Clean water

[City Farmer Jim]

This is more of an observation for us NEWBIES. We have a 10 pullet soon to be 5 hens and 5 pullets flock. Being a newbie and wanting EVERYTHING perfect as possible we purchased several types of water systems we have vertical nipplers we have horizontal nipplers, dish pans with ranges of full to the top to a half inch in the bottom. We have some water with electrolytes some water that is iced. We clean EVERYTHING a minimum of 3 times a week as we live in South Texas so our girls have clean fresh water. GUESS what they prefer...we have 4 hog feed pans that are 12-14 inches in diameter and hold a gallon of water that they MUST wash their feet in before they could possibly drink from it. We also have a 2 feed troughs(hold 25 and 15 gallons) to water/bath wild birds so if the hog pans are in use they head straight for those that we clean monthly ish or when they are dry.
So the whole idea for other NEWBIES is offer clean fresh water but your flock will drink "dirty" given the chance...none of our flock has been sick and laying fantastic tasting EGGS

 

[Bear1978]

Interesting observation. We like to think certain things about chickens, but in the end, they’re animals. And were wild animals all those hundreds of years ago before they were domesticated animals. So they probably don’t think in terms of “Is this water cleaner than the other water over there? How many times has this waterer been cleaned out today? OMG! Suzzie just walked IN the water and I KNOW she had some dookie on her left foot! Gross!” I’ve seen them peck at a freshly deposited turd that had just plopped out of another chickens booty... So yeah, they don’t worry about cleanliness. Lol. But we as their keepers shoild in terms of trying to keep illness, diseases and pests to a minimum.

 

[azygous]

Things newbies should understand about chickens:

1. Chickens have no manners.
2. Chickens are ingrates
3. Food on the ground and water in puddles are always considered by chickens to be superior to clean water and food in sanitary feeders.

 

[baysidechicks]

ha ha I also have seen the "water tastes better after you walk in it" behavior. It's hot here in S Florida and I have brought iced water out to them, I have a five gallon bucket with nipple waterers on the bottom, I have their old brooder waterer which is a bike water bottle with a nipple on the bottom, and a galvanized pan that I put out there with water for them to cool their feet in if that's what they want. And that's where they drink too, ignoring the other nice clean water options. I have to empty it and refill it every day because of course they kick stuff into it as well as bathe their poopy feet in it...but they seem to be happy and healthy, so...

 

[Jeanw]

Option#1: beautiful and sanitized waterer full of delicious mountain spring water
Option#2: old tarp with pockets of filthy stagnant water

Chicken chooses #2.

 

[lalalandchickens]

Yep my chickens go mad when I empty there bucket into a puddle to clean and put fresh water in. They all fight to get first peck in dirty puddle

 

[Willow2253]

Chickens are funny like that. Mine will always pick the algae filled kiddie pool or the stream that runs down the driveway over the nicely cleaned waterers. However, if there’s dirt in the waterer then it’s fair game.