Clean Waterer solution?

[Andrea PNW]

Ok - y'all can make fun of me with this question. It's a rookie moment for sure BUT... So I hose out (on jet stream) and refill with fresh water both a 5gal and 3gal waterer and their catch basins every night. That said - I don't scrub them out with soap and sometimes even I'm dumping out the catch basins before the nightly house - well they stink stink. I typically do the full douche of an the waterers and turn the straw in the duck house on the weekends. So it's like one chore (scrub out all the food bins/water bins, turn over straw etc. etc.)

Scrubbing out all the bins and water bin every single night just feels excessive but as I refill my waterers each night - I know they aren't clean clean. I'm wondering if there is like an additive enzyme or something that I should be using in the water - or do I legit just need to scrub out everything with soap and water every day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use one of the cheap toilet brushes to scrub my waters which are buckets with lids and hole cut into the lids for drinking to keep them from using them as their bathtubs. I also use white vinegar for my cleaning product. It kills bacteria and doesn't leave any soap residue. I don't keep food and water inside the coops at night so while everyone is finishing up eating before going to bed I am starting my clean up. I know it's a pain in the butt to have to clean their eating and drinking containers but Honestly there is no way I could let the go from one day to the next. I also use Oxine ah in their drinking buckets a couple times a week when I am not using the white vinegar. Just 1/8 teas per gal and it keeps the slime from forming on the inside. The white vinegar I use to clean rinse and fill with water the Oxine ah I put in and leave along with fresh water.

 

[Birdie mom]

Ok - y'all can make fun of me with this question. It's a rookie moment for sure BUT... So I hose out (on jet stream) and refill with fresh water both a 5gal and 3gal waterer and their catch basins every night. That said - I don't scrub them out with soap and sometimes even I'm dumping out the catch basins before the nightly house - well they stink stink. I typically do the full douche of an the waterers and turn the straw in the duck house on the weekends. So it's like one chore (scrub out all the food bins/water bins, turn over straw etc. etc.)

Scrubbing out all the bins and water bin every single night just feels excessive but as I refill my waterers each night - I know they aren't clean clean. I'm wondering if there is like an additive enzyme or something that I should be using in the water - or do I legit just need to scrub out everything with soap and water every day.

I'm not sure exactly how to help, BUT you are a very dedicated rookie, and you are putting me to shame

I personally just rinse them out whenever they look dirty, don't add anything, and scrub them out if the dirt won't go away. As long as the water looks fairly clean, and the chickens are willing to drink it, I usually leave it alone. I mean, my chickens are all still alive so I guess I must be doing something right.

 

[Callender Girl]

@Birdie mom, I couldn't have said it better myself. I wish I had the motivation to be as dedicated as Andrea PNW and Miss Lydia, but I'm not. Your cleaning schedule is similar to mine.

Now that I am totally ashamed of my lazy self, I think I will go out and dump out the ducks' stock tank and at least add CLEAN water.

 

[Birdie mom]

@Birdie mom, I couldn't have said it better myself. I wish I had the motivation to be as dedicated as Andrea PNW and Miss Lydia, but I'm not. Your cleaning schedule is similar to mine.

Now that I am totally ashamed of my lazy self, I think I will go out and dump out the ducks' stock tank and at least add CLEAN water.

I think I will do that too

 

[Andrea PNW]

Have you tried that enzyme water protector by manna pro? It's supposed to be good for all livestock to keep water clean and slime-free

 

[HollowOfWisps]

If you think about it ducks have been drinking out of dirty puddles, streams, lakes etc. Since their existence started lol for my ducks I refill all of their water 2-3 times a day and scrub buckets/pools once a week mainly because of iron build up on the sides and to make sure algae growth doesn't start. At the end of the day I think of it like I do with my kids....a little dirt isn't going to hurt them and it's probably actually good for their immune systems if anything. As long as they have access to a fresh water source daily for drinking and it's algae free I don't fuss over it too much. I do however, a couple of times a year I fully sanitize everything including pens, but other than what I described above I don't sweat too much over it.

 

[ladybrasa]

Have you tried that enzyme water protector by manna pro?

Would like to know the answer to this!

Ive got chickens and can only muster cleaning out waterers once weekly with soap. Sometimes the very next day I get odors from it …

 

[Folly's place]

I'm lazy and too busy, so my birds have fresh water in their unscrubbed waterers as needed. More frequent water changes in summer, rinsed containers, and we're good.
Am I drinking that water? NO!!! But the birds, horses, and dogs are all happy with water in puddles, so super clean waterers aren't so important for us here.
Mary

 

[Andrea PNW]

Would like to know the answer to this!

Ive got chickens and can only muster cleaning out waterers once weekly with soap. Sometimes the very next day I get odors from it …

Ditto!