Safe around water?

[Oldladyappletree]

My little chicks are 5 weeks old. Is it safe now for me to give them water in a bowl or are they still in danger of drowning?

Also, I bought the diatomaceous earth. When do I add that to their food?

I‘m so grateful to have y’all to ask I really don’t want to do anything to endanger my little girls.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can try with a water bowl - I've never had a problem with chicks getting in the bowl, they even perch on the side of it. Keep watch on them.

Adding DE to feed? May I ask for what purpose? I believe most feeds already have a small amount of DE to keep grain mites down.

Personally, I wouldn't add extra DE to feed or even bother with purchasing it. I don't really know of any benefits it would have unless you plan on adding it to dust bathing areas - but then again...good loose dirt in the run works just as good.

 

[aart]

She adds 1 cup of the stuff to I think 50 pounds of food she says to keep them wormed.

That will kill grain mites in stored feed, but it will not worm your chickens.
BewareBeckysAdvice.

My little chicks are 5 weeks old. Is it safe now for me to give them water in a bowl or are they still in danger of drowning?

Curious why you want to use a bowl.
Do you not have a waterer?

 

[Oldladyappletree]

Oh. I got the idea from a YouTuber and book Becky’s Guide to Raising Backyard Chickens. She adds 1 cup of the stuff to I think 50 pounds of food she says to keep them wormed. I’m brand new at this so I bought books, watched YouTube and joined here. So you don’t use it at all? Thanks. And thanks about the water

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh. I got the idea from a YouTuber and book Becky’s Guide to Raising Backyard Chickens. She adds 1 cup of the stuff to I think 50 pounds of food she says to keep them wormed. I’m brand new at this so I bought books, watched YouTube and joined here. So you don’t use it at all? Thanks. And thanks about the water

I'm a youtube junkie, I admit it

Sadly, DE is not a de-wormer, I do wish it were true! Many people have come to BYC needing help with worms, mites/lice, etc. when they discovered that using DE proved ineffective.

No, I don't use DE at all. Most of my run areas are covered so soil stays relatively dry. I do rake and turn up loose dirt in the runs. My birds take dust baths frequently and so far, I have not had problems with mites/lice.
I do worm 1-2 times a year using an anthelmintic like Fenbendazole or Valbazen.

For me, I love using those large rubber black bowls for water. Easy to clean, in winter I try to empty them at night but if I forget and water is frozen, you can just toss the bowls on the ground or even stomp on them, the ice comes right out. For me a poultry waterer can be a pain to use - plastic ones seem hard to fill, they get brittle as well. I've had galvanized ones as well and they rusted and/or began to leak - plus they always seems to have an oily film on the water no matter how much I cleaned them.

 

[Oldladyappletree]

Thank you. A rubber one is what I was thinking for that very reason- ice. So I’ll get a shallow one for now. I just wanted to make sure they were past the drowning themselves stage.

 

[Oldladyappletree]

And thank you. I updated my profile. I appreciate you showing me how

 

[aart]

I’m in West Virginia. In the higher mountain part. I intend to have a light in their coop but no heating.

Guess you'll have to decide to use bowls and change them or go with a heated waterer.
Here it can stay well below freezing, day and night, for weeks on end.

So if you have a light, you've got power in coop.
Is light for you to see or supplemental light for winter laying?

 

[Oldladyappletree]

That will kill grain mites in stored feed, but it will not worm your chickens.
BewareBeckysAdvice.


Curious why you want to use a bowl.
Do you not have a waterer?

I have one that’s a quart jar size that I add water and then flip upside down. It’s for baby chicks according to Tractor Supply where I bought it. When I flip it I lose a lot of the water. Plus as the chicks have grown I’m not sure it’s big enough. I thought a bowl would be easier to clean and refill. I could just dump it, rinse it and refill it. Since this is the first time I’ve had chickens, everything I get is new. So I’m open for the best way to water. And it will get very cold here in the winter so I’ll have to deal with freezing. So again I thought a bowl would be easiest to refill. Dump out the ice and refill. That’s my thinking

 

[aart]

And it will get very cold here in the winter so I’ll have to deal with freezing.

Ahhh.... will you have power in the coop?
This is what I've used for the past 5-6 years and I love it, just top it off each morning.

Oh, and....a belated Welcome to BYC! @Oldladyappletree
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