bleach in mud puddles?

[DaniLovesChickens]

I know you can put a small amount of bleach in your chickens drinking water, so could I put bleach in the mud puddles that have formed right behind the coop with this thaw we're in?

I just hate to think of all of the "stuff" that's in those puddles and I can't keep them from drinking out of them.

So what do you think?

How much?

 

[terrilhb]

Why would you put bleach in the chickens waterer? I have never heard this. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

No- bleach is very dangerous to chickens. You might have a concentrated zone of bleach and damage the internal parts of your chickies.

It is natural for them to drink out of mud puddles some- mine do it and never get sick. Even the puddles from just hosing out the coops (with lots of poo in them).

 

[classicsredone]

Bleach in the mud puddles would kill any beneficials in the soil, too. That could make room for the icky bugs to take over in the pen, causing problems.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed. Think of it this way - drinking out of the mud puddles innoculates your chickens against germs. Works for me.

 

[deerman]

Wow all these warning about bleach.........yes it will kill the germs.........like all wells need bleach once a year. Surejust like all city water.


Plus a little bleach in the mud puddle ,will keep those bloodsucking insects from breeding........

 

[xyresicchick]

bleach is toxic to chickens. better to use apple cider vinegar.... don't you think?

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
The problem I see is knowing the volume of water in the puddle in order to get the right concentration of chlorine. Too little is a waste and too much will kill the birds. People who do city water have a pretty good idea of how much water they're treating and spend a fair amount of resource to make sure the concentration isn't too high. Same with wells - you have to know how much standing water is in there to know how much is okay to put in. Wells that are treated with chlorine also need to be flushed afterwards before you use the water. And they are careful to say that the water should not be allowed to run off to the streams, ponds or lakes.

I would recommend avoiding it. There are other ways of dealing with mosquito larvae (like BTi). As for the other "stuff" in the puddles, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Chris09]

City water and community wells contain chlorine, in fact most people that have well shock there well with chlorine.

Chris

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I guess it depends on where you live. It's not common to routinely put bleach in home wells in our area. We get our well water tested for various things every few years and have never had a problem with it. It must just depend on where you live and the terrain, plus the type of soil, groundwater and well structures you have. I didn't realize that in some areas, homeowners bleach their wells annually.

Bleach is a toxic substance. That's why it works as a disinfectant. Too little is ineffective and too much can kill you. Or the chickens. That's the reason people are talking about proper dosing being an issue. Pesticides are the same way. They can kill you, your chickens or your pets, if you use too much.

I've never worried about the quality of puddles, but I don't have any right next to the run, where it could have more contamination by manure. If you have some low spots right where the run is draining, maybe think about adding a little soil there, to bring the level up to the surrounding ground. It probably wouldn't take much and then you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. You might only need a bucket of dirt and a hand trowel to add a bit of dirt. If it's a larger area, a shovel and a garden rake can help. Over the years, I've done a little re-contouring in the yard here and there, to help with the spring run-off and puddles, from melting snow.

In general, I'm more protective of what I expose young chicks to and less protective for healthy adult chickens with healthy immune systems. When you free range, they get exposed to a lot.