[wendyg]

I have a 6 litre drinker with feet and by the end of the day, there is a thick sediment of mud at the bottom.  I assume that this is from the hens scratching around looking for grubs etc.  I have tried standing it on a paving slab, but still there is mud in it.  It is now standing on the paving slab supported by 2 bricks at each edge but again when I went to lock up there is mud at the bottom.  What can I do to stop it?  I can not suspend the drinker as the roof of the run is covered with mesh and only very light weight lengths of wood (to stop the wire mesh from sagging).  Any suggestions please or is it okay for the chickens to drink muddy water?

Wendy

[CluckyChicken]

I don't have an answer, sorry, but I have the same problem!  Hope someone knows what to do 

[3Bluebelles]

You can't avoid it I'm afraid. It is partly because they spend the day digging in the mud for any tasty titbits and get muddy beaks, then dip them into the water.

It doesn't seem to do them any harm though. In fact when I put fresh clean water out for mine, they would rather drink from a muddy puddle they find in the garden!

I just make sure they always have plenty of water available, and change it every couple of days, but accept that it gets muddy within half an hour of putting it out.

[terri]

i found this too and bought a drinker i could hang up ,but they are very happy to drink from any puddle they find clean or dirty,

[ANHBUC]

As previously said, it is from their beaks and should do them no harm.  I just use a soft brush to clean the muddy base out under the tap each day when I refill the drinker.

[avalonbirds]

Hi this is my 1st post on this site .......
It's more natural for them to drink out of muddy water than fresh drinking water. The water we get from the taps more often than not has chemicals in it to make it safe for us to drink, (we get out water from a spring).
I leave a small mushroon drinker with fresh water in it which gets changed every 2-3 days, and they have an old field lick tray from my horses with water and mud in it, they will hardly ever use the proper water drinker. It does get changed once a week, and topped up every day. Unless they have pooped in it then I change it straight away......
My horses and dogs are the same, looks really bad when the dogs preffer to drink from puddles, my neighbour once confronted me and said I should always give them a supply of fresh drinking water if they were so thirsty. I took her straight to their bowl and showed her it was full............. I was livid!!!!! She had the good grace to blush and say sorry.....Grrrrrrrrrr

[andreadon]

ours is hanging from the roof, about 9 inches in the air, and they still manage to get soil in it every day!   

still, it's better than the feeder, which they manage to throw into the middle of the run and fill with soil. 
don't know how...

[Springlands]

If you think hens are mucky - you should see how bad ducks are.