Can chickens swim?

[homesteadinmama]

Thank you, thank you!

 

[Judy]

They can swim -- until their feathers get soaked enough, then they will drown. There used to be a video of someone throwing a chicken in a swimming pool and the chicken swam to the side and got out. Lots of uproar about it. The chicken was lucky, and close enough to the side to make it.

I wouldn't worry about a stream for grown chickens. Unless it is really wide or deep, even if something startles them into the water, they should be able to make it out in time.

 

[I-Have-Happy-Hens]

Quote:
Yes our elderly friend next door her dad was a chicken farmer and just sold eggs anyway their best broody mom was a little banty cross and when she went broody they would take about 30 of the best looking eggs and stick them under her and she would hatch All of and if not all most, So they wanted to start taking care of ducks and when that little hen went broody the stuck 10 duck eggs under her and when those duck eggs hatched she took them down to the bank on the stream to look for food and when they got there all the ducklings hoped in the water and were loving it and the little hen was running up and down up and down making the bigest fit you ever heard trying to get them to come out after a few mor times of this she got used to them doing this and she took them down there everyday but she (hen) never got wet herself

 

[aggie9296]

They CAN swim for short distances. They will get waterlogged and could drown if they could not get out of the water. I have watched my 2 older hens fall in the pool. Or walk in. Flapped and swam and sort of floated. One pulled herself out but the other one couldn't. She did get to the step before I could fish her out. They now avoid the pool. I think they walked in becaue they are getting chicken cataracts.

I would be concerned that if the chickens got spooked (by hawk or coon or stray dog) that they may panic and fly or run into the stream and not be able to get out. If the shore is a gentle slope, could probably walk right out. If they ended up across the stream, may not be able to get back.

 

[gavinandallison]

all this talk about chickens swim, makes me wonder if maybe a little kiddie pool - with rocks and such would be enjoyable for my ladies in the summer it gets so very hot down here- I do run a box fan outside thier coop for a little breeze and we also freeze bottles of water - they love standing on them -- what do you all think about a few inches of water for them ?

 

[homesteadinmama]

Yes our elderly friend next door her dad was a chicken farmer and just sold eggs anyway their best broody mom was a little banty cross and when she went broody they would take about 30 of the best looking eggs and stick them under her and she would hatch All of and if not all most, So they wanted to start taking care of ducks and when that little hen went broody the stuck 10 duck eggs under her and when those duck eggs hatched she took them down to the bank on the stream to look for food and when they got there all the ducklings hoped in the water and were loving it and the little hen was running up and down up and down making the bigest fit you ever heard trying to get them to come out after a few mor times of this she got used to them doing this and she took them down there everyday but she (hen) never got wet herself

Love it!

 

[homesteadinmama]

Quote:
Now that sounds like chicken paradice

 

[Weasleysflock]

Quote:
Yes our elderly friend next door her dad was a chicken farmer and just sold eggs anyway their best broody mom was a little banty cross and when she went broody they would take about 30 of the best looking eggs and stick them under her and she would hatch All of and if not all most, So they wanted to start taking care of ducks and when that little hen went broody the stuck 10 duck eggs under her and when those duck eggs hatched she took them down to the bank on the stream to look for food and when they got there all the ducklings hoped in the water and were loving it and the little hen was running up and down up and down making the bigest fit you ever heard trying to get them to come out after a few mor times of this she got used to them doing this and she took them down there everyday but she (hen) never got wet herself

That's sweet. My silkie loves water though. She doesn't swim just kinda bath in the tub.

 

[gryeyes]

I have two goldfish ponds, above ground pond liners surrounded by stacking, retaining wall concrete bricks. The chickens get up there to drink out of the ponds. They also go up a ramp to drink out of a 300 gallon tank I got for my ducks. I put a "rescue ramp" in after one hen got blown in by high winds and couldn't get out; she almost drowned (thought she was dead when I found her but I saved her).

I keep a kiddie pool for the ducks, too, which the chickens use for drinking water. Ick. They have waterers, but NOOOO, they want to drink out of the icky duck pool water.

During the summer, a few of the chickens will get INTO the kiddie pool and stand in the water to cool down.

I wouldn't worry about the stream.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Ooo this is good to know I want to do a little wading area for my chickens too. It gets 105-110 here sometimes in the summer so Id have to put it in the shaded part of the run. I probably will do a trough though about an inch or two deep with rocks in it. I lost some baby chicks to a deep dish waterer because I neglected to put in a chick Mesh to keep them from drowning. Might just set up a float valve to keep the water level at a certain height and a recirculating pump to pump it through filter medium though. Easy to do I have all the stuff to do it too..... Scribble scribble ..... Got to take notes or I will forget.... scribble.....