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WATER TROUGH TANK ALTERNATIVE By: Gary Pfalzbot Web Site:GoatWorld About the Author Please Help Rate This Article 5 = Extremely Useful 4 = Very Useful 3 = Somewhat Useful 2 = Okay but not enough 1 = Not At All Useful Rated 5.0 by 2 responses.

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Do you find watering your goats (or other livestock for that matter, to be part of your daily routine that you'd like to make easier? You may find the plans here to build your own water trough stock tank to be the right answer for you! On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "easy", this project definitely rates a 5 and can be accomplished faster by having the help of a friend or two. However, the end results will yield years of durability as well as less time needed to water your goats or other livestock. Did I mention that it can be applied to other livestock such as cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, etc.? This project is a nearly must have for any farm. The first consideration is a bill of materials and tools that you will need to begin this simple project: You will be constructing your water trough with a tractor tire so locating one of these becomes the first order of business. Alternatively, smaller tires can be used, however, they will not hold as much water and, the smaller the tire itself, the more likely ALL the water could potentially freeze if your winter temperatures consistently fall below freezing. This application can be used on ANY vessel or tank that holds water, but as I outline the details in this project, you will understand why a large tire is the best choice. Locating a tractor tire suitable for your application. Tractor tires come in many shapes and sizes. They also come in a variety of construction compositions. You will find a number of tires available that will work but one of the first considerations is choosing a whole tire, or a tire that has already been cut in half. There are some companies that offer pre-cut tires and if you don't want to spend time cutting, this might be the best choice for you. If you want to cut the tire yourself, then finding a tire that is anything other than a "steel-belted radial" is a must. Pre-cut tires range in price (depending upon where you live) and come is sizes from 6 feet to 12 feet or beyond. Expect to pay anywhere from $300 to $800 for a pre-cut tire. Also expect to pay that amount for an uncut tire. You might get lucky enough to find someone that would be willing to sell you a tire cheaper or just give it to you to get rid of it! I am going to presume that you will need to cut your tire so I will start at step one and proceed forward excatly the way I built my water trough. Having a way to handle your uncut tire is a must. These tires cut or uncut are extremely heavy and I seriously doubt you will be able to handle it by yourself. A tractor, forklift, or a truck with a cherry picker (engine hoist) is a must to be able to move your tire around. It is best if you can wrap a chain through the center of your tire and lift it in the air to proceed to cutting it. The tire that I chose for my water trough was a Nyplex based tire. Nyplex is a form of Nylon and will cut much easier than a steel belted radial. Trust me on this. There are also some bargain deals on tires that you want to avoid. Many of these tires come from earth moving equipment such as bulldozers, graders, dump trucks, etc. BEFORE you settle on the tire, be sure to look at the side wall for something that might say, "cut resistant". Cut resistant is just that - cut resistant. I had a neighbor get a good deal on a cut resistant tire. Guess what? He was never able to completely cut it using a number of saws and various techniques. The tire sidewall will tell you what kind of tire it is; radial, nylon, nyplex, etc. Again, stay away from radials if you want to complete this project in a reasonable amount of time! To cut these tires, I personally used a chainsaw, skilsaw and a sawzall. Since these tires come in a variety of sizes, you will need to consider the width as well as the diameter. The inner portion of the tire where the rim would mount is also important as well. Some tires require large 30" or larger rims. The tire I chose required a 24" rim. With the tire laying flat, measure from the ground up to the top of the tire to determine the width. This will determine the cut you will make. For example, a tire that measures 48"...if you want to cut the tire exactly in half (leaving you with another tire half to make another water trough!), cut in half at 24". THis is where a little planning is required...if you plan to water goats and only goats, you may want to get the average size of your goats to know that 24"inches isn't going to be too low or too high for them to drink comfortably from the tank. BILL OF MATERIALS & TOOLS Tractor Tire, non-radial 8 - 3" 1/4-20 bolts 8 - 1/4-20 matching nuts 16 - 1/2" 1/4-20 washers 1 box 2-1/2" galvanized nails 1 box 2-1/2" regular nails 1 box 3-1/2" to 4" sinker nails 1 1/4-20, 4 inch or longer wood drill bit Drill or Cordless Drill Good Tape Measure (if you don't have one) Skil-Saw (if you don't have one) A few things you should have on hand at home are: a good pair of safety glasses, a straight edge ruler, an electrical extension cord, a couple of sharpened #2 pencils and a good flat, open working surface where you can make saw cuts without endangering yourself, others or anything else in the way. Be smart and have a clean work area. Safety first!! Getting Started Before you make the first cut - The very first thing you will want to do is situate your wood close by where you can easily move it into cutting position. You are going to want to measure your wood and calculate for your cuts - again, before you make your first saw cut. The pieces are broken down into the following sizes and the number of pieces you will need: (see Figure 1A) 12 - 24" pieces 4 - 40" pieces 4 - 22" pieces 4 - 14" pieces 3 - 25" pieces Again, before you make the first cut, take into consideration minimizing your overall "wood waste". I will detail the way I made the cuts for this project and lay it out board by board. There may be a simpler and more effective way to do this but the wood waste I encountered was slight and besides, you can perhaps use the leftover blocks for other projects down the road. When cutting your pieces, I suggest that you mark each cut piece the correct size and make separate piles of each piece length as you progress. #1 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 40" piece; 1 - 24" piece; 1 - 22" piece. #2 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 40" piece; 1 - 24" piece; 1 - 22" piece. #3 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 40" piece; 1 - 24" piece; 1 - 22" piece. #4 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 40" piece; 1 - 24" piece; 1 - 22" piece. (at this point you should have 12 pieces cut with 4 - 6" leftover blocks) #5 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 14" piece; 3 - 25" pieces (cut the 14" piece first!) #6 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 14" piece; 3 - 24" pieces (cut the 14" piece first!) #7 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 14" piece; 3 - 24" pieces (cut the 14" piece first!) #8 - 2"x4" Mark and cut: 1 - 14" piece; 2 - 24" pieces (cut the 14" piece first!) Now that you have made all your saw cuts, you are ready to begin construction of your goat feeder. You will want to refer to Figure 1A for exact placement of your wood pieces. Taking two of the 40" pieces and two of the 22" pieces, set each of the 22" pieces upright on a flat surface and place one 40" piece on top of the pieces, balancing it so it will stand by itself. Now you want to get out your nails and mate flush, one end of the 40" board to one of the upright 22" pieces. Strike a nail in the corner of the 40" piece, making sure to not hammer hard enough to lose the balance of the boards. This is perhaps the most difficult of all the nailing you will do. Tip - have an assistant hold the pieces in place for you while you hammer. I personally put a nail in each top corner of the 40" piece - 4 nails total, 2 per side. Once you have both sides nailed, then take one of your larger 3 to 4" sinker nails and drive it between the two nails on each end. This will give the pieces more rigidity in the longrun. Flip the joined pieces over and perform the same steps with the next 40" piece. This finishes the first feeder frame component. Using the next pieces (2 - 40", 2 - 22"), perform the same procedure as outlined above. You should now have two separate feeder frames as seen in Figure 2A. PUTTING ON THE LEGS You have the option of using any size legs that you wish. I chose the 14" legs simply so I would have room to rake underneath the feeder - and to keep the feeder low enough for smaller goats without fear of it being tipped over. You may want to consider even shorter legs for larger goats. Stand up one of the two (2) pieces you just constructed so that it is situated laying on the 40" long plane (see Figure 3A). Take one of the 14" pieces and hold it flush to the top right hand corner where the 40" and 22" boards are joined. (You may want to use a C-Clamp to clamp the 14" leg to the 40" board). Using your drill and 1/4-20 drill bit, drill a hole through the 40" board, passing through the 14" board in the bolt pattern seen in Figure 3A. Put a washer on a 3" bolt and place it through the drilled hole. Put a washer on the end of the protruding bolt and tighten a nut to it. It is best to go ahead and tighten the bolt at this point making sure that the 14" leg is sitting flush to the 40" board and the 22" cross piece. Drill the remaining hole and proceed as specified above. Perform the same procedure on the top left hand corner. For the remaining two (2) legs, you will need to flip the frame and block the added legs (as seen in Figure 3A) to balance the frame. Proceed with drilling as specified above. Using Figure 4A and Figure 4B for reference, set up both frames as shown. Pay close attention how I situated the left over blocks to support each 14" leg and for use as separators for the first vertical cross pieces. Performing the same procedure on both sides of the frames will have the feeder looking like the picture in Figure 5A - you're pretty much on your way to being done! Your next step should be positioning the 3 - 25" feeder hay bale support pieces. This is a relatively simple procedure but you should keep in mind that you will want to place the right and left 25" pieces before placing the center 25" section. Referencing either the right or left side of the now upright feeder, place the first 25" piece flush to the vertical corner board (see Figure 6A). Perform the same procedure for the opposite side. Next, locate the center point of the horizontal 40" board and scribe a mark. You will want to place the remaining 25" piece dead center between the left and right 25" pieces (see Figure 6A). This completes the section of the feeder that will hold the hay bale. Now you will want to turn the feeder on its side again in the same manner as when you put on the 14" legs. Make the first 24" piece flush with the side of the 14" leg and nail in place. Repeat this procedure for the opposite sides. Then, place two more 24" boards between the three (3) upright 25" pieces - you can eyeball these to sit near center (see Figure 7A). You will want to repeat this procedure for both sides. This pretty much completes the front and back of the feeder and now all that is left