Drinking puddle water

[swatchick]

So we just had a big storm blow through and, in spite of being covered, the run has a lot of puddles. I've put lots of leaves, woodchips, etc. on the ground to help keep things dry, but the girls keep scratching out holes in it and unearthing puddles, from which they seem to greatly enjoy drinking. How concerned should I be about that? It got me wondering, too, since free range birds must drink puddle water sometimes -- it seems like a bad idea, and yet...what'ya do when their out there running around? Thoughts and experiences desired....

 

[gryeyes]

Oh, Puddle Water is PRIME drinking stuff for chicks, ducks, geese, dogs, cats, all animals. It's so natural. Unbottled Evian to them. MMMMMMMM, flavorful.

I don't think you have anything to worry about, really.

 

[swatchick]

Thanks -- I kind of figured it wasn't a big deal (you wouldn't believe what my dog will eat and drink and still survive...), but it's reassuring to hear it from others with more experience....

 

[SteveBaz]

wow like greyeyes said and in addition to that the bugs that puddles bring up plus worms and if you think that's bad your talking about animals that eat poop and dirt off the ground, peck algae off the wall and peck at things that would make a billy goat puck LOL Best of luck

 

[damselfish]

Oh yes, our ladies will stand there and watch me run beautiful clean well water into their nice cleaned bowl. Then after I walk away carrying the bowl to its normal spot, they lag behind and drink out of the puddles left by the hose.

Chickens.

 

[Kevin565]

My ducks drink Puddle water all the time with no side effects.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What is really amazing is that they can drink out of puddles that have poo runoff in them from me hosing out coops and live to tell about it.

 

[swatchick]

It does give me pause about how much effort I go to to assure clean drinking water. Not that I'm going to slack off on caring for them, but I do believe I will feel much more relaxed about it next time I give them a newly cleaned waterer full of sparkling clean water and they instantly decorate the trough with dirt, poo and litter... Thanks all for the reassurance!

 

[hannahransom]

i have a spigot right next to my coop and always change their water in the morning. I dump the old stuff where the spigot is and it flows into a hole one of them dug next to the wall in their coop. They all drink that.

 

[kcjones]

Mine like to drink from puddles too, even thou i wash their water bowls everyday,