At Just Fowling Around, we use food grade barrels, that are elevated, so there is a natural water flow to our auto water system, as long as the barrels are full, that water flows easily to our water system through our entire chicken housing. We use PVC pipe for that auto system, which has been through severely cold winter and only frozen one time and luckily did not break any of the connections. Once the system thawed, everything was back in working order, with only a need to seal around some of the water cups.
If you live within a metro area, check your city and county ordinances, since there are laws in place that prohibit collecting rain water. The first question I always hear is why would there be anything against collecting rain water, it's a free source of water. I would agree, however many states have owned all water rights since the early 1920s, and that includes any captured water for reservoirs or rain barrels.
In my state there is a long, ongoing dispute over a farmer that was permitted to have reservoirs and to collect rain water for those reservoirs, however his county revoked that permit when they saw on satellite that he had three large reservoirs on his property. There is a pending lawsuit and prosecution for the violation as determined by that county. So, in light of this, be sure to check your own county and city ordinances to make sure you are allowed to collect the rain water, how much you're allowed to collect and if you need to have a permit to collect it. Some ordinances will allow the collection of the rain water, however only for specific uses, even if you use a filter system ordinances will prohibit use as drinking water.
Besides collecting rain water, I have disconnected my drains, so that water will go directly into my flower beds and garden area, to water those areas. You can purchase hose that will fit on the end of those drains so you are able to divert the water where you need it. Those hoses are similar to a dryer vent hose. Someone that is handy, may be able to convert a dryer hose for this very purpose. A PVC pipe attached to the drain pipe may also be an option. I would drill holes into that PVC pipe so that the water can go in several directions, much like a soaker hose would.
Collecting rain water is not only a good idea, but for areas where, your chicken coop may be at a distance from the nearest spigot and you have to carry water buckets to water those chickens, having the rain barrel can save many steps and a whole bunch of sore muscles from hefting those heavy buckets each and every day. A simple fish tank or pond heater may be enough to keep the water from freezing that is in your water collecting containers. During the summer months you'll need to monitor your barrels to make sure you have water and that it is flowing efficiently where you need it most.
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