is it ok for chickens to drink rain water? (not gray water)

[Frza]

We want to set up a rain collection system using the run off from our coop's rain gutter. Would it be ok for the birds to drink this water? My dog drinks rain water from puddles, containers in the yard, etc. However she does primarily get tap water. Is there any potential risk here? Would it be ok as their sole waer sorce? Just once in a while?
We live in suburban Portland OR, so not a rural setting in case that matters.
Thank you.

 

[satay]

Thats all mine get. I live rural and all water is rain water. Not off the chicken coop but rain water none the less. I am sure they would be fine.

 

[LovinMyHensInNC!]

I would think it is okay. Whenever there are puddles in our yard, my chickens will drink from them rather than their nice clean water in the bucket. Sometimes those puddles are so brown with mud I don't know what they are thinking!

 

[the lone rhubarb]

Yea mine drink & eat all sorts of stuff!!! One time they ate a whole mouse!!!

 

[Opa]

You title was a little concerning to me as "gray water" is the waste water discharge from a house sans bathroom. It would contain soap and would not be good for your birds. However what you actually doing is giving them stored rain water and that is perfectly fine.

 

[rancher hicks]

Certainly there are those apparently who will feed their birds anything and that is their privilage. I do not consider this any different than what the commercial poultry industry does with their birds. It is unsanitary and unsafe. I have read every book I can and subscribe and buy three different livestock magazines and none would advocate giving birds unclean water to drink. Even rain water can have parasites in it. Not to mention mosquito lava, which carry disease. Take their advice but be prepared to accept the risk. When you start posting about a sick bird or birds remember to let us know that you feed your birds whatever and let them drink whatever cuz this will most likely be the problem.


Or use wisdom and only feed your birds clean healthy food and water. It's one thing for birds to pick up things on their own but another to feed them unhealthy and unsafe food and water. Don't bother responding with your disagreeing comments my mind and opinion on this is written in stone. As well as every chicken raising book I've read.

 

[Imp]

Frza,

Much like satay, my brother lives out of town. His only source of water is rain, from the roof. He has a 35,000 gallon rain barrel in his back yard. Your birds will be fine, just make sure you keep the rain barrel clean.

Imp- grew up on rain water and miss the great taste.

 

[underground chickenman]

Rain water, yes. Gray water, no. Gray water is the stuff that goes down your drains.

UGCM

 

[Frza]

oops! excuse my misuse of the word. I misunderstood. Yes, I strickly mean rain water.

To the poster who is against it, I am just here for information and to learn from others' experience. I have no intention of feeding my birds 'whatever'. That is the reason I asked before doing this, to learn.

Is there anything I should add to the barrels / water dishes to make water safer?

 

[lemurchaser]

If you set up a light filter to filter out the particulates as the rain water goes into the barrels, that would be best. You also want to cover the barrels so mosquitoes can't get in. But it should be just fine. Rainwater can carry particulate pollutants, so if you can swing it to not catch the first rainfall after a dry spell, that might be better, but the days of constant rain should be great. If you want to be really sanitary you could run it through a UV filter which will sterilize it, but I don't really think that's necessary.

And responding to rancher hicks, for what its worth, mosquito larvae do not carry disease, mosquitoes do though. But all mosquito borne diseases require the mosquito to have bitten an infected person/animal. Please name a disease spread only by ingesting mosquito larvae, because I've never heard of one. And if you research what is in our tap water, I'm not sure that's any better than filtered rainwater.