How often to change the water?

[Chick named Lola]

So bottom line, it's up to you and your gut. Just make sure it's clean and available at all times.

 

[gritsar]

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But, chickens don't have stomachs.

One more reason I change the water daily, chickens tend to be messy eaters. By the end of the day with them going back and forth between their feeder and leaving food in and on their beaks and to the waterer, the water in the basin gets nasty.

 

[jmagill]

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That is why we use nipples. no water contamination by animal or debris.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

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Especially true of ducks.

 

[tarragon]

This may be a dumb question, but since so many people change the water daily (some, twice daily) what is the point of large waterers? Why should I fill a 5 gallon waterer, dump out 4 3/4 of a gallon of water the following day, refill with 5 gallons of water, dump out 4 3/4 gallons......seems awfully wasteful. I have a small coop, small flock (4), and I'm not planning on a piped in system, so should I just set out a big bowl of water and change it every day? We are north of Seattle, so hot isn't an issue. I'm not happy with the mechanics of the waterer I have, so would a large bowl make more sense?

 

[duckinnut]

I wouldn't get too obsessed about the water. I have got a 5 gal one in the coop that I wash out every 3 days or so when its near empty. Everyone says provide them lots of clean water,so in the warmer months I put a second waterer in the run,when it gets low or empty I drag the hose over to fill it up. So they come running over a drink and what do they do? They drink out of the mud puddle beside the waterer. Nice clean water and they chose mud.

 

[gritsar]

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My brahmas, 13 in the coop, don't usually go through all the water in their 3 gal. waterer a day, even in the heat of summer, it's true.

My other coop right now has somewhere close to 30 chickens in it and two five gallon waterers. I have seen them come close to emptying their waterers when it's hot and I like knowing that should something happen - family emergency, whatever - that they have water available.

I don't see anything wrong with a large bowl for a small flock, if you don't have chicks to worry about getting in and drowning AND if there's absolutely no way for the water bowl to be spilled. My big girls see a bowl of water, they are going to stand in it and spill it in the process. I guarantee it.

 

[triplepurpose]

Wow, some crazy answers on here! Part of me is happy to see that so many people care about their chickens so much, but changing the water twice or "a few" times a day, as one person said, is just absurd. A waste of your time and a waste of water. If you have to change the water more than once a day, something is wrong with your watering system, IMO.

If you have one of those portable container waterers, keep it where it's in the shade all day long, and refill it when it's empty, or close to empty. You can clean out the trough part of the waterer as needed by lifted it and tipping out the little bit that's in the trough by inverting it--most importantly when there is poop in it--a little dirt or straw isn't as big a deal. Putting the waterer up on a piece of wood or something, so it's slightly elevated off the floor or ground, can help to keep the chickens from soiling the water. If you have an automatic watering bowl, you can rinse it out every couple of days and scrub it occasionally as needed. You CAN just use a bowl, but the chickens will step in it, spill it, and generally make it impractical--portable waterers are designed for the same purpose, and work much better, because they are built in such a way that they are virtually impossible for a chicken to knock over, and harder for them to step in, although they still will occasionally. And they're pretty cheap, and last a long time--they're also easy enough to make.

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!

Anyway, pardon my ranting. Good luck!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Water gets changed out twice a day here in the summer time in all coops. I don't drink warm water I don't expect my animals to either unless its cold out and that's winter!

 

[aggie9296]

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I have to agree with you there. I have a 5 gallon waterer that will be cleaned with it is refilled. If the pan gets some dirt in it, I pour out the pan, not the whole container. Same for the 4 1 gallon waterers I have in the coop and in the yard where they free range. If the waterer gets mucky before it runs out, it will be cleaned sooner. At least one is in the shade at any given time.

Regardless of the waterers I have, they prefer a mud puddle that develops under a dripping hose or where the water filter does its backwash.