A question about water...

[Liamm_1]

Years ago, before I even thought of keeping chickens, some neighbors had chickens, and occasionally we'd see them going through our yard. I'd show the kids, and it was an interesting and fun event, watching these foreign visitors. One day, I opened up a shed in the backyard to get something out. Something in the corner of my eye startled me, and I looked down to find a rooster. Foryunately for him, there was a bag of wild bird seed in the shed and he had gotten into that. But there was no water, and thinking back, I recalled closing the shed doors one day, they were open and he must have gotten in that day. That day had been a couple months earlier. So, this rooster survived for 2 months on bird seed and no water. He never crowed once apparently, or at least not when I was around to hear him. As he walked out, he found some rainwater in cracks in the ground, it had rained recently and he was very thirsty.
So, my question is, after reading that chickens can get ill after only a day or 2 without water, how is it this guy survived for about 2 months?

 

[gritsar]

I'm not sure. I have a cat that accidently got locked in an outbuilding for 11 days. She did fine. We know she must have fed on the resident rat that lived in that building, which would have provided her with some fluids; but surely not enough to survive.

The only thing we can figure out is that she survived by licking/drinking condensation on the pipes and/or walls.

I realize cats and chickens are very different creatures, but they both have strong survival skills.

 

[Judy]

Seeds do have a little water content. Maybe he could get a little from condensation, or leaks or seepage when it rained.

Remarkable story, anyway.