Chickens without water for 36 hours in 90+ - ?

[sjmjrgkmg]

Hi All,
We just got back from a week long trip, during which a neighbor's 10 year old was to take care of our flock of four. We came home to find a nicely filled water jug - UPSIDE DOWN in the coop! A call to mom reassured us that she had witnessed the water jug being put in correctly for the other days, so at most the girls were without water for a day and a half (probably less). The drank for about 10 minutes straight when I put it right and seem fine and healthy, I'm just wondering if there is anything I should be looking for as far as after effects. Their run is mostly shaded, but it was HOT around here these last few days. Anything I should be concerned about? Thanks,
Sue

 

[chicknmania]

No. Just make sure the kid knows what she's doing next time.

Welcome to byc.

 

[Akane]

If they are walking around drinking water then they have already recovered from the incident. You just might not get as many eggs for awhile. If you find them laying flat out with wings spread panting then you need to cool them down and get water in them immediately or they will die. We had one overheat this weekend while we were hauling some new chickens from 2 1/2 hours away. Stress will cause them to overheat much faster. I set her on a wet brick in front of the water and dipped her beak several times until she started drinking on her own.

 

[elmo]

Whew! That was a close one.

You'll probably see a drop in egg production for some time to come. It can take a while for a chicken to recover from dehydration.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Yes I can relate. I had a friend watch my little chickens when I was on vac...he called about 3 times in one week to say the chickens were dying and he didn't know why. I live in Va. and was on vac. in Canada at a friends house. I was gone for 2 weeks came home to find a total of 15 dead he had buried them...I still had 30 so I started tending to them and never lost any after that. makes me wonder if he was really watering them each day..in Va. it is Hot in the summer and this was the end of July.

 

[Siler]

That's why I'm always worried to leave my girls even for a day. I used to work for a pet store and we'd always instruct people how to leave it to others to care for their fish after hearing all the horror stories. It's always best to print out a detailed list for the caretakers and to only let adults care for your pets/animals. Children deviate from instructions unless you teach them yourselves. Some people overfeed. Some underfeed.