Which water is best for the chickens......

[Pullet Pimp]

We have well water that is a REALLY good well and we use it for drinking and cooking. The way I have he system set up is from the house it goes into an inline filter, then the water softener, then another inline filter to the rest of the house. At the kitchen sink I have a reverse osmosis (sp?) system for drinking.

I have been giving the chickens the water from the sink (not the reverse osmosis drinking water) which is softened and was wondering if I should be giving them the water straight from the well before the water softener? I have read many posts about watching how much salty things you give the chickens and that made me wonder about the softened water. So far everyone has been doing fine with it.

The filters for the reverse osmosis are too expensive, so don't think that they are going to get the premium water.

 

[smom1976]

I give mine rain water from my collection bins..

and my free rangers (my polish that get pecked LOL) drink from my little pond.

 

[CUDA]

As long as it is clean, and wet they will be fine!

 

[Pullet Pimp]

So you don't think the salt content from softened water could be harmful?

 

[CUDA]

No, it should be fine. If you are worried, just go straight from the well though, either way you will be ok. It is more important to keep your water clean, and fresh, than to have a little softener salt in it in my opinion.

 

[brandywine]

I would certainly avoid the chemically softened water, especially since, as you say, you have a really good well.

They don't need the sodium, and I bet they'll drink more if the water is unprocessed.

You can put a measured amount of each into two identical waterers and see. Do two trials, switching the positions of the waterers. I bet the regular well water goes faster.

 

[rooster-red]

Ours comes straight from the well.

 

[GPN]

Momma give ours city water because our well has iron in it and she thinks that is what killed her first 2 chickens years ago! Rain water does not have chemicals in it!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I wouldn't give them the softened water. Depending upon how the water softener is set up it can put a lot of salt in the water.

We rented a place in southern New Mexico for a while that had a water softener, it's settings were set by the installer after doing a water test. After a year we had problems with a swamp cooler. I climbed up on the roof to inspect it and the pads and and sump were covered with about ten pounds of salt. We never drank the water and had no idea how salty it was or even if we would have noticed if we had.

 

[Pullet Pimp]

Quote:
This makes sense. I have 24 chicks about 3 weeks old in the brooder and they go through about 3/4 to 1 gallon of water a day. They drink plenty now but it would be interesting to see if they would like it more or drink more of the other water. I may just do that experiment to see what the results are.

Quote:
We have this one turned down to a reasonable level. Like you I had a bad experience with an overpowering softener in our old house. That can kill a diswasher as quick as sulpher water.

Thanks for the input all