to do is the sides and an optional top. Refer back to Figure 1 to see the sides. You should have 4 - 24" pieces left at this point and what you will want to do is to nail the remaining upright side pieces in place, using a block width as a spacer tool from the right and left corners of the feeder. The section between the two uprights will be about a block and a half width - you can adjust this accordingly if you wish. I just found it easier to use the leftover block method for a spacer. Looks neater too! A FEW OPTIONS Some people may be concerned about the width of the legs, that is, being made out of a 2"x4" instead of a 4"x4". Yes, this is of consideration. However, the reason that I chose 2"x4"s instead of 4"x4"s is because I wanted to save on the overall cost. Another consideration as well is that some skil saws do not have the depth to cut a 4"x4" in one pass. This means that the feeder can be wobbly if the legs are not cut as evenly as possible. You may be wondering about a roof or cover for this hay feeder. Certainly a good idea and there are several ways to go about it. One can simply take a piece of utility plywood and cut it the length and width of the feeder top. Add a few hinges and a handle and you've covered your hay! Well, in my case, it was using an item my wife brought home (See Figure 8a). It was a plastic culvert pipe halve and let me tell you, these are not cheap. They will run anyway from $15 - $30 but will definitely keep the rain out. So you can easily see that a simple $25 feeder turns into a $50 hay feeder with just one piece! Painting the feeder - I'm not sure it's a good idea but you can if you want. If you live in an area that receives alot of rainfall, I'd definitely consider painting the feeder. Select a good quality wood primer and spray/paint the entire feeder first. Then, once the feeder has dried, select a high quality finish coat and spray/paint the entire feeder. I'm not certain if lead based paints are still available, but I'd double check to make sure the paint you select contains no lead. Better yet, you may want to consider staining the entire feeder with a high quality varethane finish. I'm not certain if there are any finish ingredients that may lead to poisoning if gnawed on by goats so this is just a consideration. You'll notice that I left our feeders unpainted and unfinished. My thoughts are that these feeder are so easy and inexpensive to build - it's not worth the hassle of painting. I'll simply replace the wood pieces that may deteriorate with time and weathering. Another consideration that I myself may incorporate into future feeders is using "all bolt" construction. Of course this adds the expense of extra hardware but I prefer to build just about everything using this method. Nails are great for some things, but bolts make life alot easier - especially if you plan to refurbish from time to time. Bolts make this much, much easier. USING THE FEEDER Using the feeder is simple but please keep in mind that I did not construct this feeder to simply drop in a hay bale and forget about it. With the particular dimensions of this feeder, you will need to break open the bale (while stuck in the feeder) and use the remaining hay on top of the bale. Why did I do it this way you ask? Simple - I like to inspect the hay before I feed it. Quite often hay bales may have some mold in the bale where you can't see it. This gives me a chance to take a look. It's a real good idea to "fluff up" the hay in the feeder as well. This is the perfect way to do it. Just make sure you take off the bale string and throw it away! FOR ALL GOATS - HORNED OR NOT! Whether or not your goats have horns, this hay feeder will be safe for both types of goats - IF YOU KEEP THE FEEDER FULL AT ALL TIMES!. You must realize that this is an important point because if the hay level in your feeder reaches the point where you can see through the feeder, your goats are going to try and get their heads into the feeder to get out the hay. As long as the feeder is full, your goats will be content to pull out the hay from the sides, never needing to put their heads into the feeder. CLOSING COMMENTS Either I'm plainly uninformed or it's just one of those "slang" words, but I've never seen a "square" hay bale. I've seen round hay bales, rectangular hay bales, piles of hay used for mulch, but never a square bale. For the person who builds this feeder exactly to my specifications, you are sooner or later going to ask yourself, "why didn't Pfalzbot make it the full length of a bale?" Well, as I explained previously, I like to break apart the hay instead of just throwing the goats an uninspected bale with possible mold growth. But, you will soon notice something else. If you want to bypass inspecting your hay bales and just put them in the feeder, stand two on end. They will fit perfectly! Do you have something you'd like to see built step by step? Drop me an email and I'll see what I can do. Until next time, Happy Building! CLOSING COMMENTS FROM READERS/BUILDERS "I just want to tell you that I have just completed building my hay feeder and it is fantastic! Thank you for posting the instructions on the web. I would how ever like to make one correction. The 3" 1/4-20 bolts should be 5" 1/4-20's because the 3"won't go through two 2x4's (4 inches). Other than that it is wonderful. I have also added a shingle roof with hinges. keep up the fantastic work. Goatworld.com is wonderful thank you." --- Erik Bernhardt

About the author: Gary Pfalzbot is the webmaster of GoatWorld. He has raised goats over the years, been involved with 4-H (as a young boy) and currently resides near Branson, Missouri where he and his wife Pam raise a few breeds of goats, mainly precipitated for the control of Kudzu vine.

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