Water supply for Chicken coop

RichNJKubota · Apr 12, 2004

I'll be building a small coop this summer for a few chickens (25). I live in NJ so to get a water supply out to the coop I should bury the water pipe 4 feet deep and use a frost proof type of spigot.
Well, I don't want to go to that expense. I'll be digging a 2 foot deep trench using a ditch witch for electrical so I'd like to run a conduit for a small water line also. The coop will be a little higher in elevation than the house, so I should be able to have a drianback valve at the house to empty the water line.
Any thoughts? Has anyone done this before?
Thanks,
Rich in NJ

theboman · Apr 12, 2004

Now a chicken coop is made for transporting chickens, or at least that's what I was always taught. So a hen house? A chicken house? : )
Now, you'll have plenty of great ferlizer for the garden and plants soon!

Bird · Apr 12, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( a chicken coop is made for transporting chickens, or at least that's what I was always taught )</font>

Probably a regional thing. A coop is "An enclosure or cage, as for poultry or small animals" according to at least one dictionary. It may or may not be portable and may or may not have a building associated with it and become a "hen house" or "chicken house". /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Poppa · Apr 12, 2004

Rich, I have been thinking of doing the same here in CO to get water to my barn. I don't want to have to put in two hundred feet of four foot deep trench. It's all down hill from the house to the barn, I figure The line would be very easy to drain so AS LONG AS I DRAINED IT!!! (more likely to forget two or more times a year and end up with a frozen mess /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif). Of course, I haven't done it yet but I just know it would have to be OK, (not great) 90% of the time.

Mike

Coop house, who cares, pass me a thigh.

GerardC · Apr 12, 2004

I believe that they are refered to as...

a "chicken coop" or

a "hen house"

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

mahlers · Apr 12, 2004

If you're afraid of freezing and bursting the pipe, you could use Schedule 80 PVC and wrap it with insulation before burying it. A two-foot ditch should be plenty to keep it from freezing about 99% of the time. If you're going to be having some long extreme cold-spells, the drainback valve will solve the problem.

You've got to be careful with putting water pipe and electrical lines in the same trench - there's a possiblity that you could energize your water system with an electrical short and get a nice zap when you take a shower... Make sure your metal pipes are well grounded from a few locations.

2003Pilot · Apr 12, 2004

Rich:

Your trench idea seems reasonable. I did something similar.

I was fortunate enough to get a cable TV contractor that was working in the neighborhood to dig a trench for me from my house to the site of a future garage/barn about 100' from my house. The future barn location slopes down hill from my house about 6' overall. Although the trench is 4' deep, I have a galvanized pipe coming out of the ground on both ends. I didn't want to have the water line go through the foundation of my house, so I just connect a hose to the pipe in the summer. At the other end I may install a frost proof hydrant. I still have to blow out the water in the fall, because it can accumulate in the vertical pipe and freeze. I've even considered pouring some RV antifreeze in the pipe to prevent freezing at the low end.

One thing to keep in mind about your application, you will still want to have water available for your chicken coop in the winter.

Gary

(Hillsborough, NJ)

rockinmywaypa · Apr 12, 2004

I'am not sure why you need electrical hook-up or water in a trench? If it is only 25 then you may want to free range them when they are older. A few people I know have had great success building movable coops that are similar in description to 4 gates that tow behind the riding mower. As the grass is eaten off and the ground gets messed up they pull it the length of itself to new ground. Water is in a barrel that feeds the trough and moves along too. This is a warm weather project that the kids look after mostly. Good luck and good eating.

jimg · Apr 12, 2004

When I had chicks (about as many as you have) I thought about plumbing the house but never did. In the long run Im glad I didnt. I used a 3 gal plastic waterer that was set about 4" off the floor. Being removable it was easy to wash (which you'll want to do somewhat regularly) and take indoors in the winter. Even if you plumb in water youll either have to turn it off in the winter and go portable or install a heater. Might as well save the $$$ and just use a portable waterer all the time.

Soundguy · Apr 12, 2004

Down at the end of my pasture, about 500' or so from the well I have my chicken, turkey and hog pens.. I could have put them closer.. but the neighbor behind me kind helped me decide.. as he used to be a terrible jerk, and bother me all the time.. after putting the hog and foul pens up, he rarely goes into his back yard.. or even keeps his windows open.. so it was a real win-win situation for me..

Anyway.. I also didn't want to pay to install deep frost proof lines, so i merely burried a line about 6" deep down the fence line, and it has a few sphigots along the way, as it passes my riding areena, and then hits the hog pen first, then the turkey pens, and then branches off from there. Since it is only for their water a dn limited sprinkler style irigation.. I used 1/2" sched 80 pvc.. The pens are lower in elevation than my well, so I have one faucet at the lowest point that is a drain off valve. I also have a check valve wherre I tie into my line from the well, and a ball valve with a "t" installed with nothing on the other side of the T.. so I can bleed the line out from there.

Since I'm in florida I only get a handfull of days throughout the year that it freezes.. when it does I simply shut the water off to the pens the night before the freeze, and drain the lines and leave them open... and then I re-pressurize them again the next day. All the animals waterers hold enough water to get the animals thru a day without water pressure.

I've had no problems with this system for a couple years.

Before i installed that last faucet drain, I occasionally had an elbow freeze off.. but nothing since.

Soundguy