How many of you have water troughs setup in your feeder pens? Couple of questions.

How do you control algae growth in the hot months?
Do water troughs attract rattle snakes?

I have been thinking of placing a water trough in one of my feeder pens but have no idea of the work involved. I also have no idea on costs / a good setup to use. Are they worth the effort. The area I hunt does have three windmills / troughs around the windmills which serves as our water source. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I have in tghe past. Algae can help keep the trough cooler so I do not worry about it. Troughs will attract snakes. I would just try to keep any corn from the spin feeder out of it. Also put it so cattle or other livestock will not try to get to it. Use the search feature on here several guys have some neat setups.

Anyone ever heard of Oasis Wildlife Water Systems?

Ive seen that picture on here before. I would think if the deer had access to water at nearby troughs it may not help that much.

Ive got 2 of these on my 90 acre place out west. A pita to keep filled but they definitely hold the deer and my quail numbers have skyrocketed.

Mine are built using 275 gallon water totes, a stainless braided clothes washer hose, misc PVC fittings to hook the whole thing up, a float valve and a 55 gallon plastic drum cut in half for the trough. probably cost $75 to $100 to build. I dont worry too much about algae. I put about 1/2 cup of Clorox in the tank every few months during summer to slow it down but it's just not really a problem.

Yes I made a thread about them last year to get feedback. I like the setup but not to fond of the price of them.

Did you get any feedback? I agree on pricing. But depending how long they last could be worth the investment.

The squirrels here would have that thing chewed through in a week.

Make it simple... horse troth with a catch system above it if you cant fill it yourself.

I'd just do like Brownwood suggested above, but good luck getting it done with his cost figures. Unless you have a hookup to get it, the water tote will cost you what he says the whole thing costs.

Maybe even something as simple as 5 or 6 main poles set with C purlin braces and a few sheet of metal on top and a gutter system at the base running to your trough

Just saw you had windmills.. your trough will have to stay full to compete with the mills.. main thing is yours will be protected from livestock so deer will more than likely want to water there

I am not sure the squirrels would mess with this setup. All the water trough's I have seen setup on here are all plastic. We have water tanks around our camp that are plastic as well that the squirrels don't mess with. It does make you wonder if squirrels would actually try to chew into a setup like this.

I have also come across several of these tanks on craigslist here in Houston for $75 bucks. So setting something up for $100-$150 bucks could be possible

thats what I used. I painted mine black to keep sunlight from promoting algae growth. Few pvc fittings, hose and trough later and it was done. You will need another one to transport water to to the trough set up.

we actually have a 350 gallon tank on a trailer we use to transport water. That part is done :-)

I keep mine out of the feeder pens so they aren't so crowded.

I have experimented with a water station for the last three years or so. What I have found is that during times of severe stress it really helps, normal times not so much. This translates into a healthier population overall. I used a 330 gallon tote and finally (!) decided on about a 20 gallon drinking basin. During times of stress the deer used about 100 gallons per month, during normal times not much at all. This year produced the heathiest crop of doe/fawn that I have ever saw on my lease, I attribute it to the water station. Aalge has not been a problem, I have strainers on my feed hose to protect the little giant float valve and flush them regularly. I do not use anything but water in my tote. Google my handle to see photos of my system (pretty simple).

Just build a Water Guzzler - 300-400 bucks and then you don't have to worry about filling it. Mine is 850 gallons and I have not had to mess it with over the last two years.