Cleaning your waterer

[justduckie]

Does any one use bleach when you clean your waterer? I've started doing that because I'd get poop in the water.....I have a big 5 gallon plastic one and no matter where I put it and how high I put it, there always seems to be poop in the tray! I think I have some one perching on top of it.

I'm hoping this will help keep any kind of sickness from spreading.

They don't do it to my two 5 gallon feeders.

But those are suspended on chains from the ceiling.

Also, if you use the big 5 gallon plastic waterer with the red bottom tray, do you have problems keeping the bottom of the inside clean? It seems like there is a ledge there that keeps the bottom tray on but it catches stuff! I finally just got a sponge and stretched my hand down into it and finally scrubbed the bottom......cleaner, but not as clean as I would like. But I scrub every time I re-fill and put a little bleach in and swish then rinse. THEN fill. It seems to work and they haven't gotten sick from it. But I wish I could reach the bottom better.

 

[bearz]

Whenever I dump it and refill it I just use a brush and run a quick scrub around it. I figure they run around in their own poop all day....

 

[amysue2012]

I wash mine with Dawn dish soap and a clean rag...I figure it cleans my dishes it should be fine to clean out the chickens dishes.

Besides they eat bugs off of the ground without washing them dont they?

 

[cknmom]

I scrub mine out when I change the water and everytime I add new water I add a little applecider vinegar and don't have the problem of the dirty bottom any more. I only need to scrub it once a month now. We do have a couple that perch on it.

Monica

 

[mamarosa]

I use the apple cider vinegar and it helps alot as long as you rinse the container with each fill

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I have a large 3 gallon plastic waterer, and then I also use Fortex bowls. I clean them out with bleach, and let them sit a while.

 

[Ladysonja]

Hi -

I have a 3.5 and a 2 gallon plastic water.

The 2 gallon water is hanging from a chain. The 3.5 gallon water is set on a cinder block in a flat spot on run floor. I still have a bit of dirt in the red part of the tray, but since mind are high enough, the birds are not pooping it the trays.

I use a deluded bleach/water combo in a spray bottle. When I clean the waters, I spray all the parts and rinse well. I do not put any bleach in the water or anything else. I just clean the waters every 2-3 days.

I would suggest putting your 5 gallon water on a cinder block or some how get it out of the poop range of the birds. You may still get some trash, but maybe not so much poop.

Good Luck.

 

[Jenski]

I use Oxine (chlorine dioxide) to clean my waterers; they rarely get really gross, as I clean them pretty often, but I use a scrub brush or wash cloth if needed.

I have paving stones in my watering area to eliminate the mud problem, and I just stacked an extra paver under the waterer to elevate it and keep little dirty feet out (generally).

 

[Akane]

I use vinegar. Kills just as many germs as bleach, breaks up hard water deposits, and is completely nontoxic. The chick waterers I rotate just about daily letting one soak with vinegar overnight. The big waterers I wipe between refills and every couple weeks to month leave them to soak for a day.

 

[cmom]

I hung my 3.5 gal. waterer on a chain with an S-hook. I keep it so that it is at the same height as the top of their backs and never have any poop in it. Once in awhile I scrub it out with dish soap. Most dish soaps are antibacterial. I brush it out everytime I fill it.