Clean Water? what does it mean?

[EagleEyes]

So I have been reading about always giving your chickens fresh clean water, but what does that really mean?
They sell 2 gal, 3 gal 5 gal and I'm sure more and I have them all, plus all of the DIY ones, so giving chickens, other poultry, dogs, cats and whatever else you can come up with, fresh water, what does that really mean? fresh water every day?
That's just crazy!
I have been using a 2 gal waterer and filled/changed it out every 2.5 days, and now am using a 5 gal waterer, and fill it with fresh water every 6 days.
I give my cat and dog fresh water quite often, then I see them drinking out of a plant saucer, puddle outside and just laugh.
So, what do you think?

 

[mrsmistoffelees02]

I think the answer to this is subjective. Some people say if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t give it to your chickens… But that’s not practical for me considering they dirty it up almost as soon as I put it down.

You also don’t want their water to look like it came from the pond, either, due to bacterial contamination that could make them sick.

I change my 5qt water every 2-3 days and add a splash of apple cider vinegar. This helps keep bacteria away and I can tell a huge difference when it comes to preventing algae buildup. Just don’t use ACV if you’re using a metal waterer.
It also depends on the type of waterer you’re using. Nippled waterers tend to stay cleaner, in my experience.

 

[puddle_drinker]

So I have been reading about always giving your chickens fresh clean water, but what does that really mean?
They sell 2 gal, 3 gal 5 gal and I'm sure more and I have them all, plus all of the DIY ones, so giving chickens, other poultry, dogs, cats and whatever else you can come up with, fresh water, what does that really mean? fresh water every day?
That's just crazy!
I have been using a 2 gal waterer and filled/changed it out every 2.5 days, and now am using a 5 gal waterer, and fill it with fresh water every 6 days.
I give my cat and dog fresh water quite often, then I see them drinking out of a plant saucer, puddle outside and just laugh.
So, what do you think?

My chickens can't wait for me to dump the old water out of the 2 gallon rubber feeder pans that I use for watering. While I'm scrubbing out the pan and refilling with fresh water they come over and drink up the puddles. It's just hilarious that they don't rush to drink the fresh water, they go for the puddles first. Chickens want what chickens want. Mountain spring water, not city water.

 

[nuthatched]

Fresh, clean as in no acv, probiotics, vitamins etc. They should always have a source of plain water

 

[Tonyroo]

I agree with nuthatched.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

as long as my waterers look clean I will add fresh water. If there isn't very much I dump it and add all fresh. As soon as the waterer starts to feel slimy I wash it with soap and water and refill with fresh. It doesnt need to be fresh enough for human consumption but it shouldn't look like a dirty fish tank either. Plain water is best. If you're going to do vitamins or electrolytes for whatever reason they should still have plain water available.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends on your waterer. If you use a type they can poop in then change the water no less than every two days. That will disrupt the life cycle of most microbes that grow in dirty water. I change it daily (more often in the brooder) because I consider water with poop in it kind of filthy. If you dump the water every two days that also disrupts the life cycle of mosquitoes that may be breeding in the water.

If you use a type of waterer that they cannot poop in and mosquitoes can't breed in it then I don't know of a time limit,

If you put additives in the water, how often you need to change it will depend on what those additives are.

I do not scrub the containers, just dump the water and refill. But when algae starts turning them green I wash with a bleach solution.

 

[3KillerBs]

I change the water in my nipple waterers every 2-4 days depending on the weather and the circumstances.

I change the water in open waterers more often, especially in hot weather.

Fresh, clean as in no acv, probiotics, vitamins etc. They should always have a source of plain water

This!

When I give electrolytes (weekly in hot weather), I give it in a separate waterer. Imagine having nothing to drink but Gatorade in a flavor you don't like.

 

[SourRoses]

I don't think changing the water every day is crazy. It's not always necessary but there's nothing wrong with it.

Here we give adults 1-gallon buckets to drink out of, in the closest location for us (fence line of their yards).
When I'm on duty I dump and fill the buckets with fresh water, usually in the evenings.
When algae is growing fast in the summer they get scrubbed with bleach once or twice a week. Green bucket, eww.
When my Moms on duty, since it's hard on her to bend over, she just tops them up.
Chicks get their water changed at least once a day, and scrubbed with soap most days unless it looks clean.

Juveniles are the only ones we use those difficult to fill store waterers for because I like to make sure they have water in the coop close at hand (beak). Those I tilt to the side opposite the hole, to remove the debris from the trough, usually in the evenings.
When it's time to refill I take the opportunity to rinse them out well. I haven't had one go more than 3 days without needing a refill. For new batches of birds I scrub with soap first.

I really want to make an auto watering system, but the most important thing to me is to make it so the dirty water can be dumped out, and deep enough for the birds to dip their combs during the summer heat.
As it is, on hot summer days I run the hose in their buckets until it's cool a couple times a day. A timed auto system would be awesome.

 

[Isadora]

I use a lidded five gallon bucket with horizontal nipples so the water doesn't get debris in it. It's "clean". I don't dump it to put fresh in every day, as that seems to be overkill.
I don't add anything to it, either. Just plain water.
I have had to dump an outdoor waterer (same set up) in the summer maybe once every two weeks or so to scrub out any algae growth, but thats about all the maintence it's needed.