Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
What part of ND do you call home?
-
If you are posting pictures, and they aren't posting in the correct orientation, please flush your browser cache and try again.
Edge
Safari/iOS
Chrome
Water holes or ponds
- Thread starter Rando777
- Start date
Great idea!
Great! Thank you!
KJS-ND
Yearling... With promise
Bismarck
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
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.
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!)
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!)
Last edited:
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
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
5 year old buck +
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."
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Any thought of dropping a plastic tank in that hole? Would probably keep water in it year round
bwoods11
5 year old buck +
Yes we might do that . I’d actually like to dig it out more with an excavator. Good idea on the tank!
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.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I told my neighbor how successful my water tanks have become as a social spot for deer and how they drink from mine on a regular basis. He put a blue barrel on his land which he had cut in half and filled it with water. Has a camera on the site. Today he told me the deer seem scared to go near that water tank.
I thught that was odd and we discussed this bit and decided that perhaps the blue color was off-putting to deer. Plausible. Anyone have any experience with a blue barrel or blue water tank to share? My above ground tanks are a magnet for deer.
I thught that was odd and we discussed this bit and decided that perhaps the blue color was off-putting to deer. Plausible. Anyone have any experience with a blue barrel or blue water tank to share? My above ground tanks are a magnet for deer.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
The blue color doesn’t seem to bother them at all. Is there alot of tall cover adjacent to the barrel? Predator concerns to the deer. That is the only thing I can think of. Maybe there is a strong chemical smell to the barrel if it had something other than food grade material in it?
Feelslikefar.
5 year old buck +
Tell him to put some dirt and leaves in it to give it some flavor. lol
