Warm water for chicks?

[cedarcovefarm]

I'm hatching chicks and expecting a few to arrive in the mail this week(first time chick raiser. I read that baby chicks need warm water. Do I have to have some way to keep it warm at all times or just change it several times a day to keep it warmer. I'm not sure how to go about keeping it constantly warm if that's required. Any suggestions?

 

[Nupe]

Your brooder should be around 100 degrees for the first week so you shouldn't have to worry about temp once it's there. You will be cleaning it out often when they start scratching around the litter and pooping on everything.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know where you read that or if they even bothered to give you a reason. That’s the first time I ever heard of chicks needing warm water. I wonder how a broody hen manages to heat water for them to drink if it comes from a cool source? Think about that just a bit to see if it passes the common sense test.

Baby chicks, adolescent chicks, and grown chickens need clean water. I don’t mean they all need specially treated water or water fresh from the tap. They can do quite well with pond water or from other natural water sources. Mine much prefer drinking form a mud puddle than a clear waterer. They even enjoy scratching in it to muddy it up before they drink. They need water that their poop has not fermented in for a day or more. That becomes an invitation to disease due to the life cycle of certain microbes. As long as you change their water every day and not just fill it back up if your waterer allows them to scratch stuff in it or poop in it you should do fine. They need fresh water. Temperature doesn’t really matter. Them staying hydrated does.

 

[Nupe]

The first I saw it was in the instructions that came with my hatchery chicks. I'm guessing in their vulnerable state from shipping, and the fact that they are ravenously thirsty when you get them that they don't want the chicks body temps to fluctuate too much while they acclimate.

 

[lazy gardener]

It makes sense to me to start hatchery/shipped chicks on water that is warmer than room temp. They've not been in a brooder, and may be chilled. IMO, warmish water would be more beneficial for the first beak dunking than coolish water. But, i'd not worry about it after they get settled under the brooder heat.

 

[cedarcovefarm]

Thanks for all the good info. Yes I read it on a hatchery care sheet.
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/page14.html
It didn't make much sense to me either but I thought maybe I was just a newbie and didn't know better. That's why I love this site! Lots of people who have already been through it. Thanks for bearing with is first timers and sharing your wisdom

 

[cedarcovefarm]

Thanks so much for the replies. All very good info. Yes, I read it on a hatchery info care sheet.
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/page14.html
It didn't seem like something I had heard in my chicken raising research. But I thought perhaps I was just a newbie. That's why I love this site. Lots of people that have experience and willing to share their wisdom.
Thanks again!

 

[cedarcovefarm]

Well, I was trying to post the link to where I read it, But the site won't let me. Anyways, yes, I read that info on a hatchery website care sheet. So maybe it is something to do with shipped chicks. they indicated to keep the water at 98 degrees for the first day or so. I'm using a brinsea brooder plate, so the entire area would not be warmed (the water included), just the area under the heat plate. But I suspect since they will be in a temp controlled room at about 68 degrees the water won't be freezing or anything.

Thanks for all the replies

 

[Ridgerunner]

The first I saw it was in the instructions that came with my hatchery chicks. I'm guessing in their vulnerable state from shipping, and the fact that they are ravenously thirsty when you get them that they don't want the chicks body temps to fluctuate too much while they acclimate.

That passes the common sense test for their first watering. I had not thought of that. Thanks for posting. I don't see how that would apply for their second watering though.

 

[Nupe]

I never bothered past the first day. They were fine, hyper and fuzzy cute... ****, I want more!!!