will the rust in the waterer hurt the chickens?

[bj taylor]

i have a metal waterer. it has some rust on the bottom that i wash out each time i change the water. the water stays clear until i disturb the pan then it clouds up some. will this iron in their water be a problem for the chickens do you think?

 

[ashl768]

Doesn't sound healthy...I wouldnt water mine from it...

 

[Den in Penn]

A little rust, iron oxide, will not hurt the chickens. We and they need some iron. Did you ever hear of hemoglobin? There can be an over loading of iron. But a little rust should be alright, the particles will settle out quickly

 

[mercuhrio]

Yes, it will hurt them. The iron levels in water exposed to rust can far exceed what their bodies can tolerate, especiay in the long run, causing irreversible damage to the liver and the brain. Acute poisoning could be detected if you see diarrhea, especially if the color is red-brown.

 

[drmolarmagic]

I agree with mercuhrio, a little is ok but daily dose of rust is not good for them so I would swap out the metal (I had to do this same thing) to a plastic waterer. In fact I got rid of the trough type and now use 2 5 gallon buckets with multiple cups around the bottom, its much cleaner and even less algae growth. Also the metal and then plastic ones would get pooped in! The only metal left is the under bucket heater that keeps the water from freezing. That doesn't rust just the algae and it seems some of my birds think that's yummy.

 

[K0k0shka]

Guys, this thread is 9 years old. The rust-drinking chickens have probably long died of old age by now (or of rust poisoning, who knows).

 

[drmolarmagic]

oh yeah look at that....9 years old. Sometimes when just surfing around the threads I don't realize the dates on the threads. But I will stick with my opinion that avoiding the rust will allow your chickens to live to at least 10 years!!!!

 

[skunkgirl1000]

Well here I come along in 2024. Lol. Still found the info useful!

 

[Themellowyellows]

Me too haha!

 

[audreylesa]

same lol