
The mosquito dunks are literally called that - get them on Amazon. They float inside and have a bacterium (I think) that destroys mosquito larvae but is safe for everything else. I just put a little bit in every couple of months in the summer.

Awesome info. So you don't have a screen on top, your downspout goes right into the opening, correct? Do you have to seal around it or anything?

How often would you say you empty it? Do you have to take it apart and clean the inside? I don't want to have to do that.

I will definitely buy the dunk, thank you SO much.

 

[RoyalChick]

Awesome info. So you don't have a screen on top, your downspout goes right into the opening, correct? Do you have to seal around it or anything?

How often would you say you empty it? Do you have to take it apart and clean the inside? I don't want to have to do that.

I will definitely buy the dunk, thank you SO much.

No screen but the hole in the top is only just big enough to fit the downspout.
Very little stuff falls in, but stuff does come in from the gutter inside the downspout - hence the pantyhose screen over the end of the downspout.
The last little bit of downspout is an angled piece and not screwed in above so I can remove it to empty out the pantyhose and either wash it or replace it.
In winter I don’t really empty it. But in summer I empty it before big rain storms. I don’t clean inside - I can’t get inside - I just let it drain out and fill with new water.
Last year as you probably remember we had quite a drought and in that circumstance I emptied it and it didn’t refill so I am sure anything nasty would have just dried out.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

No screen but the hole in the top is only just big enough to fit the downspout.
Very little stuff falls in, but stuff does come in from the gutter inside the downspout - hence the pantyhose screen over the end of the downspout.
The last little bit of downspout is an angled piece and not screwed in above so I can remove it to empty out the pantyhose and either wash it or replace it.
In winter I don’t really empty it. But in summer I empty it before big rain storms. I don’t clean inside - I can’t get inside - I just let it drain out and fill with new water.
Last year as you probably remember we had quite a drought and in that circumstance I emptied it and it didn’t refill so I am sure anything nasty would have just dried out.

This is so low maintenance. I love it.

The link didn't go to anything. Are these the dunks: https://www.amazon.com/Summit-responsible-solutions-110-12-Mosquito/dp/B0000AH849

What do you do to prevent the water from freezing?

How did you set up the part where the chickens drink from?

 

[RoyalChick]

This is so low maintenance. I love it.

The link didn't go to anything. Are these the dunks: https://www.amazon.com/Summit-responsible-solutions-110-12-Mosquito/dp/B0000AH849

What do you do to prevent the water from freezing?

How did you set up the part where the chickens drink from?

Yup those are the dunks.
I can’t prevent it freezing. But in NJ we only really have a few weeks where it is frozen solid. During that time they get water from the faucet in the garage.
Often, even when it is below freezing, the bottom of the barrel is still liquid. The ice floats on the top and it takes a long cold spell to freeze 30” of water solid.
So the trick is holding the hose up high to drain as much water out before turning it off so there isn’t a solid hose worth of ice preventing the water coming out.
I only replenish their water maybe once a week so ideally I can do that in an afternoon above freezing.
I drag a hose into the coop and run.
I should say that I use the faucet water in the 5gal bucket on the warming base. I thought the warmer would encourage algal growth so prefer to start that one with faucet water.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Yup those are the dunks.
I can’t prevent it freezing. But in NJ we only really have a few weeks where it is frozen solid. During that time they get water from the faucet in the garage.
Often, even when it is below freezing, the bottom of the barrel is still liquid. The ice floats on the top and it takes a long cold spell to freeze 30” of water solid.
So the trick is holding the hose up high to drain as much water out before turning it off so there isn’t a solid hose worth of ice preventing the water coming out.
I only replenish their water maybe once a week so ideally I can do that in an afternoon above freezing.
I drag a hose into the coop and run.
I should say that I use the faucet water in the 5gal bucket on the warming base. I thought the warmer would encourage algal growth so prefer to start that one with faucet water.

Which rain barrel do you use?

I was following until you mentioned the hose part. Do you hook a hose up to the barrel and then fill water bowls for the chickens from the hose? So you'd have to drain the hose in the winter before turning off the valve so it doesn't freeze in there.

Some people have a PVC nipple system like the one in the photo. That's pretty interesting and something I'd really like to try to do. I'm worried about freezing water in the PVC though.

Do you have problems with algae in the summer? My husband mentioned using a pump kind of like in a fish tank.