Thirsty hen only drinks water that spills on the ground??

[leandrahuff]

Hello friends

for a few weeks I noticed ones of my hen's (red sex link) comb sort of falling over. Other than the comb she has been fine. Today I noticed that she is scratching the water out of the waterer and when the drops hit the ground and bead up she drinks it like she's in the desert!! All of the other hens drink from the waterer and its very accessible and clean. I tried a few other methods like a larger dish full of water and a glass. She seems to not understand. She's always drunk from the waterer so I'm not sure what has promoted this in her!!

I'm afraid her comb is telling me she's dehydrated!! Any ideas? I've put her beak in the water . she knows its there... Lol

 

[Wyandottes7]

My chickens often do the same thing, so I don't think it is much to worry about! For some reason, they prefer water on the ground more than their own clean water in their waterer! After it rains, they go down cracks in the concrete patio and drink the water collected there. If I spill water while refilling their waterer, they lap that up! If I have a container outside and it rains, they run over to it when let outside and start drinking.

Her comb is probably not and indicator of a dehydration problem. Many birds will develop slightly twisted or lopped over combs as they get older.