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

 

[BantamLover21]

The hen probably just likes drinking water from the ground more. My chickens also have a perfectly good water, but any water that spills on the ground or is offered by me in a different dish gets gobbled up as though they are dying of thirst. A droopy comb is not usually a sign of dehydration, but instead is a sign of a hen in high egg production. Many of my hens drink normally and still have floppy combs.