How often to change the water?

[triplepurpose]

Look folks, the OP said in the beginning of the thread that their waterer is "in the shade" and stays "fairly cool." They also said that changing it more than necessary was inconvenient for them because they had no running water near their coop.

I was just trying to provide what I felt was a more balanced view than much of what was being posted. If anyone wants to change their water frequently or any other extra touches, for that matter, that's fine, but in the OP's situation it sounds like none of this is helpful advice. If people choose to devote extra time and attention to their birds, like I already said, that's a fine thing. But it does no service to the OP or anyone else wanting to learn about something to make a simple thing sound more complicated, time-consuming, and critical than it actually needs to be.

That's all I meant to say... I'm sorry if I offended anyone personally.

 

[triplepurpose]

Quote:
But they get so grumpy when the Perrier goes flat!

 

[16Conservationist]

"Chickens aren't people, and they don't mind drinking out of water with a little dirt in it--or eating garbage off the ground, or pooping in their house. They'll drink out of puddles and crap in their food tray, for God's sake. Even the occasional bit of green algae on the inside of the waterer isn't going to hurt them, although it's not a bad idea to scrub it out a bit as needed when you change the water. You don't need to bleach, that stuff just does more harm than good and is unnecessary. If it gets really bad, leaving it out to dry in the sun will kill the algae, or use a bit of vinegar too. I've always believed in treating animals well, but treating them AS ANIMALS. There is a middle ground here: I hate to see animals neglected, but at the same time "clean water for chickens" absolutely does NOT have to be equated to human sanitation standards--to do so is unhelpful to new chicken owners, and borders on neurotic IMO. Life is not "sanitary", nature is not "sanitary." And that's OK!"

EXCELLENT SKY --- Well said !

I'm new to raising chickens but not to biology or raising and caring for other animals. The answers I was reading in this thread were really bugging me and actually amusing me except for the concern that some might take all of them too seriously.

You hit it right on -- the OP was looking for specific facts.

 

[gritsar]

The OPs question was "How often to change the water?" (in the title).

That doesn't make don't worry about changing it every day a "specific fact". It makes it an opinion, like the rest of our responses.

 

[mons02035]

Here is my fact for the OP.

I use a 5 gallon Home Depot Bucket with 3 nipples on the bottom. I generally put 3 gallons in the bucket. I change the water when it gets close to the bottom which for me is about 5-7 days. My bucket is inside the coop. My 5 girls are healthy, active and lay very well, in fact they give me between 124-140 eggs per month. I have been doing this practice (of the bucket for the water and not a fountain) for a year now. I started with a fountain waterer but it was messy.

 

[codymax2]

Quote:

 

[TrystInn]

Love all these responses!

We live in the Pacific Northwest and raise both chickens and ducks. The ducks use a combination of water sources, since they need deeper waterers than chickens - they have to clear their nostrils of debris, food, etc. Among these are multiple poultry waterers, roughly a half dozen cat litter type bins and a kiddie pool. I refill the waterers daily, usually I allow Mother Nature to fill the bins (it rains here almost EVERY day) and give those a really good clean out once a week. Same with the kiddie pool.

The chickens have all the above (they go everywhere), plus small animal water bottles in the bantam pen and the chick grow out pen. They also have a gravity waterer that drips into a larger, black rubber bowl. That's cleaned out weekly, as well.

Now, that said:
1) It rains, as I mentioned, near daily - so the bins and pool get refilled by rainwater all on their own before I get a chance to do so.
2) Given 1 above, there's very little algae growth here. Not enough sun.
3) I check on our setup, with is very slap dash, twice a day. I haul bottles once in the morning and again at night.
4) Temps rarely get above 80, usually much cooler in Summer. We have mild winters, so the black rubber bowl has a pail heater for the few weeks under freezing. I flip the water bottles more often and hang them inside with the infrared lamps, so they stay liquid.

Hope this helps!

 

[Clay Mudd]

it's almost like there's more than approach that will work or something.

 

[motherhenmindy]

I am very new to chickens so what I do may not be reliable.

I'm in Texas and the heat is bad...I think the birds do better than I do, though.

Our waterer is in the covered run all day, so it never gets sun. I have one of those galvanized waterers from the feed store, it's probably 3 gallons. I try to change the water daily and add blocks of ice or if I'm in a rush, ice cubes, but some days I'm not able to get to it. Most of the time, I find changing out the water completely, a waste of water. I usually fill it up half way, and then check on it once a day and if it's dirty, I swirl out the sand and dirt, and then might refill every few days. If there's poop I'll change it, but it's pretty rare there is poop in it. I have checked for slime, sludge, mold on the inside...nothing. I believe they are getting quite clean water, for hose water. The chickens seem to much prefer to dig a cool spot in the dirt to lay in to keep cool.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
This is true.
Our high temp. for the day was 96* F. That's actual temp., not heat index. I changed out water in both coops this morning and again this evening.
I got 9 eggs from 12 three year old hens in the brahma coop and 12 eggs from 12 one year old hens in my larger coop. Two of the year old hens just came back into lay today, after being broody.

Free-ranging all day, fans running in both coops, fresh food and plenty of clean water in this oppressive heat. If I lived someplace that didn't feel like hades on earth in the summertime, I might not be so adament about it. Again, I'm not going to fix what's not broken.