Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: johnnyboy on December 11, 2008, 19:37
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Hello Everone.
I change the drinking water every day for my 5 hens, but why is it that when I let them out in the morning they go and drink from a dirty puddle?
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lol probably tastes better.
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As above, probably taste's a lot better than all that chlorine etc
Welcome to the forums btw Johnnyboy :D
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Welcome Johnnyboy, my girls are just as bad, it makes you wonder why we try so hard to keep everything clean.
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if u can work out why dogs always jump in the mucky end of the pond instead of the clean end then u wil find your answer .... think its the same with everything in the animal kingdom. dirtier then better :?
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My ducks like to drink the dirty water, forage for stuff in the mud, the deeper the better, but always prefer to swim in clean water!!! :roll:
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A interesting observation on the chlorine in tap water.
I also keep a tropical marine reef aqurium and so I make/process my own pure water (99.8% pure). I thought Id try my chooks on this, they still went for the puddle.
Rain water? Still the puddle.
Now when I change their water I just make sure the puddle is topped up as well.
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What do you keep Johnny my son used to keep them and was quite good with fragging corals, but he's now gave it up as it's quite costly to run.
That RO water tastes awful :puker: well someone had to try it. :lol:
Here's one of his whisker ? corals
(http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/richyrich66/DSC00018.jpg)
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Our girls' favourite water is out of the water butt so that's what they get now. They have it decanted into tupperware tub in their run. They won't touch it if it has ACV in it either. They have thrived on it for some time now so any misgivings I had initially were misplaced I think. There is quite a quick turnover in the butt so it never gets stagnant, but I can't help thinking they wouldn't be put off by that either. :shock:
The cats also prefer water butt water, decanted into a watering can so they can get their heads stuck it the gap at the top. :?
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I always know if it's been raining by the amount of water left in the drinker at night.
Clean water seems to be a last resort.
Rob
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I remember asking someone a similar question as when horses are let out into the field in the morning very often the first thing they do is go and drink from the trough, despite haveing had a fresh bucket of water all night. The answer was to do with the chemicals that are added to tap water. Apparently the chlorine or fluoride or whatever will evaporate in about 24 hours so the trough will be nearly chemical free. can't see why poultry wouldn't be the same. :santa:
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The really odd thing is that my cats don't like drinking tap water from their bowl but will happily drink it from my glass!
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The really odd thing is that my cats don't like drinking tap water from their bowl but will happily drink it from my glass!
I have 2 friends who have cats that prefer the water from the loo bowl. :o :o :o
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I give my girls rain water from a nice clean water butt... they appear to like it more than tap water.. hmm I may do a little experiment and put out both types of water... hmmm :D :D
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Hello - new to the forum, tho' long-time lurker. Have kept chickens for nearly two years now.
Just wanted to say that our girls too prefer water from the butt/bucket/anything they can find in the garden rather than the lovely fresh drinking water I make available daily. But that's OK because the cat drinks their water. Rather than the lovely fresh drinking water etc. etc.
:roll:
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Fatty the cat had unlimited fresh drinking water but he always slurped up the water from a glass I had beside my bed. I think he just wanted to prove he could.
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As long as he left your teeth untouched :shock:
(wasn't through a straw was it) :)
Rob 8)
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Yep, mine prefer puddles too!
My cat will not drink water from a bowl, has to be direct from the bath tap! or from the pond pump outlet when she is in explorer mode outdoors.
c x
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My teeth are my own affair I tell you!
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I should have realised that teeth are a step too far :oops: :wink:
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I used to give our cat Cassie a fresh bowl of water every other day but after a while I gave up as she didnt seem to touch it,now and again I catch her drinkin out of the various upturned toys that the kids have left dotted around the garden,her's and the chooks favourite drinkin hole when they are a roaming is an old plastic tipping trailer that my lad has on the back of his peddle tractor :!: or the plastic sand pit is another favourite,saying that the chooks seem to love the drinkin water in there tub if I have put there monthly tonic in it,good girls :lol: :lol: