Your waterers are pretty cool! I also went to electronet from Premier this year. It has not been without its difficulties (crows and an eagle killing 3), but I like it a lot.
My waterer is a 10' stick of 1" PVC with a cap. I put a hose fitting on the other side, and used a barrel for a waterer. I used a bulkhead fitting (commonly used in aquariums) that I purchased on Amazon for $4.99.
All told, I have 40 gallons of water available for the cost of 10 nipples, a 10' stick of PVC, and a couple of fittings. Somewhere south of $12.
What I have found is that I was not offering enough water. Today, my chickens drank 15 gallons (approx), and I had two five gallon bucket waterers before. The mortality rate was around 9% in previous batches...and I am proud to report that today, short of the 3 lost learning about crows and eagles, I have lost zero.
I completely agree with the feed $ vs. time relationship you have been talking about. I am hoping for similar results. My latest batch of 50 will consume 400# of feed. Much more than yours, but much better than mine in past cycles. I estimate that it will cost me $1.44/lb based on feed, and the amortization of the fence for the next 10 rounds.
My waterer is a 10' stick of 1" PVC with a cap. I put a hose fitting on the other side, and used a barrel for a waterer. I used a bulkhead fitting (commonly used in aquariums) that I purchased on Amazon for $4.99.
All told, I have 40 gallons of water available for the cost of 10 nipples, a 10' stick of PVC, and a couple of fittings. Somewhere south of $12.
What I have found is that I was not offering enough water. Today, my chickens drank 15 gallons (approx), and I had two five gallon bucket waterers before. The mortality rate was around 9% in previous batches...and I am proud to report that today, short of the 3 lost learning about crows and eagles, I have lost zero.
I completely agree with the feed $ vs. time relationship you have been talking about. I am hoping for similar results. My latest batch of 50 will consume 400# of feed. Much more than yours, but much better than mine in past cycles. I estimate that it will cost me $1.44/lb based on feed, and the amortization of the fence for the next 10 rounds.
