Nipple water bucket-how do you keep it clean

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I have the Chicken Fountain waterer. http://chickenfountain.com/

I noticed some cloudy murky water with "fluffy stuff" floating in it and I followed his instruction for cleaning it:

Quote: I realize you don't have the Chicken Fountain but I'm sure the same cleaning instructions should help you out. I also activated the drippers on mine while the cleaning solution was inside of it to ensure the cleaning solution cleaned them as well.
If you do this and it's still gross after a couple of days, repeat the cleaning again and this time don't add ACV just to see if you get the same result. That way you can tell if it's the ACV or not that's somehow contributing to the issue.
 
ChickenCanoe said:
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.
Click to expand...
Good for you.


I prefer to err on the side of rationality and not be afraid of everything that is man-made. There are some really nasty "organic chemical sources"
 
Looks like you need to take the end cap off and put a round brush in there. I never use ACV and wonder why so many folks here feel it is 'needed.' Seems to cause more problems than it solves for most people. Do you know why you are using it? Or is it because someone told you to do so, or you read here on BYC that it did 'wonders' for your birds.

You should consider the employ of horizontal nipples, and not the vertical ones you are apparently using. The horizontal nipples are spring loaded, and don't leak when bumped and or pecked. I think them a more natural method of supplying water to ones flock. They seem to work better in cold climates and do not freeze up as easily as the vertical ones.

Anyway to fix your current waterer you are going to have to use some elbow grease and perhaps bleach. Flush the system well, allow to air dry, to allow the bleach to dissipate. You must have something growing that should not and will needs be removed.

Best to you and your birds,

RJ
 
Messipaw said:
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.
Click to expand...

If the bucket is letting any light in, that's a problem. I use an orange bucket from The Home Depot; it hangs indoors, and never has any algae. No ACV needed, but I do empty the bucket of all "old" water each time I fill it, which is about twice a week.
 
I have to say that once I cleaned my system I changed the water hose to a shorter one I had laying around (I rinsed it well) and also added ACV. The water got gross. So I took it apart and cleaned it again, this time filling the hose with the cleaning solution as well and letting it all sit. After I rinsed it, I reassembled it I turned the water back on and did not add the ACV. This was last week and my water is still clear. For me it could have been either the hose or the ACV, but I'm tempted to leave well enough alone and not add the ACV since the water is staying clean.

I know your system does not include a hose, but this is related to the overall effort of cleaning the system and the decision to add or not add ACV. It may be worth it to you to clean it all as outlined in my post above and try it with and also without the ACV and see what happens each time.
 
CrazyTalk said:
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)
Click to expand...

I know there is no crud floating in their water as it is a little one gallon container but my water IS well water, so I guess there could be some kind of organics in it, would that cause the water to become nasty after one day? I assumed it was because of the way the water dispenser was made, it lets water out but it sucks air back in and if the chicks get saliva in the water that it would get pulled into the main body of the container and create bacteria in the water.
 

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