water for chickens in hot weather

[6ChicksandaDog]

What a bunch of great ideas!! I'm new to owning chickens and right now is the hottest it's ever been in a long time here in VT. My girls are panting like crazy poor things. So I've been freezing plastic bottles and putting them in there run so they can lay against them and bringing out containers full of ice with water in it, every afternoon when I go home for lunch. Unfortuanlty I have one chicken that likes tipping them over and play in the mud.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions I'm definitely going to use a few.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Quote:
^
Ditto
I have an old - antique? - glass 1gal waterer in the coop.
I refill it every morning & evening & rinse out the base that collects the yuk.
The coop is shaded so this water doesn't get too hot like anything left out in this sun (90F with heat index near 100 today)

So what do my hens prefer over this always-available source of fresh water?

An old tabletop fountain a neighbor gave me that holds maybe a cup of water - dispensed by a resin fairy, that sits in the yard and gets tepid or downright hot.

I call it the Magic Water.

The minute I let them out to freerange everyone flocks to this like it was the baptismal font

 

[debid]

Quote:
^
Ditto
I have an old - antique? - glass 1gal waterer in the coop.
I refill it every morning & evening & rinse out the base that collects the yuk.
The coop is shaded so this water doesn't get too hot like anything left out in this sun (90F with heat index near 100 today)

So what do my hens prefer over this always-available source of fresh water?

An old tabletop fountain a neighbor gave me that holds maybe a cup of water - dispensed by a resin fairy, that sits in the yard and gets tepid or downright hot.

I call it the Magic Water.

The minute I let them out to freerange everyone flocks to this like it was the baptismal font

I'm convinced it's the water's movement. Somewhere back in the depths of their chicken wiring it says that still water = stagnant and moving water = fresh/oxygenated. So, moving water wins every time.

 

[aggie9296]

Hmm. I guess I need to get a chicken fountain.

 

[AngelzFyre]

Quote:
^
Ditto
I have an old - antique? - glass 1gal waterer in the coop.
I refill it every morning & evening & rinse out the base that collects the yuk.
The coop is shaded so this water doesn't get too hot like anything left out in this sun (90F with heat index near 100 today)

So what do my hens prefer over this always-available source of fresh water?

An old tabletop fountain a neighbor gave me that holds maybe a cup of water - dispensed by a resin fairy, that sits in the yard and gets tepid or downright hot.

I call it the Magic Water.

The minute I let them out to freerange everyone flocks to this like it was the baptismal font

Your desciption of them flocking to the tabletop fountain makes me SMILE!
That would be a great idea to have one of those if it could keep the water cooler....Extreme Makeover Chicken Coop Edition?????

 

[LittleDarlings]

Thanks for all these wonderful ideas!! I don't even have a coop yet, let alone a single chick, but I am studying hard and I hope to be ready when they get here. (I didn't study or worry this much when I was having kids!! LOL)

 

[Carter57]

I have a 1 gallon waterer for 8 birds. I cut some 2 liter bottle in half an filled them with water a froze. This works better than putting ice cubes in the waterer. It also don't short me on ice.

 

[de88ie]

Now the chickens are seating in the water now. I guess they understand how to stay cool in this heat.

 

[bow-chicka-bow-bow]

I only have 8 chickens, but I have a 3 gallon waterer hanging in the run area and a 1 gallon in the coop for at night. The run is covered and I also have a fan blowing into the run to help when there is no air moving. We have had temps over 100 here in NC, so I've been taking some ice cubes and putting them in the 3 gallon waterer in the run in the afternoon when the temps really get high. They really like the ice cubes in the afternoon. I'll also change it every few days and they love the fresh cool water. I also have a well, so it is usually pretty cool water. Even then, I'll still put some ice in it in the afternoon if it gets really hot.