Well.... to beat the dead ambulatory mammal to death.... probably not going to harm the chickens. https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4482
There is a spiffy list of possible concerns in this source. https://poultryinnovationpartnership.ca/iron-in-water-can-affect-bird-health/ Look for the bullet pointed list of four signs of too much iron.
TLDR, chickens are fine with water that is up to 600 parts per million, which is 599.31 mg per liter. Ground water is usually 1 mg/liter but can be as high as 100 mg/liter. Anyone ever have a well drilled and hit iron water? Stinks to high heaven, like heavy sulfur. Bitter/metallic to the taste, you would know if the water was above 2.5 mg/liter.
Don't confuse minerals in the water with the bio availability of the minerals. Remember we are living on what is called in sci fi as a death world, in an oxygen heavy atmosphere where minerals do not survive in bio available forms for long as the oxygen combines "AKA burns" to convert the iron to iron oxide. Oxygen is a horrible corrosive.
And up to 1200 mg of iron oxide per kg of feed is used as a color enhancer, that is double the highest level in really stinky iron ground water. The scientists report that all three colors of iron oxide pass through the digestive tract of chickens with little absorption.
Do be concerned about any solder used in the watering can. Lead levels can be high and lead is very bio available if it is passed through a digestive tract. That said, anything bought from China needs tested for lead, even plastics. Lead is added by unscrupulous manufactures to make plastics more UV light resistant and to make the colors of the plastic more vibrant while using less colorant chemicals. A common lead test strip kit is the place to start, then send a sample in for chemical analysis if you are concerned as the test strips can be of low quality.
There is a spiffy list of possible concerns in this source. https://poultryinnovationpartnership.ca/iron-in-water-can-affect-bird-health/ Look for the bullet pointed list of four signs of too much iron.
TLDR, chickens are fine with water that is up to 600 parts per million, which is 599.31 mg per liter. Ground water is usually 1 mg/liter but can be as high as 100 mg/liter. Anyone ever have a well drilled and hit iron water? Stinks to high heaven, like heavy sulfur. Bitter/metallic to the taste, you would know if the water was above 2.5 mg/liter.
Don't confuse minerals in the water with the bio availability of the minerals. Remember we are living on what is called in sci fi as a death world, in an oxygen heavy atmosphere where minerals do not survive in bio available forms for long as the oxygen combines "AKA burns" to convert the iron to iron oxide. Oxygen is a horrible corrosive.
And up to 1200 mg of iron oxide per kg of feed is used as a color enhancer, that is double the highest level in really stinky iron ground water. The scientists report that all three colors of iron oxide pass through the digestive tract of chickens with little absorption.
Do be concerned about any solder used in the watering can. Lead levels can be high and lead is very bio available if it is passed through a digestive tract. That said, anything bought from China needs tested for lead, even plastics. Lead is added by unscrupulous manufactures to make plastics more UV light resistant and to make the colors of the plastic more vibrant while using less colorant chemicals. A common lead test strip kit is the place to start, then send a sample in for chemical analysis if you are concerned as the test strips can be of low quality.
