Water holes or ponds

[Turkey Creek]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-stock-tank-110-gal

These can freeze solid and won't crack - had one out for many years in North Dakota and it's still fine.

I put them on a slight downslope and add a couple sheets of corrugated steel panels (leftover from old building roofs) on the uphill side to help funnel rain into the tank. Seems to work good and gets lots of action, but will eventually be just a frozen ice cube in this part of the country.

What part of ND do you call home?

 

[Rando777]

I cut a 55 gallon plastic drum in half length wise. I buried it up to the lip hoping I would catch run off. So far it's never dried out which amazes me. Also amazes me how much it's been used.
View attachment 53161

Great idea!

 

[Rando777]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-stock-tank-110-gal

These can freeze solid and won't crack - had one out for many years in North Dakota and it's still fine.

I put them on a slight downslope and add a couple sheets of corrugated steel panels (leftover from old building roofs) on the uphill side to help funnel rain into the tank. Seems to work good and gets lots of action, but will eventually be just a frozen ice cube in this part of the country.

Great! Thank you!

 

[KJS-ND]

What part of ND do you call home?

Bismarck

 

[Turkey Creek]

Bismarck

Lived in ND for a few years, down in Lisbon which is southwest of Fargo a little over an hour. It's a good state to live in. Plentiful game to hunt, especially since that was in the height of my waterfowling days.

 

[Triple C]

Dig em. Easy to do and zero maintenance. We’ve put in 8 waterholes over the years. Son uses his skid steer to build em.

 

[Lucky_P]

If you can get your hands on some old earthmover or combine tires, you can make water tanks that will last lifetimes, and will not crack/burst... interlopers can even shoot 'em with rifles and they won't leak. Like this: https://rubberinnovations.com/tire_water_tanks
They may freeze in winter - but on sunny days, that black rubber soaks up sunshine and will thaw at least some of the ice (here on the KY/TN line... you folks in MN, ND, etc., may just have a big rubber-encased ice cube for the winter....)
We installed tire waterers, gravity-fed from an upland pond, in all 21 grazing paddocks here on the farm when we were still running cattle... with no cost other than the plumbing and a rubber truckbed mat cut to fit and screwed down to seal the bottom; some folks pour concrete in the bottom or pack in bentonite clay. I just used a sawzall to cut the sidewall out on the 'up' side (do NOT try to cut through the bead.). You can set them as high or as deep as you want. I never paid for a tire... just visited a couple of local tire dealerships that dealt with farm tires... they were usually glad to have me take them off their hands, so they didn't have to pay disposal fees on them (I'm sure they'd already charged the farmer that fee!)

 

[Foggy47]

I have a couple of marsh areas on my land so the deer can always find water fairly close by. But some years ago.....I put out a couple of water tubs that cost but a few bucks from Fleet Farm. Later I added a ice fishing sled that I dont use anymore. These normally keep themselves filled from rainfalls.....so I have seldom filled them in past years. The other day I noticed one was dry to today I decided to add some water to these tubs. Three barely had a bit of muddy leaves in the bottom that I dumped out before adding about 8 gallons to each tub. But that old Ice fishing tub still had a couple of inches of water in the bottom. Surprised me. Nothing pretty or fancy.....but they do get allot of traffic. Also a pic of where the deer are still knowing on the trunk of a tree where I used to have a salt lick in time gone by.

 

[Foggy47]

And....those water tubs work.

 

[bwoods11]

I’m putting out another 25 gallon tub, and a 100 gallon tub in Iowa this weekend. I hope to have 6-8 total in the next year. Multiple locations .

We’ve had some EHD and I’m backing off ff a plan to build a big pond (for now)!

 

[Foggy47]

I’m putting out another 25 gallon tub, and a 100 gallon tub in Iowa this weekend. I hope to have 6-8 total in the next year. Multiple locations .

We’ve had some EHD and I’m backing off ff a plan to build a big pond (for now)!

Those tubs did go dry several times this year. But when we get normal rainfall.....they usually have some water in them. Also, I think the deer use them to scent-check who else is around the area. The bucks often will sniff at these tanks on camera. The site shown above is a "social hub."

 

[bwoods11]

We made a Redneck water hole yesterday. Two shovels for 1/2 hour and we had a new water hole.

This is a spring/deep coming from the side of a hill. In Minnesota.

 

[omicron1792]

We made a Redneck water hole yesterday. Two shovels for 1/2 hour and we had a new water hole.

This is a spring/deep coming from the side of a hill. In Minnesota.View attachment 64094

Any thought of dropping a plastic tank in that hole? Would probably keep water in it year round

 

[bwoods11]

Any thought of dropping a plastic tank in that hole? Would probably keep water in it year round

Yes we might do that . I’d actually like to dig it out more with an excavator. Good idea on the tank!

 

[KY wild]

Extra benefit that I cannot help but mention..... I mean we all love deer but actually the amphibious are what really needs help. If you put in a water hole especially in the woods without the great predator the fish, then amphibians will greatly benefit. The salamanders are in decline all over the United States, not to mention several frog species.