Rain Water questions

[mendozer]

I have the bucket and nipple system and have had for years. But now that they have a bigger coop and more chickens, I want a bigger system. I have a 30 gallon rain barrel I plan to put into a PVC pipe with nipples, fed by the rainwater off their coop roof. I was wondering about a few things:

If there's moss on the roof, is that going to contaminate the water...or is that "all natural"?

I don't want algae growing in it, so I'm probably going to paint the plastic tub, but some algae is inevitable as it's going to be resting in the shade.

Any ways to mitigate these concerns or are they not even concerns?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We now use a rain barrel with a cover. It keeps debris out, and algae growth is zero. I personally have used rain water in the summer for decades without problems. Some people have other opinions.

Back when we used an open rain barrel we dumped it regularly and scrubbed it out because of algae and mosquitoes.

 

[mendozer]

I was going to route the gutter into a pipe fitting so there is no open access for bugs. I'll unscrew the bung if I want to add electrolytes and vitamins. Although I guess the 4 foot section of tubing from the gutter to the tank is open, mosquitoes like standing water right?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I was going to route the gutter into a pipe fitting so there is no open access for bugs. I'll unscrew the bung if I want to add electrolytes and vitamins. Although I guess the 4 foot section of tubing from the gutter to the tank is open, mosquitoes like standing water right?

Yes, mosquitoes need still water to lay their eggs. You could use a screen put at the end of the pipe to keep them out.

 

[Ratchnick]

I would not put anything in the water as it may fuel bacterial growth.

 

[mendozer]

Not even Rooster Booster? That's the stuff I add to the buckets.

 

[Ratchnick]

How often do you clean your water buckets?

 

[chickens really]

All I use in the summer is rain barrel water for my Birds. If it gets stagnant because of a lack of rain I dump the barrel and use tap water.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Algae wont grow unless water is exposed to sunlight. Moss is a natural filter and will not harm the water at all. I have a rain barrel as well collecting coop roof runoff. So long as the temps are consistently above 30 degrees, that's the only water my girls get other than pockets of rain/ spring water around the yard.

 

[chickens really]

Algae won't hurt the birds anyways.