Under a Boil Water Notice...will it affect my chickens?

[The Chicken People]

I cant seem to get a straight informed answer!

 

[FireTigeris]

What bad things are possibly in the water?

 

[The Chicken People]

High levels of manganese.

 

[mdbokc]

I think someone is smoking you on the problem being manganese. If boiling, you increase the concentration of the metal, not reduce it. Article on manganese in the water.... http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/manganese/water.html

I suspect there is another, unspoken reason for the boil notice...thus I would boil it before giving it to the chickens. That's just me.

 

[dawg53]

Boiling water for chickens? When they drink from the dirtiest mud puddles after a rain? Human consumption I understand no problem, but not chickens.

 

[justbugged]

Manganese(II) ions function as cofactors for a number of enzymes in higher organisms, where they are essential in detoxification of superoxide free radicals. The element is a required trace mineral for all known living organisms. In larger amounts, and apparently with far greater activity by inhalation, manganese can cause a poisoning syndrome in mammals, with neurological damage which is sometimes irreversible.

Manganism has occurred in persons employed in the production or processing of manganese alloys, patients receiving total parenteral nutrition, workers exposed to manganese-containing fungicides such as maneb, and abusers of drugs such as methcathinone made with potassium permanganate. Excessive exposure may be confirmed by measurement of blood or urine manganese concentrations.[53]
Chronic exposure to excessive Mn levels can lead to a variety of psychiatric and motor disturbances, termed manganism. Generally, exposure to ambient Mn air concentrations in excess of 5 μg Mn/m3 can lead to Mn-induced symptoms. Increased ferroportin protein expression in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells is associated with decreased intracellular Mn concentration and attenuated cytotoxicity, characterized by the reversal of Mn-reduced glutamate uptake and diminished lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage[54].

I picked this up from Wikipedia

I would hazard a guess that it could be more of a precaution, rather than anything really scary. I would if I was pregnant be drinking bottled water. But I am not even sure that I would bother otherwise. I think that you could be at more risk by boiling the water. Wouldn't it possibly be emitting the manganese into the air? That is a known risk factor. I wouldn't think that boiling the water would remove manganeses, but only concentrate it further.

I would watch your flock for anything out of the normal and then ask based on that rather than just a what if?

Because from what little reading I have done manganese in the water isn't that major unless maybe you are pregnant. So don't hatch any of the eggs laid while under the boil order. Then I would give it a week or two to make sure everything is at a normal levels before opting for hatching if you were planning on it.

 

[The Chicken People]

The notice on my door says...The Missouri Dept Of Nat Recources issued a boil order because the city of Smithville reported to the department that they did not maintain thr turbiditiy level of water entering the distribution system at or below 1 turbidity units on 8-17-10 as required by safe drinking water regulations. Turbidity was reported as being as high as 1.6 turbidity units.

 

[justbugged]

Nursing mothers are also at risk for feeding the baby to much manganese also.

 

[The Chicken People]

So dont hatch any eggs but eat them?

 

[justbugged]

I wouldn't worry. Let the water settle and drink it.