Water Stations For Deer

I am setting up 10-12 water stations on a ranch in Webb county in a couple weeks. Just curious to see what some of you guys use for your water stations. I plan to go with 275 gal totes with a trough on a float inside my feed pens. I will post pictures when I get them finished.

Put them far enough inside where cattle cannot reach them. Most are using the totes. I would use a small trough also.

This was one of ours.

For several years now I have used setups very similar to dgilbert's (as shown in the photo above). Coons, squirrels and porcupines can easily climb to the top of these totes. I have had them chew through the cap and/or the corner of the tote itself and then fall into the tote. You can probably imagine the stench and mess caused by a coon fermenting for a few weeks in the bottom of a tote. Covering the top of the tote with tin, expanded metal or chicken wire helps take care of this problem. Algae likes to grow in these clear totes and some will eventually work its way to your float and plug the small opening. I have yet to find a way to totally prevent the growth of algae in these totes. Chlorine tablets and/or bleach and painting the tote a dark color will help control the algae some. My lovely friends mentioned above also seem to have an appetite for garden hoses. I use copper flex tubing (the ones used on water heaters) to connect the tote to the float. And....... I have had Mr. coon reach up from underneath the float housing and pull off the rubber seat from the top of the float (sigh). I enclose the entire float with wire mesh to take care of this problem. The best (and most expensive) set up I have is with a round black water tank with a domed top that Tractor Supply sells. So far coons are unable to scale its strait sides and they are unable to grasp the domed top to pull themselves up. I also have not had any algae grow in this totally black tank. Kinda long winded but I hope this helps you some. Good luck!

yep and put a stick in the trough like the picture has. this allows birds to land & drink plus a path to get out of the trough if they (or other small creatures) fall in the water.

another thought too ... if your soil is easy to dig up, sink the trough underground a bit, this will help with keeping water temperature from getting high in the summer months causing moss/algae to grow and also helps to lessen evaporation.

Haiden: This is a picture of my setup. It works like a charm. Just remember to cover your float with something. The coons messed with mine a few times and removed the gasket in the float. Lost 550 gallons very quickly and more than a few times before I figured out they were causing the problem.

I've never seen a coon mess with a float, but I've seen cows do major damage time and again. Critters, they'll jack with anything!

So out of curiosity, how do you go about filling them? Looks to be a lot of work to do so. To bad there isn't set up catching rain water, not only be cheaper but also less work too.

out in Ozona, the LO uses the blue plastic barrels (3-4x) in the bed of their truck, fill up the barrel at a water station several miles away, then gravity from truck bed into tote on the ground via water hose.

could also get a 12v bilge pump like for a boat and clip wires onto truck battery for electric pump filling.

I use tanks mounted on a trailer with a 2" gas pump to transfer water in and out.

Thanks for the comments guys. I am setting something up similar to newulmboys setup. I plan to cover them with tin.

Said with experience


Or try to Kill every Coon and Porcupine in a 30 mile radius


Keep in mind on the trough portion..The bigger you make it the Bigger the play pen for the critters IMHO

We have three this size that we fill up like this. And we have a fourth one that is connected directly to our water pump/well. This is on 96 acres.

I remember seeing quail watering stations in SE NM while hunting there and haven't found any pictures of them. I stumbled on this link showing some watering stations that may help some that are wanting to do something similar on their land/lease.

http://www.gcuwcd.org/images/Rainwater%20Harvesting.pdf

From what an old-timer in New Mexico told me, the one's I saw back then were put up by a local Quail Unlimited group. They would partially fill the barrels to sort of prime the pump and let the dew and rainfall keep it filled.

Try putting gel coat coating on clear tanks, it has uv block in it and will help keep down algae