Water questions

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GANGGREEN

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Total newbie here with a question regarding getting water to my steers. I have about 6 acres of pasture planted and have bids on barbed wire and/or high tensile (that's another topic). I intend to put the acreage into two paddocks and pasture 3 or 4 beef steers in there. Ideally I'd like to have a water trough that would service either paddock. The problem is that I don't have a pond or creek in the pasture area nor do I have electric on that side of my property.

I suppose I could run electric over there but I'd rather do without if possible. I've considered pumping water up from a nearby small tributary stream with a solar pump, digging a small pond or drilling a well and using a solar pump to provide the water. I think that the water table in that area is fairly high so I don't think that the well would need to be terribly deep to provide enough fresh water for a few animals. Would a hand pump work? What about a well with a small windmill to bring the water up? What about keeping the trough from freezing in the wintertime (I live in northern Pennsylvania and it gets cold) in the absence of electricity for a heated trough?

I know that I can get water to them one way or another but I want to try to keep the expense fairly low if possible and would like it to be as trouble free as possible. I'd sure appreciate any thoughts or opinions on what would work best for me.

GG
 
Lots of variables. For 4 calves, you are talking 200 gallons per day max. Probably less than 100 gallons per day.

I use rubbermaid tanks with float valves for situations like that, hooked up to a water well. Of course, we don't get as cold in East Texas as you do. Regardless of what you do, you will probably be chopping ice in the winter, if you don't have a heater in the tank.

I wouldn't think a windmill would be practical for 4 calves. Does your creek ever run dry? If so, I wouldn't rely on it for water for my calves. In that case, you will need a well or a pond. A well with a small solar pump would probably work fine for what you are describing but I'm not sure how the cost of that system compares to a pond.
 
Does your "nearby small tributary stream" have 2 feet of fall? If it does you can use a Ram pump. They are cheaper than solar to buy and maintain but they require a minimum of two feet of fall.
 
skyline, I don't think that little stream ever runs dry but I've only lived here 5 years and honestly don't pay a lot of attention to it.

Dave, the trib is just a small spring fed stream that doesn't have much fall at all. I have a trout stream several hundred feet away that runs well all the time (and has plenty of fall) but I didn't want to have to run a line that far and don't know about the legality of doing so.
 
If you have any wet areas, look into an improved spring. They dig a hole in the wet area and put a pipe down, then fill the hole with large gravel.
 
jkwilson, there aren't really any areas that are soggy on the surface but I'm of the belief that the water table is very high there so it might work. Does the pipe serve as a fountain to fill a trough with or does it just make a small pond on the surface?
 
GANGGREEN":123b8jnx said:
jkwilson, there aren't really any areas that are soggy on the surface but I'm of the belief that the water table is very high there so it might work. Does the pipe serve as a fountain to fill a trough with or does it just make a small pond on the surface?

Depends on the topography, but you usually still have to pump it. The hole just serves as a collection point for water. Local SCS can help determine if it's feasible.
 

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