What is her malfunction?

[Ascholten]

Ok, I have garden totes all over the yard, many of them have drain chutes on them with 5 gallon buckets to collect the compost tea I guess you could call it to pour back into the plants. Well we've been getting a LOT of rain, most all of them are overflowing. anyways.

The one ninny, she gets out in the morning and the first thing she does is RUNS around the yard, hitting each bucket full of brown nasty water that dribbled out from the dirt and takes a big drink of it. I yell at her, I throw stuff at her, don't matter, she does this almost every time. WHAT is it about compost / dirt water that got her attention so much? There is plenty of clean water for her to get including both clean and vinegar added in her cage, yet nope... first chance, it's dirt puddle time. I am pretty sure it don't hurt her, and I am sure they have eaten much nastier stuff they dug up but the fact she makes such a point of doing this, and none of the other chickens. I can't see that it's a deficiency of any kind as they'd all be doing it, and I feed them very well. Is she just retarded or what?

Aaron

 

[rosemarythyme]

Filthier it is, the more they want to put it in their mouths. Like when my male dog pees on the run fence, some of the chickens come running...

 

[Aapomp831]

They just like dirty water. My idiot chickens do the same thing; I make them fresh water and they run for the mud puddles. There’s not much you can do about it unfortunately.

 

[Ascholten]

I noticed. Today, its like disgusting compost tea I emptied the bucket darn near empty and the stupid bird is almost upside down sticking her head down into the bucket to drink the water with a bowl of fresh water right next to her! I am thinking I better screen it off or something because if one of these idiots falls head first into a 5 gallon bucket a quarter full of water, I see a drowning happening. Not sure it's the tannins in the water or what.

Interestingly enough it does not seem to be hurting them but gosh darn it, it CAN'T be good for them. One of them had s$#t in it from the cockatoo, .. part of a compost project I am experimenting with, cardboard, bird doodie, burlap sacks layered. How long will it take to decompose to something usable. Just another reminder to me, do NOT use insecticides in the back yard beacuse.......

Aaron

 

[KingD]

My hens do the same thing with the small pond in my garden.
First thing they do when I left them out to free range is to charge over to it and start drinking from it. Strange. Maybe it's like humans and alcohol idk.
I suppose if my brain was no more that a pea I would probably be doing the same..or worse!

 

[Ascholten]

My hens do the same thing with the small pond in my garden.
First thing they do when I left them out to free range is to charge over to it and start drinking from it.

That's exactly the same here, they run right over to the bucket and drop their heads into it. I yell at them, throw things at them, they don't care. Maybe it's the same behavior I see in the Cockatoo. It's attention from you. good / bad / it don't matter it's all attention and attention is GOOD!! I think im going to throw clean water in it and hook up a little water pump to it so when they do that next time I give them a wet head face full of shower. Might be enough to scare them from not doing it again. (yes I do tricks all the time to the cockatoo,) problem with him is A: He loves it, it's a huge game to him and B: He gets even, he'll chew my shoelaces off, or some other High Treasonous Bird Crime.

Aaron