Message Board
Clean Water Efforts
cathychaz
So far so good with our chicks. EXCEPT that I am cleaning their water bottle many times a day because the girls keep pooping into the water tray. I clear it out as soon as one of us notices it. Is it okay if the chicks drink the contaminated water before I get to it? Anyway to get them to keep their behinds away from the water trough?
We also have a wild blonde one who has nearly jumped out of the box a few times. We have a put one of those ironing board screens (the kind you put on top of a delicate garment so you can place the iron directly onto it) and it seems to be working well enough. We are going to have to get a bigger box soon.
Sorry there are no pictures yet. I'm something of a luddite when it comes to transferring images from the camera onto our computer. Finding the cable that comes with the camera would be a start.
All told, we are having a lovely time with these beauties. Thank you Dina and Rob!
Cathy Charles
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tcataldo
Good Question!!
Hi Cathy-
I was wondering the same thing! I try to change it when I see it but I would assume in a normal farm they are not getting the attention that we are giving them so they must deal with "poop water". I elevate mine a little to see if that helps as it will keep the shavings out too! I will be interested to see what Dina's take is on this. Good luck!!
One photo of my daughter's chick, CHICKIE:
I think she is sizing up the height of the box to make a quick get away!
Take care...Tony Cataldo
Dina
WORD OF THE DAY -- neotony
We ask that you change the water once a day for exactly this reason. They mess it up and there is really no stopping them from messing it up (save raising height of waterer with them as they grow up - which helps only a little.) It's okay that they are messing it up, but give them a clean waterer every day so it doesn't get too out of hand. Tony is right, on our farm these chicks poop in their waterer (x 50 chicks) and once a day we clean out the drinker and that is enough.
There is an entire scientific discipline devoted to the study of cuteness called 'neotony' - it examines the ways that we are instinctively drawn to juvenile characteristics (across all species that is). These "cuteness features" are part of why we can't help but fall in love with a baby anything! These little chicks are a classic study in neotony: they are fuzzy, they make little peeping noises, they scuttle and run and make us cluck --- and when they can poop in their waterer and trash their bedding we love them for it - they melt us anyway. It's amazing.