Sorry But I've Seen Something And It Really Bothers Me

[Sillystunt]

People keep their chickens the way they WANT to keep their chickens. Some people have shelter and some do not. Some feed from the ground some use feeders. Some enclose their chickens in a run some free range. Some are so dang busy the alage creeps up on them and they realize it after they take the shot some are so busy from cleaning the waterer they never get the shot. LOL

I can clean mine out daily and BANG they are green. I live in Florida and it is a constant battle. I do bleach mine out and scrub them really well. Then BANG, they are green! I tried the apple cider thing, didn't help! You just gotta keep up on them! I just get scared they will get sick!!!

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Um, actually a little green mold won't hurt anything. I left a Brita pitcher out on the kitchen table where it got some sunlight for a few days.....and I didn't notice the green film on the bottom until I moved it off the brown table and into the white refrigerator. The bad part, I kept drinking out of it for the rest of the day after I noticed

Figured it hadn't hurt me when I couldn't see it!
I DID take it apart and wash it eventually though, it's clean now.
My chickens' water buckets are probably less green than that! I have a washcloth I use to wipe/scrub them out every time I change the water. They seem to get a brownish slime mold faster than they grow the green stuff, and a good wipedown keeps it at bay. They do like fresh water, but as everyone else said they also don't mind drinking from anything else that the rain happened to fill up, so I'm not a nazi about it.

 

[Lunachick]

Quote:
Are you talking about metal containers? I wouldn't put ACV in them, there is a reaction with the vinegar & metal that won't be healthy for your birds. I would recommend ACV in plastic waterers. White vinegar generally cleans off residue with a little scrubbing. (In the plastic waterer, metal, I'm not sure how to correct that, maybe just not put ACV in there)

 

[woolymama]

Quote:
Are you talking about metal containers? I wouldn't put ACV in them, there is a reaction with the vinegar & metal that won't be healthy for your birds. I would recommend ACV in plastic waterers. White vinegar generally cleans off residue with a little scrubbing. (In the plastic waterer, metal, I'm not sure how to correct that, maybe just not put ACV in there)

No I use the plastic ones. I rinse them out well every watering but I don't usually scrub them until they start to look really bad. Maybe that's my problem. EIther way I don't think the chickens could care less. I saw them out in the yard eating llama poop today, so......yeah.

 

[The Sheriff]

My chickens hardly give the clean waterer a second glance on their way to drink out of mud puddles!

 

[PoultryPedia]

I mostly use stainless steel bowls (You can get them cheaply as dog water bowls at dollar stores & such sometimes) since I heard plastic can sometimes be detrimental.

It's my understanding that adding a few drops of unscented chlorine bleach per gallon of water can help with sanitation & minimize gunky growth without being a problem for the chickens.

I put my water bowls in funky holders I make from the metal top section of a lampshade kinked into a zigzag pattern & screwed onto a stack of blocks. Maybe I'll have to try to take a photo & post... They are SO awesomely effective--keep bowls from getting tipped over, keep the water clean, & are easy for the chickens to drink from.

Later addition: Here's a photo--

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
I'd like to see that pic!

 

[Dar]

I find that because I have the 5 gal plastic water container and the fact that I am on a well, my water container always looks rusty and green, i have put the chlorine in it before with no difference.

I have scrubbed and scrubbed with a brush with no luck the container is stained

 

[LarryPQ]

I clean mine out every day, twice in the summer. It keeps me from getting lazy, but as soon as I change it, it is icky again. Especially in the summer. Silly chickies go wading to rince their toesies!

Right now I am focusing on getting the grass to grow in the yard. That way, when I take a picture, it doesn't look like I have them running around a strip mine.

 

[Pandora]

Quote:
What is ACV?