River Water

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Maybe so, we all bring our past ideas and consider current circumstances, where I live I could drink from a spring if i wanted so maybe I don't imagine a stream as a drainage ditch with swirling foam and dead animals along the bank..out here people use the stream to water their gardens. Thirty bucks buys me thirty chicks. Just my point of reference. And close to the same price they only test for two things e coli and some flora, for human consumption...it's called a panel...lead, extra..anything else...extra. once again point of reference.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know I have a weird, often unpopular with many people, take on certain things. I know the OP has said nothing about free range or organic, but I see this as an organic - free range thing. I don’t like the legal definition of free range. All you need to legally claim your chickens are free range is put a 2’ x 4’ (or even smaller) area outside a building with 10,000 chickens and give them a hole to get to it and that is technically “free range”. Don’t get me started on what is “certified organic”. I see both these labels as marketing gimmicks. Seeing either of these labels at the grocery store does not cause my little heart to go pitter-patter.

Don’t get me wrong. There are people that follow the spirit of free range and organic and not just the legal definitions. I like these people.

To me, the spirit of free range and organic is that the chickens are able to do some foraging. They can bathe in and eat dirt. They can eat all kinds of creepy crawlies. They can scratch in cow piles or horse manure and find all kinds of great treats. They can drink water wherever they find it, not just form sterile sources. They are exposed to nature and live in nature.

Here I see people that normally would be highly in favor of anything labelled free range and organic. But when they see something that the spirit entails, they freak out. “No, no. Don’t do that. They need sterile water. They need a sterile environment.” Chickens don’t need a sterile environment. They need a healthy environment.

It reminds me of a thread from a few years back. A lady was cleaning out an old chicken coop and found some insect eggs. From her description they were not harmful in any way. But the consensus on this forum was “Kill! Clean! Sanitize! Destroy!” I agree the old coop needed to be thoroughly cleaned, even though it had been years since it held chickens. But my thoughts were more about how much fun those chickens would have had chasing down that free protein than any potential risk to them. I told you I thought weird.

I obviously don’t know much about that specific water. The OP has said nothing that would indicate it’s polluted in any way. I’d feel better if she said there were animals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects living in that river. A river void of life would scare me silly. But a river filled with life it’s a healthy environment. It will help those chickens, not hurt them.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Well said ridgerunner! It urks me somewhat too when I hear all the 'santize' it advise. My idea of sanitise is scrape it out, put it in the rain and sun for a few days and voila! Done. I would prob clean out the coop only to make sure there are no holes in it for rats...all the spiders and wasps can stay. Good eats. I tend to avoid anything with an organic label, or one that took a design team and uses more than one color ink...I can't feed any of that..and that's where the money goes...ads. my chickens completely free range, except the broody with new chicks has a 1000 sq foot pen with a hawk shield, until she paces at the gate to get out she can brood them in there. She knows when they are ready for the big world. People may love a sterile environment but chickens don't thrive in it.

 

[aoxa]

I know I have a weird, often unpopular with many people, take on certain things. I know the OP has said nothing about free range or organic, but I see this as an organic - free range thing. I don’t like the legal definition of free range. All you need to legally claim your chickens are free range is put a 2’ x 4’ (or even smaller) area outside a building with 10,000 chickens and give them a hole to get to it and that is technically “free range”. Don’t get me started on what is “certified organic”. I see both these labels as marketing gimmicks. Seeing either of these labels at the grocery store does not cause my little heart to go pitter-patter.
Don’t get me wrong. There are people that follow the spirit of free range and organic and not just the legal definitions. I like these people.
To me, the spirit of free range and organic is that the chickens are able to do some foraging. They can bathe in and eat dirt. They can eat all kinds of creepy crawlies. They can scratch in cow piles or horse manure and find all kinds of great treats. They can drink water wherever they find it, not just form sterile sources. They are exposed to nature and live in nature.
Here I see people that normally would be highly in favor of anything labelled free range and organic. But when they see something that the spirit entails, they freak out. “No, no. Don’t do that. They need sterile water. They need a sterile environment.” Chickens don’t need a sterile environment. They need a healthy environment.
It reminds me of a thread from a few years back. A lady was cleaning out an old chicken coop and found some insect eggs. From her description they were not harmful in any way. But the consensus on this forum was “Kill! Clean! Sanitize! Destroy!” I agree the old coop needed to be thoroughly cleaned, even though it had been years since it held chickens. But my thoughts were more about how much fun those chickens would have had chasing down that free protein than any potential risk to them. I told you I thought weird.
I obviously don’t know much about that specific water. The OP has said nothing that would indicate it’s polluted in any way. I’d feel better if she said there were animals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects living in that river. A river void of life would scare me silly. But a river filled with life it’s a healthy environment. It will help those chickens, not hurt them.

