beach chick Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 my girls seem to prefer to drink from an earthenware bowl out in the pen, rather than their glug in the run. I originally put grit in the bowl, but of course they stood in it and everthing else... anyway, then it rained, and now I notice they seem to like to drink from the bowl. they also catch raindrops off the eglu! they will drink from the glug, but clearly prefer the other stuff. is it ok to let them do this? our cats also always seem to prefer puddles to their nice clean drinking water.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 My chicken prefer dirty puddle water to clean. I've wondered if the "tap" aspect is what they don't like. Do you think they can sense that it has been through a process to make it clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Interesting thought May compromise and try mine with butt water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted June 17, 2007 Author Share Posted June 17, 2007 dont know egluntine, I'm convinced the cats can tell, but if yours are ok with it then so am I!!! I was just worried that the girls might catch something nasty (becoz of course the open bowl has prob been pooed in by them, not to mention passing wild birds flying overhead etc etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel19 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 My girls love dirty water - as soon as it goes out they trample their muddy feet into it to make it dirty again! If they have a choice between a lovely clean bowl of fresh water and the dirty stuff i've just chucked in their run, you can guess what they go mad over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I think it may be the Chlorine in the water, maybe chooks are more sensitive to the smell. Or maybe they prefer water that they have previously stood in! They know best! Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Mine like all sorts of water. They drink from their glug and other sources in equal amounts. They've drunk rain water from bowls and out of the birdbath. But what I find most odd is when I move their run to a new patch of grass I use the hosepipe to blast the poos and remainders of pellets from the old patch of grass. They then rush over and start drinking the water from the grass which is bound to have bits of poo and muck in it. Can't work that one out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Mine do the same when I've just hosed down the decking - they drink the water out of the grooves. I just have to make sure it's a very thorough hosing so at least they're chasing clean water. When my cat Cifa was alive he refused to drink tap water but loved the filtered stuff straight from the fridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChicken04x Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 in the summer when its really hot we leave two bolws of water in the house and about three out side for our cats. but they wait all day for my mum to go out and water the garden and then lick all of the water drops on the leaves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 one of our old cats worked out how to make the tap drip, and would then only drink from the drips!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Mine do the dirty water thing too, and I suscribe to the 'speck of dirt' theory anyway. But reading up on Coccidiosis the other day (as you do ) the scientists recommend totally clean drinking water, uncontaminated by mud, hemcore, bark or faeces..... what sort of world do they live in? Good husbandry is important, but there's a limit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlass Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 ..... what sort of world do they live in? Good husbandry is important, but there's a limit! Yes I have real problem keeping the Glug water fresh and clean as the chickens seem intent on flicking anything and everything into it? Do these people actually keep chickens or just look at pictures of them lol? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 I bought a couple of plastic drinkers from a local poultry place, and hang them from a tree in the run. That way the girls can't tread in them and tip them over etc. Mind you I still use several old dog bowls around the run to give them a choice - and it provides water for the other birds, and baths for the blackbirds etc. On that subject, I reckon I'm feeding most of the blackbird and pigeon population with layers pellets! I do have a lovely little female blackbird who has a withered leg and so can't land well after flying, and just hops around in a limited way. She lives in a bush in the girl's run. Whenever I put out the layers pellets she appears, waits for the girls to finish eating and then hops over and scoffs some of the pellets. Lovely. I've a very tame couple of red legged partridges (I've posted a picture somewhere else on the forum a few weeks ago). They don't eat the chicken food, but sit under the bird feeders near the house waiting for dropped sunflower seeds and other stuff from the finch mix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
