bleach in mud puddles?

[chickendude]

Quote:
Oh come on now. Sit back and take a deep breath. I don't feel any one was poking fun at ya. A few here didn't or couldn't understand the logic or possible benefit of bleaching puddles. As for me I fill mine in with soil or even rock. You did say they are too large to fill in but I find it hard to assume any hole in a chicken run being too large to fill in. Again don't look into these posts too deeply. I don't believe in my heart anyone was intentionally poking fun or trying to embarrass you.

 

[annaraven]

I apologize if my posts made you feel bad. Without the information you posted later about why you wanted to bleach them, it came across like some random bit of germophobia. My apologies.

Honestly though - I am concerned about dosage. It's easy to overdo something like that. I really recommend that you contact your local vet and ask them. They would be able to advise you better on this. Perhaps they could have someone come out and test the puddle if you think there's some disease being spread? (If it's in your puddles, then it's possibly more widespread and needs to be checked.)

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I am suprised how much bleach the average person consumed in a year. It is used in staggering amounts on many food products - french fries, flour, rice, etc. I have heard that it has no harmful side effects from some and that it can cause blindness from others. Does anyone know?
I can't imagine it is good for you. I eat an organic diet and would never intentionally give bleach to myself or my chickens but can't say that the bacteria killing effects do not outweigh the risks. I would love to find a study about it as I am curious about it's safety.

 

[NonnasBabies]

You say you can't fill them in cause of the snow?? Why not go to home depot and buy some top soil!! At least the soil would soak up in water in there!!

I can honestly say that my chickens have drank out of some nasty puddles but I don't have nor have I ever had a sick chicken!!

 

[brandislee]

I can't believe people put bleach in their wells regularly. That's crazy talk. I've drank well water my entire life (with the exception of my college years and a few years after) and I have never heard of that. I don't love the fact that municipalities put chlorine in the water, but I have faith that they know what they're doing (usually) and that they at the very least put a lot of work and research into making sure they don't kill people, just for liability sake.

But I do know that chlorine is only toxic (short term) if ingested in a concentrated amount.

My concerns about putting bleach in puddles outside would be these: (and forgive me if these were covered, I only skimmed the thread).

1) bleach is much more toxic when the fumes are breathed than it is when ingested in small amounts. Chickens have relatively sensitive respiratory systems, and a large puddle or puddles in their yard would be off gassing a lot of chlorine vapor, possibly causing respiratory issues for the chickens.

2) the effectiveness of household bleach decreases quickly once mixed with water. Back in the day we used dilluted bleach water to sanitize toys and surfaces at a daycare I worked at. But the bleach water had to be mixed fresh every single day, otherwise it lost it's effectiveness. So even assuming that you used the right amount for the size of the puddle and that it's safe for the chickens, it's only going to work for about a day.

 

[classicsredone]

Quote:
I can handle chlorine in city water, but most pools aren't as well managed and they make me sick as a dog. I get tired, wheezy, and if I get in the water, I get nose bleeds and dry, tight skin.

 

[gritsar]

No sense being a germaphobic, especially if you're going to be raising chickens.

I was out filling waterers today and it's one of my chickens favorite times of the day. I set the waterers up on an old lawn chair to make fillng easier and they like to drink out of the mud puddle it creates under the chair.

We have a well. Never heard tell of using chlorine in one for regular maintenance; only if you have a problem. And btw, we all have e.coli in our bodies.

 

[acid_chipmunk]

My chickens drink out of puddles and they are perfectly healthy. They have a perfectly good, clean waterer in their coop, but prefer the puddle. I don't find anything wrong with them drinking out of it either.


Also, we have a well and have never heard of shocking it. Nor, did the well company tell us to when they put it in.

 

[woodmort]

My Dad loved ice tea with lemon which he got from a bottle of Real Lemon extract that sat on the counter in the kitchen. One night he went into the darken kitchen, poured himself a big glass of tea and added the lemon. Unfortunately my mother had left a bottle of bleach on the counter that was the same size and shape. Dad didn't die from that first swig of bleached tea but he did make an awful face. (He said his teeth were a bit whiter for a while

) I would guess then that a little bleach won't kill you but the bigger question is why use it? Right now my chickens favorite thing is to pick on the snow in front of the coop door when I have scraped manure that tends to build up in front of the door and make it hard to close--they seem fine with it preferring it to the nice clean water in the waterers. Chickens like all kinds of critters, seem to have a built in immunity to the stuff that lives in puddles as long as they have be exposed to it right along. There are worst dangers to them, like bringing in an adult bird from another owner and adding it to the flock.

 

[wyoDreamer]

To the OP, I'm sorry if your feelings were hurt.

Part of my problem I guess is that I grew up running wild in northern Wisconsin, with all the standing water that inhabits the areas. I have made mud pies in some pretty skanky puddles as a kid. Never got sick from it that I know of. The thought of trying to bleach puddles sent me an image of running around with a bleach bottle for days treating all the standing water. In spring, until the ground thawed, our entire front yard would be a puddle about 2" deep (we had over an acre lot), and cleaning up the dog poop exposed by the melting snow was impossible cause it would dissolve. We never had sickness problems, but we had to take our shoes off at the door!

Hopefully the information on dosing for emergency drinking water supply was of some use if you did decide to dose the puddles. As another poster stated, bleach is dangerous in too high of concentrations, but will evaporate quite quickly from water. When I water my plants at work (city water) I always fill the cup and leave it sit for at least 1/2 hour before using. By that time most-if-not-all of the chlorine has evapoarted out and it is safe for the plants. I learned this from an engineer friend who ran the water treatment for the city.

Once again, my apologies if I hurt your feelings.
Hope your puddles dry up quickly!