Hi all, I have a rain barrel I use to collect water for my goats as running water lines was too expensive. Although the water is usually slightly off color it smells fine and the goats drink it but last week it suddenly smelled rank. I dumped it and cleaned it out and bleached it, and when I refilled it (from my well water) I added a small amount of bleach to keep nasties from growing in it. If any of you use rain barrels for water, I would appreciate tips on keeping the water clean and also how you keep it from freezing in the winter? I had thought of putting a air pump in there to keep it moving... any other ideas?
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I think I read it on BackYardChickens.com, people were saying that they put ACV in their waterer's to keep the water yuk down and ACV has benefical stuff for animals also.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/200606/how-much-cider-vinegar-do-...
here's one of the forum discussions I read.
Hmm, now that's an interesting idea! I wonder if anyone has tried that? Seems like the goats would not mind it either...
Would Apple Cider Vinegar be better then bleach? I think I read somewhere that it keeps the yuk from growing.
Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to hear from you since I knew you also used rain water. It doesn't get near as cold here and sometimes gets into the teens at night. 20 years ago it got down to zero frequently but not anymore. I think I will try the aeration system since I've been trying to cut back on the electric usage.
Up here in Illinois we use water heaters, which you can buy at the farm supply store. We tried using an aquarium pump because it uses a LOT less electricity, but it only worked to a certain point. We have an aerator on our pond that keeps it from freezing in the winter, but apparently an aquarium pump isn't strong enough, even for a water trough. You can also see the aerator on the pond lose its effectiveness as the temperatures get colder. By the time it goes below zero, the hole in the ice is about the size of a kiddy pool.
We keep goldfish in our water troughs to keep them cleaner. We've never had one that smelled bad. You may need to clean out the dead leaves in the fall.
I only know moving water is key -