Iodine in drinking water

[dacjohns]

Has anyone heard of adding iodine to chicks' drinking water? The person I'm partnering with in raising chickens said to add iodine to the drinking water because it keeps the chicks from pecking each other. He said his mother did it and the chicks never pecked each other. It sounds like an old wives tale to me. An advantage I can see would be that it might, just might, help keep the water a little more sanitary since the chicks poop everywhere, including the water fount. Also iodine in excess can be a problem. After searching the internet the only thing I found was that iodine in water can increase the growth rate in broilers.
Thanks

 

[silkiechicken]

Never heard of it myself. If you give the chicks enough space, you shouldn't have a pecking problem anyways.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

My father in-law told me to put 3-5 drops of iodine in their water to keep them from getting sick. I don't know if it is just to help keep the water sanitary, or because they need the iodine in their diet. I asked if the iodine I had bought was safe and was told that you can give them iodized salt or free choice minerals instead. I am personally still putting iodine in the water just to be on the safe side.

 

[dacjohns]

Wow, a three year old thread gets resurrected.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

haha... sorry about that... I'm kinda new and I didn't notice the date. I just now figured out how to check my old posts.

 

[CentralOregon]

Just wanted to add -- since this thread reared it's head in Google just now -- no, Iodine doesn't do anything to prevent pecking. The person's mother perhaps gave them iodine and then noticed they weren't pecking one another. Pure synchronicity rather than causality. But such are most wive's tales. Iodine (in very small amounts) will keep the drinking water fresher longer, nothing more.

 

[LoveMyQuackers]

It is so sad how everyone wants to dismiss something so simple just because they don't know anything about it.

I don't know about ducks and chickens, but in people iodine is absolutely critical for normalizing hormones. For females, lack of iodine can cause breast cancer and also a ton of diseases. Our soils are extremely deficient in iodine, especially areas inland from the coasts. For me personally, I always had cold feet until I started taking iodine. Now my feet are warm because the iodine regulated my metabolism. I also have a general, happy, well being kind of feeling whereas before I was kind of depressed. (By the way, lack of iodine is the main cause for retardation in children - bet you didn't know that little fact!) Also, iodine used to be called the 'Universal Medicine' before the modern age.

So I believe that iodine in their drinking water would have multiple benefits, not just cleaning their drinking water but also regulating their hormones and also adding some much needed iodine in their eggs. (By the way iodine is an antibacterial, antifungal, antivirus, and anticancer agent.)

I'll let you know how it works as I just added it to their (ducks) drinking water tonight for the first time.

PS- It is my opinion that the iodine that was added to the chickens water helped regulate their hormones so they weren't as crabby and less likely to fight. (I know a few women that could use some!!!)

PPS- Please don't automatically dismiss old wives tales immediately without trying them. There is a lot of wisdom out there that is being laughed at that we really need. Remember, people have lived on this planet for thousands of years before modern (expensive) medicine was around and they survived just fine, and were probably healthier, happier and wiser than we are today.

 

[CentralOregon]

I didn't dismiss the idea of using iodine for keeping the water fresher. I don't think it should be added to the water directly, though. I think the container should simply be cleaned out regularly with a solution. If you're worried about birds pooping in the water, use inverted waterers -- you can add them to a 5 gallon bucket in 2 minutes. And buckets (food grade buckets, of course) prevent most if not all light from reaching the water, which, in itself, will make the water stay fresh much longer. Light = algae, after all.

On the other hand, you are talking about regulating your chickens' hormones with iodine and to that I raise a skeptical eyebrow. You really have nothing more than anecdotal evidence (at very best) in terms of the chickens moods being improved or any other observations that were not in a controlled environment. I hope you used an exceptionally small amount of iodine in your birds' water given that you have no idea what constitutes an overdose. I urge you to lookup what an overdose of iodine can do before you go pseudo-scientisting around with your birds.

Anyway, on the other side of the coin you just flipped: you can't automatically assume a wives' tale is true simply because you noticed a coincidence that you were probably already looking for anyway.

 

[LoveMyQuackers]

Yea, sure. Let's all just listen to what the 'experts' say. Let's wait for the scientific evidence before we put iodine in their water (after all - I'll be dead then). Why don't you do your own research on iodine, or better yet - take some for yourself and see what happens. Oh, by the way, there is a skull and crossbones on the label. Oh my gosh - you might die! Newsflash - most experts are in it for the money. They don't want you to use your own brain.

Iodine has been demonized. It is essential for life on this planet. Excess iodine is excreted from the body in urine. (But don't take my word for it, do your own research.)

BTW, my birds are happy and healthy this morning. And even a little calmer. And I didn't even need to consult an expert to figure it out!

One last thing.... on the count of 3, everyone bow down to the experts. After all, they are the only ones with a brain.

 

[Busy Hatcher]

Just thought I would say that there is scientific evidence that birds (finches, canaries, pigeons, etc... no word on chickens but I would assume that it is the same with them.) can benefit from iodine in there water if they have a bad molt or to keep them from having a bad molt. Also to help them come into breeding condition. I use it for my canaries but not every day. I also use a variety that is made for birds. In my experience it does help.