Post by Christine on Apr 20, 2008 5:55:58 GMT -5
Well, the new automatic watering bowl has been in place for a week now, and it seems to be a success. In the past, I've put out four, large, rubber tubs to provide water for my cows and chickens. I thought about using a stock tank, or an old bathtub, but figured it would be easier to clean smaller rubber tubs that are almost emptied every day rather than one giant tank. Plus,since we have a well, I didn't relish the thought of dumping 100 gallons of water to clean out the sludge.
The rubber tubs did waste less water than a bathtub, but I still ended up dumping 20 gallons of water daily. The cows would wade into the tubs while drinking, turning the fresh, clean water into a mud bath. Plus, algae would eventually grow inside, causing me to have to scrub them out with brushes. We were replacing chemical in the iron removal system way too often, and were sludging up water filters even quicker.
While we were at the local feed store, I saw one of those dairy "automatic fill" bowls. After chatting with the store manager about it, I brought it home, connected it to a heavy four by four post sunk into the ground, and hooked it up to the garden hose. I think it's been a success.
The cows figured out how to push the paddle to fill the bowl within 24 hours of installation, and have all taken to drinking from it like pros. There is rarely more than a cup of water sitting in the bowl at any one time, so the water that they get is always cold and fresh. Plus, I no longer have to fill, clean, manage and deal with water tanks any more.
Of course, I'll need a heated unit to use this kind of a system during the winter, and I haven't yet taught the chickens to use it, but so far it seems to be a good choice for providing fresh water to the critters while avoiding waste.
Kip
The rubber tubs did waste less water than a bathtub, but I still ended up dumping 20 gallons of water daily. The cows would wade into the tubs while drinking, turning the fresh, clean water into a mud bath. Plus, algae would eventually grow inside, causing me to have to scrub them out with brushes. We were replacing chemical in the iron removal system way too often, and were sludging up water filters even quicker.
While we were at the local feed store, I saw one of those dairy "automatic fill" bowls. After chatting with the store manager about it, I brought it home, connected it to a heavy four by four post sunk into the ground, and hooked it up to the garden hose. I think it's been a success.
The cows figured out how to push the paddle to fill the bowl within 24 hours of installation, and have all taken to drinking from it like pros. There is rarely more than a cup of water sitting in the bowl at any one time, so the water that they get is always cold and fresh. Plus, I no longer have to fill, clean, manage and deal with water tanks any more.
Of course, I'll need a heated unit to use this kind of a system during the winter, and I haven't yet taught the chickens to use it, but so far it seems to be a good choice for providing fresh water to the critters while avoiding waste.
Kip