Dirty water...

[Czech's_chicks]

My children have always been told the same thing - if you wont drink from it, neither should they. For the ones on the ground, the feed store hangs wood suspended above the waterer....since it dangles it wil swing if they try to getup there and they don't like that. For anything the ducks get into, I don't worry about since I have a lot and a bath tub that they wont use for some reason, and the chickens and sheep will drink from that. Otherwise the waterers are all scrubbed every Saturday and Wednesday, bleached and Vinegared.

 

[annep]

You know, ours are funny...I have clean water in their thing, but the second I turn on the hose, and the water's running and collecting in a low spot, they run and start drinking! They love it! Not really sure why..I will, on occasion, go out and turn on the hose just to see them do it...Because of that, if they get dirt in their waterer, i dont stress about it...

 

[flowergirl60]

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Same thing here. They are so funny about that. I do give fresh water evey day though.

 

[yellowirenut]

my guess is that the puddle water had minerals in it and that taste better to them. Same reason my dog would rather drink out of the puddle than city water. My water does not get dirty it just gets food in it. Just like a kid I think they back wash when they drink.

 

[LN2008]

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How hard is it to switch to nipples? I'm afraid the girls wouldn't know what to do with it.

 

[airmechreed]

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How hard is it to switch to nipples? I'm afraid the girls wouldn't know what to do with it.

It took my girls about an hour to learn how to use them. I just kept their regular waterer out side the coop and at the same height as the nipples and after I pecked the nipples with my finger a couple times and they figured out they could do the same with their beak it was all good

 

[BellevueOmlet]

It is easy to switch and much easier from then out with less filling and cleaning.

 

[sjmarshall87]

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I would imagine it may be the extra minerals from the dirt maybe? Mine are the same way.. but they like to drink the water pumped out of my AC unit.. eeewwww. lol

 

[lizrndiver]

I have two waterers in my run that I refill with clean water and without fail all the girls would rather think from the nasty old duck pool.

I still give them clean water, but I wonder what makes them want to drink that smelly stuff. (FYI I change my duck poo water every other day, but it takes literally a few hours before it is all muddy and poo filled.)

Liz

 

[galanie]

I have no idea why, but yep, they all seem to turn their beaks up at fresh clean water and seek out the nastiest source they can find to drink from. I had a water lily pond go stagnant - you should have smelled that! And what do I see but one of the hens drinking from it

Needless to say, I fixed that situation because she might have really gotten sick from that.