How?

boundarybunnyco · #1 08/06/12, 08:32 PM

hubby and I are considering selling our little farm, and relocating. we've found a small acreage that we love, but with the price they are asking, we'd be unable to get water put in right away.
we've thought of renting a place until we can get the well dug. however, we have a horse, a couple goats, multitudes of rabbits, and a good sized flock of mixed poultry.
this place is in northern (brrr) Montana, so winter water is our concern. I don't know if there is a way to provide water for all of these animals in the winter.
can I get some ideas and suggestions?

Nimrod · #2 08/06/12, 08:52 PM

Is there power? Can you put down a sandpoint?

A sandpoint can be fairly cheap, sandpoint $50, 20 feet of 1 1/4 inch pipe $40, well pump $150, 2 connectors $15, Backflow preventer $25, and elbows and pipes $10. Most times the water you get will be good but do have it tested.

I have a sandpoint well enclosed by an insulated box. The box has to extend all around the well at least 2 feet so the frost won't freeze the well caseing. There are 2 60 watt lightbulbs in the box that are on all the time. This provides enough heat to keep the well and pump from freezing even down to -40. I put in one of the frostproof garden hose spigots on the side of the box. It works all winter but you can't leave a hose hooked up to it because the pipe has to drain.

I have chickens and keep a 5 gallon pail with chicken nipples on the bottom in the coop. In the winter I put a birdbath heater in it. See the sticky in the poultry section for ideas. No bigger critters yet.

Maybe you could make an offer on the place that is low enough that you can afford a drilled well.

PNWest · #3 08/06/12, 10:00 PM

As harsh as it sounds; sell, butcher or trade the critters before you move. You can live by hauling water for a house, but add critters and there is an overwhelming problem.

How deep is the average snowfall during the winter, If you are remote, you may not be able to do anything but snowmobile out for 5 gallons at a time.

Is the land open or heavily wooded. Consider drifts. I have seen pictures of your NI home and understand you manage well in the snow. I am guessing N. Mt. is not going to be much different.

I guess it all comes down to; how much work are you physically capable of doing every day. Hauling water is the pits. It's easy to ration yourself into ill health by not drinking enough.

Steph in MT · #4 08/07/12, 08:43 PM

Been there done that through two Montana winters!

It was a real pain in the patoot but knowing that it was a temporary situation made it possible to deal with. We'd fill four or five 5 gallon jugs with hot water every morning and head out to the property before work and then lather, rinse, repeat in the afternoon.

My critters are my babies so getting rid of them was not an option.
It's so nice now to just go out and turn on water at the hydrants to water everyone- hauling water gives you a real appreciation for water on tap.

ETA we lived in my husband's house in town during these winters but stayed out on the property in a camper when it wasn't freezing.

opportunity · #5 08/07/12, 09:58 PM

You can haul water but it's a pain. I have to take water out to my chickens twice a day in the winter as I haven't got water in that part of the property. I have also hauled to cows and horses that were on pastures in the winter. Where is this place located? I have lived in several area of montana somre are better then others for winters

opportunity · #6 08/07/12, 09:59 PM

Also make sure you can have a well in the area as there are areas you can't drill a well even for a home so you will have to always haul.

geo in mi · #7 08/08/12, 08:59 AM

As I understand your questions, you are considering moving to a place where there is no water at all. That would be a showstopper for me, and especially with animals..... However, if you have a house with water there, then I would consider the possibility of burying a pipeline to a watering area with a freeze proof hydrant, for which you can build a fence or corral or shed. Then make an offer with that cost in mind. If you get turned down, well....you're not out anything, and certainly you won't be stuck with a permanent condition that shuts down your dream anyway.

geo

boundarybunnyco · #8 08/08/12, 10:45 PM

the place is bare land, in Lincoln County, and it gets pretty cold there. but it's only about 50 miles from where we live now, so the winters are comparable. there is no water or power there yet. well I should say, bare land meaning no buildings. there are a zillion trees. and it's ten miles from town, but there are close neighbors.
there are many people here in N. Idaho that live off grid, and they haul water to their places in big tanks in the back of their trucks. they buy it from the city, and it's real cheap. what I don't understand is, where to store it in the winter so it doesn't freeze. we would not live on the land yet, but we would keep our animals there. and no, I'm not getting rid of many of them. maybe a few rabbits and chickens, but the rest are keepers.
and Nimrod, I've no clue what a sandpoint is, even with your description.

farminghandyman · #9 08/08/12, 11:24 PM

call a well driller in the area, and see if there is even well water under your proposed property, or what the chances are you will hit water and what is the average cost of getting done,

boundarybunnyco · #10 08/08/12, 11:37 PM

the cost is from 3 to 10 thousand dollars.

Nimrod · #11 08/08/12, 11:39 PM

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/pubs...PointWells.pdf

I have an off grid piece of bare land that I am pretty certain a sandpoint will work. I don't have to figure out how to water critters in the winter. It might not freeze if you buried the insulated box in the ground. I intend to hammer a sandpoint down and put up a solar panel to run a low flow 12 volt pump. Once I have water I will start an orchard. It needs to be watered for the first few years untill it puts down a sufficient root system.

Snow Wookie · #12 08/09/12, 03:24 AM

you could get a large tank for the back of the truck and a comparable sized tank/tanks inside the cabin where it would keep from freezing and then just transfer the water with a small pump as soon as you get home from filling......or even better, if you'll have electric, do the same thing but put the water cistern under the cabin and heat tape the line running inside the cabin

Maura · #13 08/11/12, 05:30 PM

Asking price is not selling price. Find out what it will cost to have a well drilled or driven and subtract that from what you can afford. Make an offer. All they can do is say no, they won't break your legs.

Macybaby · #14 08/12/12, 05:04 AM

To keep the water from freezing (if you don't want to heat it) you need to bury a water tank. Then you can fill it and pump out as needed. Otherwise you haul each day's water as needed.

My experience has been that if there is snow on the ground, the larger animals get tired of waiting for the water, and learn to eat snow. We hauled water for the horses when I was a kid, could not do it until after school, and after we got snow we'd quit as the horses would stop coming up for water. Had no outdoor faucet that wouldn't freeze, so it meant hooking the hose down in the basement and bringing that to the door, then filling buckets on the hand wagon and pulling them to the pasture. My Mom didn't like that we even had horses, so she wasn't going to help come up with anything that made it easier.