What to use to clean feeder and waterer?

[dchurch]

Hi, Im raising chicken for the first time, I started by getting 14 year old laying hens, and am planning to order another 40 chicks? of a dual purpose breed, after doing alot of reading im thinking of getting Buff Orpingtons.
My question involves the sanitation of waterers and feeders, I've read this should be done daily... don't know if this is a little excessive, I was planning on cleaning every time I refill them.
Question - do I just hose them down, or do I need to dis-infect them with some type of chemical? and if so, what?

The feeders I have are hanging, galvinized, they hold about 1/2 bag of feed. I have both a galvinized waterer, maybe a gallon, and a plastic one. I've also just bought an automatic one to attach to the garden hose. it's plastic.

I'm currently housing the adult layers inside my barn, inside a 10x 10 dogchain link dog run, and are using milk crates as nests. I plan to raise the chicks in a stock tank, and likely raise them info adults in a seporate pen with a heat light or two.

I'm in Canada here, it's 4 or 5 'c during the day, but still dropping to - 7 or -8 'c at night. I'm planning on adding an outside run for them when the snow is completely gone. I am concerned about the cold.

I'd appreciate some comments and tips...

Thanks!

 

[Keltara]

I usually just rinse out my hens water with the hose. In the winter, I just bring out a big container filled with water and use that to clean their water with. I dump the old water and pour in some clean water, swish it around, dump and then fill. Their water stays clean. I use a heated dog bowl in the winter and in the summer I use a galvanized waterer. I have my eyes set on a chicken fountain though. I'm certain that this would be something that you would benefit from The Chicken Fountain. They even have a heater for climates like yours.

Kelly

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Our Country Chronicles

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[JackE]

I too, just rinse my waterers out with the hose, refill and replace. I don't go through any elaborate cleaning/sterilizing routine. It sounds like you have a good secure place for the chickens to live inside the barn. But if you are going to have fifty some odd chickens, you are going to need something bigger than a 10X10' run. You will need to expaaaaand. With the temps you are talking about, you have nothing to worry about as far as cold goes. When they, the chickens, are adults, they will have NO need for any help from you to keep warm. They are perfectly suited by nature to handle that themselves. You can put the heatlamps away, you are just going to needlessly run up your electric bill, and possibly burn your barn down.
Jack

 

[Keltara]

I too, just rinse my waterers out with the hose, refill and replace. I don't go through any elaborate cleaning/sterilizing routine. It sounds like you have a good secure place for the chickens to live inside the barn. But if you are going to have fifty some odd chickens, you are going to need something bigger than a 10X10' run. You will need to expaaaaand. With the temps you are talking about, you have nothing to worry about as far as cold goes. When they, the chickens, are adults, they will have NO need for any help from you to keep warm. They are perfectly suited by nature to handle that themselves. You can put the heatlamps away, you are just going to needlessly run up your electric bill, and possibly burn your barn down.
Jack

Yep...I agree with Jack about the cold. Chickens actually do BETTER in winter than they do it heat. Chickens do just fine in winter.

 

[dchurch]

Thanks for the comments so far! and yes, when my chicks get larger, I plan to build a new room, I've read that I should have 4 sq feet for adults inside, and 10 sq feet outside.... per bird. Thankfully we do have lots of barn space, it's just putting up a wall.... and cutting a hole to the outside.

My plan ultimately is to raise these chicks, send some off when they mature to be butchered, keep others for eggs, and maybe even get a rooster, to spend some time in a seporate pen with some girls, with any luck we should have a good supply of eggs, chicken for the freezer, plus be growing our next batch of chicks... life is grand!

I was thinking of buff orpington, but our TSC store doesn't seem to be carrying them, so Im now thinking Barred Rocks? comments?

 

[poultrylubber]

I clean mine about once a week ( need to start doing it more) with hot water and dish soap, then I rinse it with vinegar. And that is really all I do Hope that helps a bit!

 

[speedy2020]

I have nipple water system and only dump old left over water when refill or every 2-4 weeks. As for treadle feeder, I don't clean. I only refill the feeder when it empty.

 

[Odon]

dchurch, take a look at thethirstybird.com, I am using two of them right now and I never worry that my girls have to drink dirty water. Once The Thirsty Bird is installed and hooked to your hose or faucet your girls will have clean water all year long with no more cleaning poopy dishes and drinkers that sit on the ground. I have two of the Thirsty Bird Remotes set up in my pen so the girls have water in their back yard run up to 80 feet away from The Thirsty Bird main unit. I haven't cleaned a dirty chicken water dish in over a year now and I love that The Thirsty Bird has a 100 ounce water reserve in case there is a water supply problem when I am away for a few days. I also have two of the Thirsty Chicks for my new chicks and they took to it right away and I love the fact that they will never drink contaminated water. These products work and they are time savers and for me that means a lot. Hope this helps you out.