Stinky waterer

[Meesh]

Hi,

For some reason, my turkey poult waterer gets really stinky by the end of the day. I have two of the, and rotate them daily, one goes into the dishwasher every evening. I take it apart and wash both the glass bottle top and the metal bottom part.

I have tried soaking it with bleach a couple of times, and with vinegar.

Is this just something that happens with turkey poults? Is there anything I can add to the water to keep it from getting so yucky?

We just had to euthanize a 10 day old turkey poult due to limberneck, so I am concerned the stinky water could be related to botulism. Could stinky water cause botulism? I will start changing the water in the morning, too.

Alas, we don't know if the limberneck was caused by disease or injury.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[1924vanhorn]

Dont know the answer to your question...but I am just worried about your saftey and washing the waterer in your dishwasher. I am not sure if thats a good idea. Contamination to human. I would be careful.

 

[jaku]

Mine does that with my meat birds, but not my layers. I was wondering if it had something to do with the fact that my layers are still in the brooder in my garage, whereas the meat birds are outside- the water gets sun, and I'm sure full of mosquito larvae, which equals stagnant and pond-like. It's gross by the time I freshen it. Not sure about what you might be able to put in it, changing regularly works for me.

 

[millhoff]

I have 21 turkey poults using one waterer and only need to change it every other day. It has never gotten yucky it just gets low. My chicken one does occasionly but I use bleach water and scrub it out, it seems to be fine for a while after it. I would make sure it is up high enough so they don't poop in it because that can cause it to get nasty very fast. Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

 

[dlhunicorn]

We just had to euthanize a 10 day old turkey poult due to limberneck, so I am concerned the stinky water could be related to botulism. Could stinky water cause botulism? I will start changing the water in the morning, too.

Alas, we don't know if the limberneck was caused by disease or injury.

Botulism is directly and most often found in the water... not caused by injury or disease.
Change your water DAILY... dont put it in the dishwaher, wash by hand immediately and preferably with a bit of bleach rinsing well.
You can add a tblsp of appcidervinegar to a gallon of water (make sure your water is plastic/stainless steel to avoid corrosion issues.​

 

[digitS']

Could stinky water cause botulism?

Hi Michelle!!

Botulism is the bane of the Winter greenhouse grower. It is literally everywhere in decaying organic matter and sometimes this "anaerobic bacterium" invades living tissue; long-stem roses or animals. I'm certain that there are various botulism "strains" that I don't know enuf to even talk about.

Here's Merck's Veterinary Manual talking about botulism and limberneck, however.

What do we need in the greenhouse? Bright sunshine and fresh air . . . Open the vents!

That stinky water is probably caused by hydrogen sulfide. It is an indicator of anaerobic decomposition. Botulism is an anaerobic bacterium . . .

I don't like the automatic waterers . . . Sure, they are handy and chicks and crap can get into an open basin but I like an aerobic water source. I can rinse, wash, flush a metal bowl sitting on a couple of bricks in a few minutes. A small tray filled with pebbles can work for chicks and the whole thing can be dumped in a bucket and washed/bleached.

Just my 2 cents . . .

Steve's digits​

 

[patandchickens]

With all due respect diana, I dunno... the reason that botulism in wild birds is typically associated with water is that wetland mud contains (for at least part of the year) exactly the oxygen-free conditions that botulism spores need in order to flourish.

Unless she is doing something really weird or disgusting, meesh's waterer is NOT going anoxic in less than a day

The only concern would be whether the water source itself, or any dirt that's getting blown/tracked into it, may have a high concentration of botulism propagules in them. I would tend to doubt it on both counts, assuming the water comes from a potable-water well.

(If it comes from a pond or other outdoor body of water, though, then that may well be where the limberneck problem resides, and the stinkiness may be a coincidental flourishing of some entirely other naturally-occurring pond bacteria or bluegreen algae).

Meesh, is there any visible contamination of the water? And do you think the poults are kicking/tracking Crud into it? Is the waterer raised up as high as possible and on a thingie so that they don't track litter right up to the base? My money would be more on something along those lines, unless you're using pond or ditch water...

Good luck,

Pat

 

[patandchickens]

digitS' :

That stinky water is probably caused by hydrogen sulfide. It is an indicator of anaerobic decomposition. Botulism is an anaerobic bacterium . . .

Er, there are a LOT of different causes of stinky water in the world. H2S would not be my top bet as long as this is water from a potable well.

And H2S does not form in a small waterer like meesh seems to have -- you have to have organic matter decomposing in excess of available oxygen. (Well ok there are more geological-type processes that produce it too, but they're not relevant here) I cannot imagine meesh letting that happen in her waterers, CERTAINLY not to the degree that it'd be a problem within a day.

Bluegreen algae and some bacteria can cause very distinctive, sharp, nasty smells in water, and that's where my money is on this on.

JME,

Pat, former aquatic ecologist, having smelled a wonderful diversity of nasty water types over the years and in some cases inadvertantly tasted as well (don't ask me about the wading pool I used my mouth to start a siphon on and then when it was drained found the perfectly intact skeleton of a LONG-dead cane rat

)​

 

[Meesh]

Our water source is a spring fed well. There could be contamination, but no one in the household is sick. We have two very elderly occupants who would be highly vulnerable to infection.

There was no blue or green algae, but there was some yellowish crusting at one point.

I bleach or vinegar rinse the waterers every day. One of them turned a really odd shade of rusty red after being soaked in vinegar & water over night - they are galvanized. Doesn't that mean they can't rust? Anyhoo, I can't scrub the reddish stain off so I quit using that one. It even stained the glass to where I can't scrub it off.

I have been changing the turkey water 2x per day, and that seems to help.

No other turkeys have developed limberneck.

- Michelle

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
There is part of your answer. You should not use vinegar in galvanized metal waterers.

To scrub them out with it is one thing because it removes oil from them but to leave them sitting in it the metal is oxidizing.