John Wheeler Farm Manager in Poultry and Animal Science Environmental Leadership Award 2005 Winner

President Austin presents John Wheeler, UConn's Farm Service Manager, with the Environmental Leadership Award in the "Staff" category for his dedication to improving water efficiency in the University's poultry farm operation John, Farm Manager in Poultry and Animal Science, recognized an opportunity to reduce water use in the UConn chicken coops. As a volunteer member of the EPAC's Water Conservation Workgroup, he rallied funding and support for the installation of a closed loop drinker system in two of the coops, conserving more than one million gallons of water per year. His commitment to sustainable farming has been an encouraging example to other University staff and farmers statewide.

Chickens take lead in making UConn 'green': New drinkers at poultry barn to save million gallons a year, point way to cutting consumption By Tom Breen, Journal Inquirer September 14, 2004 STORRS -- It's thirsty work being a chicken. The more than 400 birds roosting in the yellow coops at the University of Connecticut's poultry farm drink a lot of water, but a new system of quenching their thirst will save the university roughly 1 million gallons of water a year, officials say. The poultry farm has made a move to switch from continuously running bubbler-drinkers, which circulate water even when the thirsty birds aren't drinking, to a system of "nipple drinkers" that the chickens peck at when they're parched.What's more, the change -- which will save not only a huge amount of water, but also an as-yet unknown amount of money -- will cost less than $3,000. It almost didn't happen, though.

Poultry farm manager John Wheeler had noticed the water that was being wasted, but worried there wasn't enough money in the farm's budget for a replacement system. Until, that is, he was asked to serve on a water conservation committee at UConn. The committee is part of an effort at the university called "Eco Husky," which works on environmentally responsible practices ranging from examining the amount of waste paper used at UConn to promoting environmental education throughout the state. When the committee heard Wheeler's idea, it was able to secure the money to get the new drinking system. A study by an engineer determined that the simple, inexpensive change will save the university a whopping 1 million gallons of water a year.”Can you imagine over 50 years how many gallons we've put back in the ground?" Wheeler asks.

The new drinkers work by attaching a rubber nipple to containers of water, where a droplet forms. A lightbulb casts light on the droplet, which attracts the chickens, which peck at the drinker until their thirst is slaked. Wheeler found some used equipment to set up the first new drinker lines, while other equipment is on order and should be installed soon in both coops. In addition to saving water, Wheeler notes that the new drinkers also save labor. Less water is spilled by the chickens pecking at the new drinkers than with the old bubblers, he says, which means their litter stays much dryer. ©Journal Inquirer 2004