high phosphates in water

[FutureChickenMan]

you can have the well water tested there are various agencies around that do this kind of work. it should have been done when the well was drilled so you have an idea of water quality. also, you can take a sample of the water to the pet store and have them test the ph, nitrates, nitrites, etc. Typically birds will get the squirts if theres something wrong with the water before anything else starts happening.

as for the potential mold issue, that's not a bad idea. house the chickens somewhere else for a couple of days and clean the pen out. You can use a regular garden sprayer with a bleach/water mixture. 1 part bleach 4 parts water ought to be plenty strong to kill the mold if there is any.

it also might not be a bad idea to send a soil sample in to see if its some kind of bacteria in the soil. some of the bigger lawn and garden centers should be able to help you with this.

 

[tvtaber]

Just to chime in on the quality of well water: we are on a neighborhood well and have been officially informed to not drink the water due to the high phosphate level from the surrounding farms. It doesn't bother us too much as we buy water in five gallon jugs (like everyone on our street!) but I never considered it could be harming our animlas. In retrospect, that seems quite niave.

There are lots of filters and products for getting rid of these excess phosphates in aquariums (generally noticed by algae blooms following water changes), but as for filtering a whole house I can't find anything quickly that would do that. There are also test kits for aquariums to check phosphates and other stuff that are super cheap and may provide a clue as to your problem. Better to have a pro come test the water to rule out anything that may be harming all of you.

There is lots of literature on phosphates causing breeding problems in poultry and other farm animals, though.

 

[allen wranch]

I agree, your first step should be to get the water tested. You won't really know if that is the problem until you do.

We have a filter on our well to catch residue and a whole house filter too. There are all kinds of filters for different levels of purification and a water test should tell you if you need a higher level of filtration than you might already have.

 

[treeclimber233]

There is lots of literature on phosphates causing breeding problems in poultry and other farm animals, though.

Where can I find this literature? I did find something on the computer about high phosphates causing a problem with the umbilical cord on a fetus but don't remember where I saw it.​