water for chickens in hot weather

[classicsredone]

We have a waterer that hooks up to a hose and fills itself as needed. When it is hot we throw some ice in it. They'll also appreciate a shallow dish of cool water that they can wade in.

 

[NewOldMotherHen]

I clean out the water fountains every morning with a bleach/water rinse. I change the water at least twice a day under normal temps. The National Weather Service has issued a heat warning with temps hitting 100 degrees and a heat index of 110 so I am replacing the water more than twice a day and adding chunks of ice. My property looks like a tent city. I have tarps blocking the sun from the chicken yard, a big umbrella blocking the sun from the chicken house door, an umbrella over a big fan that is blowing air into the chicken yard. Three fans in the chicken house and another garden umbrella over my small fish pond. Aircraft flying overhead probably think I am housing a terrorist group.

 

[txreddirtgirl]

 

[chicklover16]

I just put ice in my main waterer, the girls love it

 

[chickenman957]

During the hot weather I give mine a fresh 5 gallon every morning during the hot weather. I keep 2 small ones in the COOP for at night, but during the day i keep them in the fridge. and for the 5 gallon i Keep a frozen 1/2 gallon milk jug in it during the day. They Love it. Fresh water is good. It has been 95-100 Degrees here (middle Tennessee).

 

[aggie9296]

mine will drink the muddy water in the puddle long before any fresh water I provide. so I change it when it gets low or gross.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
That. I gave them fresh water today and they all just looked at it and walked away. Not a single one took a drink. I watched them for quite a while and no one drank but when I went over there an hour or two later, when the water in the tray would have been nice and toasty by then, they were several drinking from it. Maybe our chicks don't like cool water. It's well water so it comes out of the pump pretty cold (we have a pump, not a faucet, by the coop).

Our chicks also don't want to eat frozen grapes or tomatoes. They let them thaw out and then eat them. They're still cold I'm sure, so I still give them frozen stuff.

 

[AngelzFyre]

What I did with my 3 gallon plastic waterers is that I went and got a flat of bottled waters, put them in the deep freeze and every day between noon and 2pm we go out, dump the bottom pan and close each waterer and then add 3 bottled waters to each waterer, swish around to get the water cold, and re open to let the cold water down into the pan. Every evening about 5 we go and take these out, clean each waterer with bleach, thoroughly rinse and refill.
I belive it was chickenman957 that used the frozen 1/2 gallon milk jugs...these wouldn't fit in our particular waterers, that's why I use the bottled water bottles.
I've also used Poultry Water Enzymes from Manna Pro and like the way it keeps the water fresher.
With this heat we are doing this daily and cleaning the waterers daily, sometimes 2 x a day if need be.

 

[debid]

I put a gallon plastic bucket under the pipe where the a/c drips. With the high humidity, it's filling the bucket every couple of hours. I dump it in their favorite dirt lounge whenever I think of it but that water is always cool. Oh, and they've learned -- when the a/c starts, they run over because they prefer to drink the falling drips than the water in the bucket.

 

[KWChicks]

I change and add fresh cold well water in the am and then again in the pm. I actually just did again because it is heating up so quickly (and this time I added ice to the waterer thanks to your suggestions!).

They also like the hose to make little rivelets in bottom of their run. They scratch down to the damp earth and settle in. (Looks cool to me, too!).