slimy water

[d.k]

* I have 3 waterers, that I empty and refill 2 of these and I rotate the cleaning of one a day. I empty it completely scrub it and then put in a solution of roughly 1/2 tsp. bleach to a gallon water, soak 15 minutes, rinse and refill with fresh water.

 

[bufforphfan]

Sounds like you may be using a larger waterer than the size of your flock warrants, in order to cut down on having to water so often. Most backyard poultry raisers like having to interact with their small flock on a regular/daily basis. All poultry experts stress having a clean supply of water available at all times. At present, I only have 8 young chicks and I use quart glass jar waterers with the metal bottoms. I clean the metal daily when I refill the bottles and I clean the inside of the bottle as needed. My theory is that the chicks introduce foreign material to the waterer when they drink and that makes it become a breeding ground for bacteria. I have a small decorative pond/fountain in my yard which grows algae in warm weather. If I add a little bleach to the water it seems to inhibit the growth of algae. Other than altering the taste of the water , I would not think a little bleach added to the water would be harmful. Does anyone have any experience with adding bleach to waterers?

 

[birdnutz]

Oxine works,but is kind of spendy. I ordered mine online. I wouldn't use bleach. If I did it,I'd use clorination tablets like you can use in a swimming pool or hot tub. Bleach has a caustic agent added to it for cleaning purposes.

 

[Ringo71]

When we have the wells drilled for our customers new homes the well inspector makes us dump 3 gallons of bleach into it. Infact, he tells the home owners to dump 1 gallon of bleach into it when the water gets to stinkin again. lol

I wouldn't think a touch of bleach would hurt the chickens if it doesn't hurt humans? Personally, I'm just going to clean the waterer a few times a week. I might reconsider the bleach thing once the temps get too low though. haha

If you do use bleach... use the type with nothing added to it. You know, the kind that turns everything white regardless. We usually buy the generic bottles that just say BLEACH.

I'm not saying to use or not use it, just wanted to mention that we use it in our wells in Ohio. Some of the wells have a lot of sulfur and smell like rotten eggs!!! ewwwwww...

 

[d.k]

* Ummm, more waterers than my 'flock' needs-- lol, DEFINITELY!! I have ONE hen. . . . But, I have several waterers because she has a large yard and When it's hot here, it's DARN HOT. . . .I don't want her going without water.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

What I wanna know is WHAT is that dang slime anyway? From where does it come. My chick's waterer is in the brooder with them. I change it at least once a day (it is pretty big); but more often more than that daily and still slime. Especially just now; yuk!

 

[raingarden]

The slime is the gelatinous coat of bacteria cells. The galatinous coat is what allows bacteria to stick together so they can live colonial, demersal and productive lives. Don't let the word "bacteria" scare you. Without them we ourselves could not exist.