What do you clean the waterer with?

[RidgeCreekFarm]

Hi there!

So, last evening we came home with 9 adorable baby chicks! 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, and 3 Speckled Sussex! The lady at Rural King says they are all around 2 weeks old, and they are all happily playing, napping, eating, drinking, and making messes!

From what I've read, it seems you are supposed to clean and scrub their waterer out everyday, but I can't figure out what type of cleaner you are supposed to use:

Regular Orange-scented Dish Soap?
Unscented Castille Soap?
Or is just Vinegar enough?

I see that some folks use dish soap on their adult hen's waterers, but is it okay for our little ones?

Thanks and Blessings!!

 

[dunnmom]

Dish soap or castille should be fine as long as you rinse it well. If you need to sanitize it, you could use a really tiny amount of bleach, but again you have to make sure it doesn't leave residue.

 

[pasuit]

Dish soap or castille should be fine as long as you rinse it well. If you need to sanitize it, you could use a really tiny amount of bleach, but again you have to make sure it doesn't leave residue.

 

[pasuit]

I agree. Good advice.

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

Okay, Thanks!!
A little bit of soap goes a looong way thanks to our water softener, so I'll have to rinse it VERY well!

Blessings!

 

[dunnmom]

I used a simple chick waterer for my chicks when they were little. I quickly tired of all of the poop and shavings constantly in the water, and the at least twice a day waterer cleanings. Lol! Switching them to a nipple or cup waterer as soon as you can might make things easier on you in the long run. Just a suggestion.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some of how an how often depends on your philosophy. I don't try to keep my chicks or chickens in a sterile environment where they cannot strengthen their immune system, I expose them at a very young age to the environment they will be living in later so they can start developing immunities while chicks. I go so far as to take dirt from their run and feed that to them every few days while they are in the brooder to help strengthen their immune system. I think I'm outnumbered in this thread.

I don't know what type of waterer you have, that can make a difference. If you use nipple waterers and the reservoir is sealed so mosquitoes can't lay eggs in it you can go a long time between cleaning. If the chicks can poop in it the waterer needs dumping on a daily basis. I use a pet bowl with rocks in it to keep the chicks from drowning. That gets dumped and refilled daily. I generally do not scrub it out or use any cleaner in it until after the chicks are out of the brooder, usually at five weeks, but I do rinse it out well each time I refill it. Then I wash it well with a bleach solution to get it ready for the next time.

 

[junebuggena]

Some of how an how often depends on your philosophy. I don't try to keep my chicks or chickens in a sterile environment where they cannot strengthen their immune system, I expose them at a very young age to the environment they will be living in later so they can start developing immunities while chicks. I go so far as to take dirt from their run and feed that to them every few days while they are in the brooder to help strengthen their immune system. I think I'm outnumbered in this thread.

I don't know what type of waterer you have, that can make a difference. If you use nipple waterers and the reservoir is sealed so mosquitoes can't lay eggs in it you can go a long time between cleaning. If the chicks can poop in it the waterer needs dumping on a daily basis. I use a pet bowl with rocks in it to keep the chicks from drowning. That gets dumped and refilled daily. I generally do not scrub it out or use any cleaner in it until after the chicks are out of the brooder, usually at five weeks, but I do rinse it out well each time I refill it. Then I wash it well with a bleach solution to get it ready for the next time.

I only scrub out my waterers in the summertime, when they get really nasty. My birds prefer drinking straight out of puddles. The muddier the water, the better they like it. For 8 months of the year, the waterers get ignored by the birds completely.

 

[Relleoms]

I rinse the waterer each time I refill and once a month or so I’ll throw in the dishwasher. Anything that has to be hand washed (heated bowls & such), I use Dr. Bonner’s Sals Suds. But I pretty much use that to clean everything

 

[dunnmom]

Yeah, I'm sure it grossed me out more than them. Lol!