I definitely agree with you now that you have put it like that.

I free range the old fashioned way. My birds get into lots of things that would churn my stomach I am sure. If you are confining your birds, they would be more at risk for parasites to take up camp in their gut in my opinion.

And my water would not be considered 'sterile' I am sure it has lots of minerals in it, as it is hard water.

If the water can sustain life, then it is most likely safe. If I saw garbage/sewage floating or a smell came from the water, I would definitely avoid using this as their only drinking source. That can't be good. That is what the river here is like. It looks like a river of poop to tell you the truth.

This is the river I am talking about. I have swam in it and contracted an infection. Obviously not going to water my chickens with that water.

Not to mention not a single fish live in it.

ETA: And bottled water isn't even technically sterile.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Yuck. No wonder...it looks more like a drainage ditch to me, not a river. Too bad.

 

[aoxa]

Yuck. No wonder...it looks more like a drainage ditch to me, not a river. Too bad.

It is nicer in some locations than others. It used to be a very nice river once upon a time. Pollution has ruined it.

 

[7L Farm]

RR you made a good point. My water is from a 500 ft well its good water your right my water is filtered through the sand but filter along way to hit the bottom. There's a creek that runs through the middle of my property that I would be leary of to drink from because here its all farm land & some folks use poision to kill plants off etc. I wouldn't give it to my livestock maybe some would. I don't need the water because I use well water. Your right the OP might be fine using the water thats entirely up to the OP. You can have the water tested.

 

[rikithemonk]

My general rule is that I don't give animals I use for food anything that I wouldn't eat my self. This includes water. My suggestion is to get a ceramic filter, Clay filter or make a sand filter out of charcoal, sand and a garbage can.






This is a ceramic water filter common in third world countries. Its reasonably cheap and will clean the water of everything but chemicals.




A simple filter can be made by layering sand and charcoal in a large container like a 5 gallon bucket or garbage can.

Most river water in the world is polluted by factory waste, road run off, chemical fertilizer, and Monsanto weed killer. Do you really want that in your eggs or chicken meat?

Riki

 

[HEChicken]

I have read this whole thread with interest and agree with Ridgerunner wholeheartedly. A few weeks or months ago, I started a thread asking if anyone had ever allowed their ducks to swim in their sewage lagoon. For those in parts of the country where these are not common, here in the midwest, a common solution to rural household waste is to dig a "lagoon" to which all water from the house is pumped. This solution is usually utilized where the soil is clay and a septic tank is not appropriate.

The first people who responded to my thread had the gut reaction "ewwww....no way", but as we talked it all through, we came around to realizing its not so gross after all. One of the participants realized that close to her house is a large network of similar lagoons that service towns rather than just a household. They have become a haven for all kinds of birdlife, and the city has even created walking paths to allow visitors to walk and view the ducks and other waterfowl in their "natural" environment.

All of that brings me around to suggesting to the OP that the best way to tell if the water is safe is to look and see if other life is flourishing in it. In my own lagoon, the frog life is incredible. Walk down to it and they all go hopping into the water and the combined effect is a huge splash. Frogs wouldn't live on it if it were toxic. I did ultimately decide not to put my ducks on the lagoon but not because I feared for their safety. Rather, I feared that the clay banks of the lagoon would not hold up to the traffic of the ducky claws going up and down it. If I find a way to solve that problem, it will definitely be something I consider.

 

[aoxa]

I have read this whole thread with interest and agree with Ridgerunner wholeheartedly.  A few weeks or months ago, I started a thread asking if anyone had ever allowed their ducks to swim in their sewage lagoon.  For those in parts of the country where these are not common, here in the midwest, a common solution to rural household waste is to dig a "lagoon" to which all water from the house is pumped.  This solution is usually utilized where the soil is clay and a septic tank is not appropriate.

The first people who responded to my thread had the gut reaction "ewwww....no way", but as we talked it all through, we came around to realizing its not so gross after all.  One of the participants realized that close to her house is a large network of similar lagoons that service towns rather than just a household.  They have become a haven for all kinds of birdlife, and the city has even created walking paths to allow visitors to walk and view the ducks and other waterfowl in their "natural" environment.

All of that brings me around to suggesting to the OP that the best way to tell if the water is safe is to look and see if other life is flourishing in it.  In my own lagoon, the frog life is incredible.  Walk down to it and they all go hopping into the water and the combined effect is a huge splash.  Frogs wouldn't live on it if it were toxic.  I did ultimately decide not to put my ducks on the lagoon but not because I feared for their safety.  Rather, I feared that the clay banks of the lagoon would not hold up to the traffic of the ducky claws going up and down it.  If I find a way to solve that problem, it will definitely be something I consider.

I recall that thread
But that sewer pond is only your houses' waste, correct? You don't have to worry about what other people put down their toilet.