Official BYC Poll: How often do you change your chickens' water in hot weather?

[Rock17]

I change it whenever it gets low. Also my Pekin Athena looks
Exactly like the pekin in the picture

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Florida is humid and nasty. I change the drinkers every single day. It's too disgusting otherwise here.

 

[Logar]

I just change it once a week. I have a 15 or so gallon waterer that I keep about 10 gallons of water in (so I can move it easily) and it doesn’t really get dirty. I just think it is a good habit to change it even if it isn’t dirty so it seemed like a good interval which has been working good so far

 

[skeeeter]

Hi, everything depends on setup. for my chicks, I usually have to check their water vessels like 3 times a day, as they are on the floor and "there's a whole lot of shakin(scratching) going on."
With my older birds, (2 months plus), water vessels usually have to be filled only once a day. They are set up on blocks or stumps so they don't get so dirty.
We usually wash out the drinkers and buckets about once a week, more often if they get dirty at all.
Usually a day and a half's supply is all we set out per day. They never finish it all and what is left gets used to rinse out the vessel before adding the fresh.
I've found that during extremely high temps, it's best to free range starting around 2pm and hold off the feeding til almost dark, when it is cooler. My chickens eat better that way and go to roost full to bursting.

 

[Minanora]

So it really depends here; when it's really hot I change a bit more often, depending on how the nitrifying bacteria and algae are doing in their 5 gallon waterer. I keep it in the shade; and the heat pushes water out so it drains through the day and sucks water back into the tank when it cools (So you have to keep in mind that the water is getting mixed back in, the water from the trough, I mean). But I keep a close eye on the good bacteria balance. I never sterilize the waterer, there is good bacteria there. Just like a fish tank. *Shrug*

 

[SueT]

I change the water and clean the bowls every day all year round. There are 2 separated flocks, each also has a nipple waterer, which don't need changing.

 

[GlicksChicks]

I have a 5 gallon and a 3 gallon waterer. Both in cool shade, so the water stays nice and cold (I feel it constantly), but I also add ice cubes into the water to make it even more refreshing.

I top their water off as needed and clean the waterers out when needed as well. That time varies depending on how much they need to drink and how much dirt and droppings they get into the water.

I prefer not to over-complicate dealing with their water since the chicken coop is not too close to my house. I do have a water hose out at their coop to deal with water, but I prefer not to have to constantly move a 5 gallon waterer full of water around constantly.

 

[PoppasGrill]

We have 2 gal buckets in each coop and 2 -15 gal tubs in the barn. The 2 gal buckets are topped off 1-2 times a day as needed and cleaned / dumped and rinsed every weekend.
The tubs are good for 2 weeks before they get grungy looking and need dumped and scrubbed out.
We will drop the hose on low pressure in the tubs to circulate the water and the ladies will congregate to drink from the swirling water, and any overspill they will scratch around to play in.
We do put out low walled baby pools for them to walk in, especially for the turkeys, in the hotter part of summer. In Central Florida that’s the end of march through October.

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

I would be doing it once a day but ducks are Obsessed over WATER and drink it all everytime I refill it

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Keeping our feathered friends hydrated is crucial, especially during the sweltering summer months. As temperatures rise, ensuring your chickens have access to fresh, clean water becomes even more important. We're curious about your routine: how often do you change your chickens' water when the weather heats up?

Also share your practices and see how others in the chicken-keeping community keep their flocks cool and hydrated in the comments section below.

View attachment 3835829

Further Reading:

• Keeping Your Chickens Cool In Summer
• A Simple Way To Keep Chickens Cool In Summer
• Coop Health: Designing & Maintaining A Healthy Coop

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

Good topic. I dump out and refill min of once a day. Usually in the evening so the wake to full clean H2O.
However, my ladies always have a mouthful of sand and dirt from ranging and they wash their mouths out in the water containers. My big house has dozens of birds washing their mouths out and the water gets dirty quick on dry days. I never top off, always dump into a grassy area for a lawn snack.