Recently we set up an automatic waterer on a pallet so that it could be portable. We don’t really want to put a lot of permanent infrastructure on this farm as we are just renting it, but we also like the convenience of automatic waterers for our livestock. The waterer we used was a “new” waterer that had never been used. We bought five of these waterers last summer in an auction. They are several decades old but have never been used. We have had to replace the floats as they were not in very good shape but everything else has been working fine.
We started with a standard size pallet and attached a floor to the top of it. We actually reused an old barn door and cut it to size and screwed it down. Next Scott put a piece of plywood on top of the barn door where the waterer was going to be attached.
Then he used a keyhole bit on the drill to cut a hole in the side of the pallet. This is where the water hose goes under the pallet. We used the same keyhole bit to cut a hole in the top of the pallet so the hose could be attached to the waterer.
Scott then fed the black pipe through the hole in the side and up through the hole in the top of the pallet.
From there he attached the ends necessary to fit this particular waterer.
On the end of the black pipe he attached a replacement hose end with a heavy duty clamp.
We used the skidsteer to move the pallet/waterer into place then attached a garden hose to it. The only trouble we have had so far is that initially the clamp on the hose wasn’t tight enough and it leaked some. That was an easy fix by just tightening it. We keep the edge of the pallet right by the electric fence to keep the hogs from playing with it.
We plan to install more of these waterers on pallets to use while the weather is warm. Of course, this wouldn’t be a good plan during cold weather as the hoses would freeze and burst but it is working well for now.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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I have about a hundred questions, but I’ll try to restrain myself :). So the hose is hooked to a faucet that feeds the waterer, right? Do you have enough outdoor spigots to feed multiple waterers? I suppose you could use a couple of splitters, but that will still only get you a couple. I think that the reason you put the pallet by the fence is so they don’t chew the hose, but will they tip the whole thing over? What did you do in the winter when you couldn’t run a hose? What do you do for the pigs/sheep/cattle that aren’t right next to the house? I love reading your blog, I find it fascinating. And I love seeing pictures of the kids and Scott, even if we never see his face 🙂 will you please text me your address–I want to send the little blue dress I made for Hannah. It’s a size 2 or 3 so I think she’ll be able to wear it this summer, unless she’s a tiny peanut like her sisters.
Love, Kristy
Kristy,
Thanks for asking the questions! Yes we have several hydrants that are scattered around the farm that we are using. We are using splitters on them. We have kept expanding to our current size of 45 sows (which was the goal so thankfully the expansion process is on hold.) We didn’t have as many pigs this past winter as we have now. I’m not sure what next winter will bring. We may have to add more of the barrel waterers.
So far they have not tipped it over so I don’t think they will. Scott doesn’t pose very well for pictures. 😉 He usually won’t look at the camera.
Thank you for taking the time to read it!!
Miss seeing you!!
Jennifer