Help! Moldy Water!

[Helloworld]

I have 2 silkie bantams. They don't drink much at all. I have a one quart waterer and that lasts them for weeks (although I will be cleaning and refilling it weekly now). At first this concerned me, as I read chickens drink much more than that. But they seem fine, and I figured it's because they are so much smaller than standard breeds. I am a first time chicken mama so I'm learning as I go.

Weekly is too long and they may not be drinking because your bottom may be too small. They may not be drinking because water absorbs plastic/metal from waterer after sitting that long and the water goes stagnant. That small, I would be using a bottle brush and cleaning it everyday. Trust me, chickens are stubborn and will look at you and die if they want to lol. They may be getting sips but watch when you start changing water daily.

 

[Ms.tiamaria]

coccidiosis... poop yes
Parasites... feathers, weight, poop eventually.

Search on here for stages of poop in poultry. It has many stages and most are normal. As for at night, I don’t poop either because I am sleeping. Sometimes, it is when I get off the roost and sometimes later lol just messn!

So are you saying every one of the chickens poops would be symptomatic, or that they could alternate between symptomatic poops and normal poops throughout the day? My chickens have always had an excess of cecal poops, and also some weird poops. If I'm hanging out with them and they poop 10 times while I'm with them, it will be a mixture of normal poops, cecal poops, and some weird poops. My question is, if something were wrong with them, would every one of their poops be a "weird" poop, or could they have normal looking poops with a few weird poops here and there?

 

[Helloworld]

They alternate. The sicker they get, the worse your poop will be.
Coccidia gives you a look at bloody poop and then they start dropping like flies one after another. Water cleanliness is a big factor with poops as well. Free ranging affects poop. A lot of things they eat etc.

 

[Helloworld]

Y’all we have well water. I start all my chicks on distilled water until they get to one month old. Clean water really is the key factor in avoiding many diseases.

 

[Ms.tiamaria]

How do you keep nipple waterers from freezing in the winter?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

The low down on chicken poop.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive/

As far as the waterer, I don't change mine out daily, but I do a weekly cleaning. With the temps constantly changing - the water can get stagnant. Also, animals prefer fresh water and seem to prefer cool water.
I also leave little containers around their run that hooks onto the fence that I fill with fresh water daily. During the hotter days, I give fresh water a couple times a day - even 3 times. Adding ice too. They love it.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Forgot to mention, I don't bother with acv. But, I do clean their water and food dishes with vinegar and water - just like I would for wild bird feeders.

 

[Ms.tiamaria]

I've read the chicken poop guide. Just wanting to know if the sick poops occur with normal poops throughout the day, or if the bird's poops will all be sick poops if she has something wrong with her.

Also, does anyone have any ideas as to what I should look out for incase the moldy water has made them sick? And how should I treat them? Is there something I should give them incase the bad water has had an affect on them?

 

[Ms.tiamaria]

Can anyone tell me what the letters "OP" mean in the bottom right corner of my profile picture? And what does "In the Brooder" mean under my name?

 

[dunnmom]

OP means original poster, I believe. And In The Brooder refers to how many points you’ve accumulated. If you want to see your points, it is listed on your profile page.