Is it necessary to change water daily?

[Willow's Meadow]

I change there waterer twice a day. Morning and evening.

 

[The Tinman]

It hot so I change the water several time a day. I have one in the coop and a few under the bushes where they like to hang out. When ever I change the water they will drink right away which is an other reason I like to change it often. I pour the old water in a bucket and use that water to water my plants.

 

[newTexan2chickens]

I don't clean all of them daily, but most do get cleaned and scrubbed. If the water is not clear it gets dumped and scrubbed. For some reason they seem to like one waterer more than others and that one always needs to be refilled. The run with the little chicks always gets dirty too.

 

[Reinbeau]

I don't 'change' it every day, but I do slosh out the bottom of it. It's a five gallon waterer, as long as I keep the inside clean the trough where they drink from is nice and clean.

 

[LeezyBeezy]

I do a quick check daily- we have a galvanized font and a small chick waterer (small plastic jug that flips over). I look to see how much water is in it, does it looks grimey? I dump it out when it looks dirty, and wash the outside of the trough and the inside so it doesn't feel slippery. That's it. Obviously, when we had a heat spell last week, I checked 3 or 4 times a day, and added ice to keep the water cool.

I grew up on a horse farm, and we did the same for the horses. Dump, swish, refill, scrub when needed. We never bleached, and it's not something I will do myself. I do think some are doing more than necesary, these are animals after all. But, to each his own! Having a routine insures that things get done. I also find that puttering around is relaxing, and if tht includes scrubbing, so be it!

 

[chica57]

I have a 5 gal. galvanized waterer and usually in the coop at least twice daily to check on things-sometimes the water will be ok 3 days sometimes just 1 day-but if I notice alot of food ect. floating its replaced no matter what-Its been really hot here too and I use small freezer packs you put in coolers to keep the water cold-they really love cold water and even when its hot the water stays cold 2 days !

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I used to use a galvanized double wall waterer, but I didn't like to lug that heavy thing, so I would swish the bottom part, and not change it often enough. Once it started to get rusty, too, I decided to abandon it altogether. Now I use several 1-gallon plastic waterers, and change them at least every other day, if not every day. they are easier to clean with a jet nozzle, and they don't rust. They also allow me to add vitamins and ACV to the water. My chickens do seem to love the fresh water.

 

[HudsonValleyGirl]

I clean the waterer out daily with dish soap and water, and I change their water daily. BUT i go overboard, because every morning before I go to work, I take out all the dropings from their coop and I rake out their attached roof run and their chicken yard. I started this for about way over a month now and now it has become a habit. I have it all down to 45 minutes. Doing all this makes me get up at earlier, which makes me 5 minutes early to my job. I LOVE IT.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I used to use a galvanized double wall waterer, but I didn't like to lug that heavy thing, so I would swish the bottom part, and not change it often enough. Once it started to get rusty, too, I decided to abandon it altogether. Now I use several 1-gallon plastic waterers, and change them at least every other day, if not every day. they are easier to clean with a jet nozzle, and they don't rust. They also allow me to add vitamins and ACV to the water. My chickens do seem to love the fresh water.

 

[chicksbestfriend]

I have 60 girls in my flock and I change their waterers several times a day, upward to 5 or 6 times a day depending on the heat. I also add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar into their water to help keep the algee, bacteria and disease from forming. The girls actually enjoy the enhanced flavor of the water with the apple cider vinegar in it and I have noticed how much more sanitized their waterers look. On the otherhand, I also see them slurping up the water from the duck pond and a few mud puddles on the property which are anything but clean, but the girls are happy!