How Clean the Water?

[blefky]

I loved using the nipple waterers til the weather got cold - now I have the big metal waterer on a heating base - nasty. And a sloshy mess to move/empty/clean. I've been thinking about making a large nipple waterer out of a several gallon bucket and inserting a heating element. Really, really don't like the metal waterer, seems like no matter how much I raise it, it just gets dirty relatively quickly.

 

[sklr112]

There's a spring fed creek not too far from the hen house. I let them free range, but I haven't seen them go near it. Would it be bad if they drank it?

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I don't think so. My grandparents have a spring in their front pasture, which was the only water source for their cattle. Cows ain't all that stupid I don't guess, coz they would come right up to the head and stick their noses in right where it came out of the ground - freshest water in the place and they knew it!

My free range chickens drink rainwater from wherever it collects, but it generally doesn't sit around long enough to get algae. Giving them stagnant water on purpose would bother me.
Seems like you could wash out the barrels and start with fresher water, and just empty the leftover water into the garden so it didn't grow algae in-between uses. You know, "rotate" the water so it doesn't sit around and get old.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

This has been a big discussion with a good friend and a vet tech friend and myself. I have noticed that our cats love to drink water out of the dishes my plants sit in both inside and out when they have perfectly clean water in their bowls. The conclusion we came to was the water contains minerals that leech from the soil the plants are in. I see out dog do this as well. I wonder if chickens do this as well when free ranging. I think that animals have a way of knowing when their body lacks something essential...which also includes eating grass. What do you others think?

 

[cabincrazyone]

Quote:
Dogs find good stuff to drink in toilets, too. (just kidding, just kidding) ... I think you're right. I remember years ago, an article in Nat Geo about elephants feeling their way deep into a tricky, dark cave to eat bat guano for a certain mineral that I don't remember.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
My husband and I have oft theorized the same about our dogs. They will stand right next to their full bowl of clean water asking to go outside so they can eat snow, ice, drink recently collected rain water, etc. And we're rural, on our own well, so it's not a chemical thing. Our water is not treated. They just seem to prefer what has recently fallen from the sky -- in all it's myriad forms.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
My husband and I have oft theorized the same about our dogs. They will stand right next to their full bowl of clean water asking to go outside so they can eat snow, ice, drink recently collected rain water, etc. And we're rural, on our own well, so it's not a chemical thing. Our water is not treated. They just seem to prefer what has recently fallen from the sky -- in all it's myriad forms.

Some dogs are more connected to their wild/natural side than others. My Chow mix is REALLY smart in general, but really good at finding the best food/water from natural sources - even though we raised her mainly indoors. Her instincts run deep.

My Lab mix is not so bright. He seems to think that all of his water should come from buckets/dog bowls, he doesn't even seem to drink much from the river or "obvious" sources like that. He will wait to come inside to drink from his special blue bowl

 

[sklr112]

Quote:
I don't think so. My grandparents have a spring in their front pasture, which was the only water source for their cattle. Cows ain't all that stupid I don't guess, coz they would come right up to the head and stick their noses in right where it came out of the ground - freshest water in the place and they knew it!

My free range chickens drink rainwater from wherever it collects, but it generally doesn't sit around long enough to get algae. Giving them stagnant water on purpose would bother me.
Seems like you could wash out the barrels and start with fresher water, and just empty the leftover water into the garden so it didn't grow algae in-between uses. You know, "rotate" the water so it doesn't sit around and get old.

I didn't think it would but i was curious. Thank you!

 

[AndreaS]

This is somewhat off topic, and I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I was wondering if those of you who use well water have a water softener? We will be moving into our house soon and the well water goes through a softner, which uses salt.

I know chickens aren't supposed to have much salt..would you avoid filling the waterers with tap water in this case? We have a pipe in the yard that does not run through the softener, I imagine I will have to fill the waterers there.

The rain barrels are a great idea, I wonder if you could use a little Oxine in them to keep the algae down? It is safe for humans and approved for use in organic livestock...

Andrea

 

[LindenLiving]

Quote:
I read about adding vinegar to my chickens water and my girls turned their nose at it. Put the vinegar water out and they wouldn't drink from it. So I put out another bowl with clean, warm water (20 degrees here right now) and they immediately drank. Okay, you win! Spilled out the water and it froze quickly and they ate the frozen vinegar water but only would drink the clean, warm water. Go figure, who am I to argue if they prefer a vinegar Popsicle!