Quail Ranch of Oklahoma - Ranch Water System

Specializing in Bobwhite Quail is What We Do

We have tried many different ways to go about watering our Quail.

In the beginning this task was very labor intensive, always washing

water containers, and refilling daily with fresh water. Then winter would

come, and well their water would freeze all the time. Several trips a day

to bring fresh water to replace the frozen water was very tedious.

There are several products on the market to remedy the freezing

problem, but Quail are messy, and the water containers being in the

pens with them was still a daily cleaning job.

So we put our creative thinking to work. With a little trial and error, and

trying a few different versions of our new system. We now think it is by

far the best labor saving system, and it provides really clean fresh

water for our Quail at all times, best of all, it will not freeze up in the

cold Winter months.

We use this system now on all our pens and cages all year.

Complete Water System for Flight Cage

Here are a few comments we have received about our

Ranch Water System:

Idaho: "Great idea with the tank in the ground and recycling the water."

SE Oklahoma: "Excellent setup!

I tip my hat to you for engineering a solution to an age-old problem."

South East Ohio: "Sounds like a great idea!"

B.C. Canada: "I am impressed by your problem solving skills!

The waterer looks great! I am going to try it...it would be a Great Help."

Water System Steps:

We make drinking troughs out of 3"PVC, each length of the PVC trough

is determined by the cage or pen size. On the system shown here, the

trough is 10 foot. We glue on the end caps after drilling a hole in them

for a hose barb type fitting and then we cut with a jig saw a section out

of the 3" PVC that is about 2" wide and the length of the trough needed.

Water Trough with 2" Slot for Drinking Access

Then we have tanks that we have dug a hole in the ground to

accommodate them. We usually use large rubber-maid type 33-gallon

cans. We recommend using 2 cans in the same ground hole,

that way you can always take the one can out that holds the water and

clean it periodically and you won't loose your hole because the other

can keeps that intact.

The water is put in the can and a water garden type pump is put in the

tank. The proper hoses are attached to the pump and then to one end

of the trough. An exit hose is on the other end of the trough or in the

middle, which goes back into the tank. The water is then pumped up to

the trough and then it drains right back into the tank. In the summer the

water is ground temperature and cool and in the winter the water is

ground temperature and therefore does not freeze plus

moving water will not freeze.

2 Tanks in Ground for Holding Water Trough Hangs on Outside of Cage

The Quail can't get in the water; they have to drink by poking their head

out through the cage. The trough hangs on the outside of any given

pen. We made the drinking slots out of 2x4's and dowel rods, placing

the rods 1 1/2" apart. It is about 4" high where the rods are and placed

in a cut out area of the mesh wire on the side of the flight cage. Then

hung the water PVC trough on the outside below this. The Quail can

stick their head out through the slots to get their drink.

To make sure no predator like a hawk for example can peck their head

while getting a drink and also to keep any thing like leaves and such

out of the trough. We put 1/2" by 1/2" wire mesh curved up and over

the trough from the outside to protect it.

This way the water stays clean and the Quail safe.

View of Drinking Slots Created Inside of the Flight Cage

"Quail's Point of View"

On this particular set up we put the water incoming on both ends of the

PVC trough by way of 3/8 hose on each end and put the output water

hose in the center using 3/4-inch hose. This made the water run real

fast coming in from both ends and a great out flow. It worked best

because the tank was just below in the middle area of the trough,

in the ground. So the water really runs good and fast and no way it can

freeze. It does take the right pump depending on how far up the water

needs to be pumped. Also, the rate at which the water is pumped in,

we use 3/8 hose for water input and 1/2" to 3/4" hose for run out.

The water has to exit the trough at a faster rate then pumped in.

Water Flowing Back into the Tank Closer View of the Hoses

Under the PVC Trough

This system is a great "labor" saver, you only need to clean it

periodically and keep the tank full. In our opinion they get fresh

running water at all times, won't freeze is just a great plus to the

system.

Little Giant Pump

The recommended pumps that we use on our systems are

Little Giant Pumps, made right here in Oklahoma. Little Giant

# PE-2F-PW Water Garden Pump or Little Giant PE-2.5F-PW

Water Garden Pump, the prices range from $60 to $80 dollars

each. The main factor in choosing your pump, is the maximum

head lift, these pumps will lift the water up to 12 to 13 feet, and

this makes sure there is enough pressure to keep your water

flowing at a good fast rate.

You can see the different pumps available here:

http://www.pumps-in-stock.com/little_giant_pump_pe-2.5f-pw.html

We welcome any comments or questions about our

Ranch Water System

just click the Yellow Button below to submit them.

Please note: This system CANNOT be used for quail

chicks, only started and adult birds. We put quail on this

water system at 6 weeks of age and up.

We use nipple drinkers for the chicks.