Total newbie, be kind - water question for initial coop set up

[UxbridgeNewbieChickenMama]

Hi all,

We are in Ontario, very long and cold winters.

We have a cash crop farm and are thinking of having an arrangement with someone who knows how to maintain a chicken coop on our property for a share in the eggs.

We have had a few people reply to an ad I created on FB, it seems as though they would set up a system that has auto feeders and waterers, and they would come by once weekly to clean etc.

We have a frost free hydrant tap that is buried 4ft under, to our well.

Is it possible to set auto-waterers up with a hydrant tap?

Any suggestions are extremely well appreciated! Remember I have zero experience in this, and am at the very beginning of our learning process

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't know anything about such a watering system, but I wanted to respond so you would know that we hear you, and to wish you luck. Also I suggest you get everything in writing and have a lawyer look things over to think of anything that could go wrong and how to protect yourself in case they do. Nothing worse than bad blood between neighbors/ friends when things go south, especially when it's on your property. If pipes burst, water leaks, chickens die, eggs don't get collected and burst from freezing, predators get in and kill the chickens, who bears the losses, etc. Lots to think about. I wish you well and all success.

 

[UxbridgeNewbieChickenMama]

I don't know anything about such a watering system, but I wanted to respond so you would know that we hear you, and to wish you luck. Also I suggest you get everything in writing and have a lawyer look things over to think of anything that could go wrong and how to protect yourself in case they do. Nothing worse than bad blood between neighbors/ friends when things go south, especially when it's on your property. If pipes burst, water leaks, chickens die, eggs don't get collected and burst from freezing, predators get in and kill the chickens, who bears the losses, etc. Lots to think about. I wish you well and all success.

Thank you for this advice, I completely agree with you. There is a lot for us to learn before we enter any arrangement, and as a newbie I don't even know tbh what could go wrong, so this is a must have to cover all the bases. We will be doing a lot of due diligence as we consider this arrangement for sure

 

[RojoMarz]

Even with a frost free hydrant tap that is buried 4ft under, to your well, the water will freeze in the coop/run, unless you provide electricty to run something to prevent the water from freezing.

 

[saysfaa]

...Is it possible to set auto-waterers up with a hydrant tap?

Not easily unless there is a new design I don't know about. The frost free part works by allowing the water between the faucet and the valve 4' down to drain back down below the valve. If you leave a hose on the faucet, the water either can't drain back down (closed water tank) or, worse, it siphons the water from the water tank (open water tank). In one case, the hydrant freezes; in the other, the well gets contaminated.

It might be possible to fill a tank that is big enough to last from one visit to the next then disconnect the hose until the next visit. The tank would need to be heated enough to keep it from freezing. It might also need a circulation pump.

Any suggestions are extremely well appreciated! Remember I have zero experience in this, and am at the very beginning of our learning process

Someone should check on the chickens at least once a day at least most of the time, even if everything is automated. Things happen, even in the best of systems. Finding a problem with the waterer or feeder within a day gives a much better chance that the chickens won't suffer. It is also better to find any problem early - an injury, a chicken that got stuck, ...

How do they plan to keep the eggs from freezing?

Are you sure you want someone coming in once a week or more all year? I found that quite unrestful, even when the people were friends but maybe you are sure you do, I know some people enjoy such a thing. Would they use the driveway past your house? If so, do you keep it well plowed/blown anyway? If not, who would plow that drive. Either way, who shovels to the coop door?

Who owns the coop (the actual building)? Who maintains it? And what does "maintain it" mean? We once had an agreement with my dad that he would maintain some buildings on property that we both had an interest in. We knew we had very different definitions of "maintenance". We thought we explained this well enough and that he agreed to actually do things like keep water from coming through the roof and windows of the house. It ended badly.

I assume you have thought about taking care of the chickens yourself? Why would you not?

 

[Mountain Roost]

Either way, who shovels to the coop door?

This hit home for me! lol no one likes to help with the shoveling.

Perhaps setting up an agreement like this would be best after one has a year of chicken keeping under their belt. Some of the unknowns would be pretty clear after one year of backyard chickening'.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We are in Ontario, very long and cold winters.

We have a cash crop farm and are thinking of having an arrangement with someone who knows how to maintain a chicken coop on our property for a share in the eggs.

What scale are you talking about. A large commercial operation or just a few eggs for your use? People in Ontario have both of those set-ups but I don't know how they manage in your climate. My first question would be what experience do you have with this type of set-up.

We have had a few people reply to an ad I created on FB, it seems as though they would set up a system that has auto feeders and waterers, and they would come by once weekly to clean etc.

I have a problem with the once weekly thing. That makes me think you are talking about a very small operation. Even during the warmer months things happen. Feeders or waterers stop working. Predators might be a risk. Disease or parasites may become a problem. Leaving eggs in the coop can lead to egg eating or just dirty eggs. I'm really uncomfortable checking on living animals just once a week.

We have a frost free hydrant tap that is buried 4ft under, to our well.

Is it possible to set auto-waterers up with a hydrant tap?

Of course it is. I'd prefer a non-hydrant tap but people get water into their homes in your climate. With the hydrant under constant pressure it would never drain. You'd need to maintain heat on the entire water system with your cold. That means a power outage could be a disaster.

Any suggestions are extremely well appreciated! Remember I have zero experience in this, and am at the very beginning of our learning process

What you are talking about is doable but could be expensive to set up. I'd want to rely on local knowledge on how to do it because people are keeping chickens there. Personally I'd never accept a weekly visit when maintaining any animals, even in summer. Too much can go wrong with living animals.

I don't know enough about your situation to get too specific. Are you living there where you could keep an eye on things or are you an absentee owner? I understand it is a different world but I grew up on a small farm many decades ago. I'm really uncomfortable with the animals not being checked on daily.