Chickens without water! Emergency?

[KyCoop]

It's always good to have extra extra water in hot weather in case one leaks, gers turned over or drank dry. I have 8 gallons for 12 chickens spread throughout the run and yard. It does not always get drunk but I'd rather pour out water to change it rather then run the risk of them running out.

 

[WingItRanch]

It's always good to have extra extra water in hot weather in case one leaks, gers turned over or drank dry. I have 8 gallons for 12 chickens spread throughout the run and yard. It does not always get drunk but I'd rather pour out water to change it rather then run the risk of them running out.

Lesson learned, for sure!

 

[WingItRanch]

Btw I see you are also in TX! I am too!

Then you know my panic! Poor things were HOT!

 

[Juliejcr]

Ok it's been a few hours and I went out to check on him before they put themselves to "bed."

Everyone seems normal. They weren't panting anymore and were all acting fine. Whew! I honestly thought I had killed them all.

I still don't know why the water wasn't coming out but I have multiple water options for them now.

This happened to me. Mine were without water for 4 days. (I was gone and had someone coming by every 3 days) I figured out the problem. I have a 3 gallon nipple style container. So, because the lid was put on tight it stopped the water from coming out of the nipples. After I fixed the problem my chickens drank water non-stop for about 15 minutes. WHO KNEW.... So upsetting! My chickens are molting also. They hardly come out. The hardly drink or eat . It has been a month since this happened. I put electrolytes in their water and gave them watermelon and worms (their favorite) Do you think they will make it? Of course no eggs.

 

[WingItRanch]

@Juliejcr I'm so sorry! 4 days is a long time without water.

Mine did survive but their poo was a little watery for a few days after because they drank so much once they got fresh water. But I also believe they were without water for less than 24 hrs because I had checked everything the night prior and I caught the issue in the afternoon of the next day.

Yours aren't eating or drinking regularly for a month since the waterer incident?

Maybe you should post on the Emergency forum and see if some of the more medically inclined folks can figure out why it's taking so long for them to recover.

 

[rosemarythyme]

This happened to me. Mine were without water for 4 days. (I was gone and had someone coming by every 3 days) I figured out the problem. I have a 3 gallon nipple style container. So, because the lid was put on tight it stopped the water from coming out of the nipples. After I fixed the problem my chickens drank water non-stop for about 15 minutes. WHO KNEW.... So upsetting! My chickens are molting also. They hardly come out. The hardly drink or eat . It has been a month since this happened. I put electrolytes in their water and gave them watermelon and worms (their favorite) Do you think they will make it? Of course no eggs.

Strongly suggest you drill in a small airhole in your waterer so that doesn't happen again. "Leaving the lid on loose" works until it doesn't, an airhole guarantees you won't get a vacuum.

My guess is they did get some water during those 4 days but towards the end the vacuum inside made it run dry (or maybe you got lucky and there was some rain), as I don't think they would've survived 4 straight days without any water. But now that it's been a month they should be well past risk of dying from it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could the OP post a picture of the waterer? I know this is from months ago, but some of the large plastic waterers have to have the small air cap removed to work. This one is the one I have used. You fill up the waterer with the small cap on at the bottom, and then remove it and store it on the water above, so the water chamber fills as needed as seen:
https://image.chewy.com/is/image/catalog/292403_MAIN._AC_SL1200_V1621029207_.jpg

 

[WingItRanch]

Could the OP post a picture of the waterer? I know this is from months ago, but some of the large plastic waterers have to have the small air cap removed to work. This one is the one I have used. You fill up the waterer with the small cap on at the bottom, and then remove it and store it on the water above, so the water chamber fills as needed as seen:
https://image.chewy.com/is/image/catalog/292403_MAIN._AC_SL1200_V1621029207_.jpg

Yes, of course. This is the one I had:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-ez-fill-drinker-5-gal-1020490?store=1107

It did have a small red cap that stopped the water from pouring into the trough. After you fill up the main bucket, you reach in and remove the little red cap and the water would release into the trough.

This was NOT the issue. I had the cap removed. It turned out the bucket top created a kind of suction. It was hard to pull the top off (normal is not) and when I did, the pressure released and it flowed.

I had nothing but issues with this waterer and threw it away. It either leaked and drained dry or it wouldn't release water at all. I now use the waterers that you flip. They're annoying but fool proof.