Rain water for the coop??

[Dixiedoodle]

I am in NC and since our drought seems to continue--I am trying to be a water saver even though we have a great well (knock on wood,

). I have been thinking about rain water collection for the coop.. Would it be safe to give the birds? The coop will have a metal roof, gutters and downspout into a collection barrel with a hose attached. If mosquitoes are a problem, I could drop a goldfish or other lavra eating fish into the barrel??? Any opinions, ideas, notes, anyone else use rain water for your birds??? Thank you Dixie

 

[elliemb]

I use it all the time in the summer! If my barrel starts to look a bit icky, I take the time to empty it and give it a scrub the next time it rains.

 

[oakmancritters]

to keep the skeaters out of the barrel put a lid on it with a hole for the downspout. i use rain water for my animals here as well as to water my garden.

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

what about a solar pump? would the bubbles work to keep them away?

 

[TheMartianChick]

Growing up we always used roof runoff water for our birds. My parent's house didn't have an outdoor spigot for a hose. We always had an assortment of 5 gallon buckets collecting water from the tin roof on the house. We would also use a scoop to water our gardens from the buckets. Dad would carry the buckets to the garden and we would apply the water to each plant rather than wasting water with a hose. This was especially important because we had a well for a water supply and didn't want it to go dry.