Nipple water bucket-how do you keep it clean

I have a blue five gallon watering bucket with four nipples on the bottom. I got it from tractor supply. It's tinted blue for sun UV protection, hangs in the shade and I add apple cider vinegar and the water is gross in two days. Gross stuff floats on top.
Why is this happening and what can I do to prevent this.

Is the lid on the bucket?
The ACV should help but if it's hot there you may just need to replenish the water every couple days.
Also, I don't think the blue buckets are food grade. You can get food grade buckets from most restaurants, grocers, bakeries. They usually just throw them away.

okay i will check into that. thank you

ChickenCanoe said:

Is the lid on the bucket?
The ACV should help but if it's hot there you may just need to replenish the water every couple days.
Also, I don't think the blue buckets are food grade. You can get food grade buckets from most restaurants, grocers, bakeries. They usually just throw them away.

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I have the same thing happening with my one gallon waterer with or without acv. Every time they empty it I have to wash it, it's disgustingly slimy.

Waters are the most frustrating thing to deal with. I'm having no luck either. It drives me nuts.

ChickenCanoe said:

Is the lid on the bucket?
The ACV should help but if it's hot there you may just need to replenish the water every  couple days.
Also, I don't think the blue buckets are food grade. You can get food grade buckets from most restaurants, grocers, bakeries. They usually just throw them away.

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Why would you need a food grade bucket? It is water for a chicken.

to answer above you dont need ..heck they just discovered food grade buckets or the name and why only few years ago and nobody died before that of bucket illness..

J at Yoti Farms said:

Why would you need a food grade bucket? It is water for a chicken.

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You don't-maybe.

'Food Grade' typically means that the company producing them has gone through the trouble of having them certified for food use, which is expensive. Selling them with a food grade lable also introduces a bunch of liability.

You can have a whole bunch of buckets come off the same assembly line, one go to one client marked as food grade, and the next go to a place to sell paint in. The first client pays more because they're getting a guarantee that there's nothing hazardous. The second doesn't get the same guarantee, and pays less, but still gets the same bucket.

Certain plastics are generally safe - check the recycling codes on the bottom. Food grade - Always safe. Not food grade - Almost always safe if its the right plastic.


As to crud floating around in your water - I doubt its coming in through the nipples, so its probably either algae, or some sort of slime bacteria - it's probably a product of your tap water having a bit of organics in it. (unless the bucket is uncovered and stuff is falling in)

Lol, and here I bought a bucket from the farm store, same as the waterer it sits in, mine are fine, I did refuse to use the buckets DH borough home from work, as they originally held antifreeze, we use them for non food stuff.

J at Yoti Farms said:

Why would you need a food grade bucket? It is water for a chicken.

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Yes, but you eat the eggs and the chickens that drank from the bucket. I'd rather eat eggs from a chicken that drank from a poop filled puddle than from one that drank from an inorganic chemical source.

rc4u said:

to answer above you dont need ..heck they just discovered food grade buckets or the name and why only few years ago and nobody died before that of bucket illness..

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And how do you know nobody died?
Carcinogens cause cancer many years later. There's no way to trace what caused the cancer. I however am avoiding known carcinogens.

CrazyTalk said:

You don't-maybe.
...
As to crud floating around in your water - I doubt its coming in through the nipples, so its probably either algae, or some sort of slime bacteria - it's probably a product of your tap water having a bit of organics in it. (unless the bucket is uncovered and stuff is falling in)

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X2

boyswillbeboys said:

Lol, and here I bought a bucket from the farm store, same as the waterer it sits in, mine are fine, I did refuse to use the buckets DH borough home from work, as they originally held antifreeze, we use them for non food stuff.

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Good plan