Keeperoflock
Songster
I have 15 eight month old pullets. Great egg layers, all healthy etc. Cold weather is here where I live so during our winter preps we purchased a metal double wall waterer and the warmer to go underneath it. We were using the red bottom plastic 3 gallon waterer before that. I put the metal one out along with the plastic one just to get them used to this "suspicious looking foreign thing" in their run for about a week. Temps were dropping into the mid 20's so I took out the plastic one figuring they were used to it by now. I even observed them drinking out of it.
Around 5 days later one of the hens starting acting strange. Standing still, not eating or drinking. Watched her closely for about a day when the other ones started acting kind of not themselves. II also noticed their pans that I put their wet mash in was clean as a whistle and tipped over. That never happens. I couldn't put my finger on it till I let them out tonight for their daily free-ranging. They made a B-Line for the garden where this bucket was at with a lid that had a small amount of water in it. They were attacking it like ravenous wolves. That's when it dawned on me..... yep, they were quite literally dying of thirst. And the mash pans.... they were trying to get to any amount of wetness they could get to.
I rushed inside the house, mixed up some water with electrolytes, put it in their red-bottomed waterer, brought it out and when they saw it, here they come running. They drank and drank and drank. I had also made up more wet mash and mixed corn in it. They went for that, then kept going back to the water. Over and Over they did this.
BE OBSERVANT, BE VERY OBSERVANT when making changes. When something "seems" off observe.
Around 5 days later one of the hens starting acting strange. Standing still, not eating or drinking. Watched her closely for about a day when the other ones started acting kind of not themselves. II also noticed their pans that I put their wet mash in was clean as a whistle and tipped over. That never happens. I couldn't put my finger on it till I let them out tonight for their daily free-ranging. They made a B-Line for the garden where this bucket was at with a lid that had a small amount of water in it. They were attacking it like ravenous wolves. That's when it dawned on me..... yep, they were quite literally dying of thirst. And the mash pans.... they were trying to get to any amount of wetness they could get to.
I rushed inside the house, mixed up some water with electrolytes, put it in their red-bottomed waterer, brought it out and when they saw it, here they come running. They drank and drank and drank. I had also made up more wet mash and mixed corn in it. They went for that, then kept going back to the water. Over and Over they did this.
BE OBSERVANT, BE VERY OBSERVANT when making changes. When something "seems" off observe.
and your flock is ok.
