Do chickens need protection from water troughs & alfalfa hay?

[arizona_chicken_noob]

As I watch my little indoor chicks get excited for the bits of alfalfa hay I give as a treat, and I reflect on the drowned squirrel that I pulled from the horse's water trough, it gives me pause.

Do you take special steps to keep free ranging chickens away from these things?

I guess I could put a ladder board in the trough (just standard oval galvanized 100g), and chicken fence my bales of alfalfa hay if I must. Are these things safety hazards?

Thanks

 

[JacinLarkwell]

As I watch my little indoor chicks get excited for the bits of alfalfa hay I give as a treat, and I reflect on the drowned squirrel that I pulled from the horse's water trough, it gives me pause.

Do you take special steps to keep free ranging chickens away from these things?

I guess I could put a ladder board in the trough (just standard oval galvanized 100g), and chicken fence my bales of alfalfa hay if I must. Are these things safety hazards?

Thanks

Chickens absolutely will drown in troughs. Every year I lose chicks and teens, occasionally adult bantams too to troughs.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Not sure what concern alfalfa hay is though

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

Not sure what concern alfalfa hay is though

It just seems like a 100# treat block And I don't know if they would have their fill and move along, or keep eating and have some sort of digestion problem later.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It just seems like a 100# treat block And I don't know if they would have their fill and move along, or keep eating and have some sort of digestion problem later.

On the times we have alfalfa, I don't see then much more interested than in regular hay or straw

 

[Alaskan]

X2, don't worry about the hay.

Do worry about the water.

You really just need a plank or some such in the trough...BUT some animals (horses, goats) will insist on pulling out the block... so be creative to make sure it stays where you want it to.