blood in water??

[Chickenslol]

not a huge deal but i cleaned out my chickens water a few nights ago because they get hay and gunk in there all the time, and when i did the paper towel i used to wipe out the bottom came up with red. now the bottom of my feeder is red so i originally thought that the water heater might be melting the bottom but that doesn’t appear to be the case which is strange. i was thinking maybe one of my chickens got a nosebleed??? i’m not sure if that’s loss but i’m cleaning the water again today to be sure. i checked my chickens and they all look perfectly fine, no injuries. idk any ideas?

 

[DobieLover]

not a huge deal but i cleaned out my chickens water a few nights ago because they get hay and gunk in there all the time, and when i did the paper towel i used to wipe out the bottom came up with red. now the bottom of my feeder is red so i originally thought that the water heater might be melting the bottom but that doesn’t appear to be the case which is strange. i was thinking maybe one of my chickens got a nosebleed??? i’m not sure if that’s loss but i’m cleaning the water again today to be sure. i checked my chickens and they all look perfectly fine, no injuries. idk any ideas?

Do you still have the paper towel?
Can you post pictures?
Singer algaes and biofilms are reddish. Blood would dissipate in the water, tinting it pink.

 

[Chickenslol]

Do you still have the paper towel?
Can you post pictures?
Singer algaes and biofilms are reddish. Blood would dissipate in the water, tinting it pink.

sorry, just took out the trash, the bottom was slimy if that helps

 

[Sally PB]

the bottom was slimy if that helps

That was an algae, most likely.

 

[Chickenslol]

That was an algae, most likely.

thanks, i did a little research and i’m going to start to put a little bit of apple cider vinegar in their water. our coop has pretty large windows and because of the temps and our new pullets we’ve been lighting it all day, so there’s really no way to keep it out of the sun. seems like just constant cleaning and the vinegar should help, any thoughts on that method?

 

[Sally PB]

seems like just constant cleaning and the vinegar should help, any thoughts on that method?

Vinegar will probably do it. I put some kombucha in one of my waterers (it's very acidic, like vinegar), and I don't think it ever got slimy. It was in the sun some too. I think I put one tablespoon per gallon, IIRC.