Sheep Water System

We were looking for an easier way to water sheep when we are lambing, and have seen a few systems similar to this in our travels. There was not a lot of information on how people had designed them so we thought we would throw these pictures up here for others to see how we have designed our system. 

We Started out with 40' of 4" drainage pipe. We used a hole saw to start the holes for the sheep to drink out of. The spacing we used is 48". 

Robert then used the jigsaws to cut the holes so that the sheep have enough room to reach the water. 

The pipe will be installed on the west side of our barn, against the solid wall. 

We used 1" water pipe to carry the water from the tub to the far end of the pipe, so that there is a continuous flow of water. We hope this will decrease the amount of dirt in the water, and to prevent freezing. 

The pump that we used was one that we had sitting around from a fish pond that is no longer around. It has a 1" outlet on it, and has a decent water flow. It would be nice to have one with a variable flow control, and that is what I would have purchased, if we didn't already have this one around, 

We mounted the pipe on the wall with a slight slope to drain into the water tub at the end. The slope over the 40' is currently 2", but that may change after we use it for a few weeks. 

This is the final product. Water heater should keep the tub and the pipe from freezing. The reducer on the end of the pipe allows for some water to accumulate, so that the sheep can reach it.

Pens are all set up and waiting for the sheep to start lambing. There are 10 pens that will have access to this system, and we may extend it another 10 feet if it seems to work well.  

Thanks for stopping by, and we hope this will help anybody that is looking to make a similar system to water sheep when they are in lambing jugs.