I have been meaning to put in a rain barrel to catch water off the back of the chicken coop for some time now but a big pile of broken bricks has been holding me back. On Sunday, the first real dry day in some time, I put the neighbor boys to work helping me load all those bricks in the back of the truck to haul off. John and William are 10 so their help is minimal but well intentioned. I also hung an old kitchen sink that Barbara and Andy gave me some time back off the back fence. It will be my garden sink. Mike Ratterman gave me the rain barrel and an old 4x4 that used to be a fence post to build the rain barrel platform out of. Today I hung the gutter off the back of the coop and got everything set to catch the rain. I used heating vent filter material to let the water in but keep any mosquitos out.
It feels good to be able to provide your own food and water. Now when I water the hens my source is right by the coop and Louisville Water Company is out of the picture. At least as far as the chickens are concerned. I didn't think I'd be saying this after such a wet spring but I'm kind of anxious for it to rain now. I want to see how much rain it takes to fill the thing. It's fun feeling like a farmer living in the city.
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