I love watching my chickens. Really, I literally sit on my back porch and watch all the shenanigans unfold right in front of me.
One behavior that always fascinates me is a chicken’s way of drinking. The way they seemingly scoop up the water with their beaks and tilt their head back to drink it.
Well, it turns out it’s not THAT simple.
Here’s exactly how chickens drink water, the best ways to offer water to your chickens, and some of the accompanying fascinating behaviors around chickens drinking water.
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How Do Chickens Drink Water?
I’ve never given much thought to how we mammals actually swallow water. But, now, watching a chicken drink water, I’m certain we’ve got it the easy way.
It’s quite clear chickens don’t have the luxury of using their throat anatomy to assist in their swallowing. They have to do it the ole’ fashion way – using gravity!
Chickens drink by dipping their beaks in water, tilting their head right up, and rapidly opening and closing their mouths helping gravity move the water down their throats.
This drinking behavior is quite clearly innate, as it can be observed in any age chicken, even newborn chicks!
The Importance Of Clean Drinking Water For Chickens
Obviously, a birds gotta drink to stay alive, right?
But, providing a constant supply of fresh, clean drinking water for your chickens goes much further than that, and is essential for both:
- Regular and consistent egg production: it takes as little as a few hours for dehydration to impact normal egg production.
- Health and well-being: staying hydrated is key to avoiding heat stress in hot weather, which can have a variety of impacts on a chicken’s health and well-being.
To keep your flock at its most productive and most lively ensure your chooks have access to fresh water 24/7. Take additional steps to ensure the water stays clean too, as old dirty water can harbor some nasty water-borne diseases.
The Main Types Of Chicken Waterers
If you’ve got a small flock, then it’s likely you’ve got yourself a simple bell drinker to allow your chickens access to fresh water whenever they want it.
But, this isn’t always the most effective waterer for medium or larger flocks.
For anyone raising their own flock, it’s essential to know what options you’ve got so you can pick the most appropriate drinker to accommodate all of your chooks.
Bell Drinkers For Chickens
Bell drinkers are great for small flocks or for new chicken owners.
The simple bell shape lets you store a load of water in the middle, having it flow to the outer rim to replenish any sipped water to keep a constant supply. For extra hydration, you can even fill them with diluted tea or juice too!
Aside from the simple plastic “manual” bell drinkers, you can also find those that are “automatic’. These bell drinkers connect via a hose, feeding an indefinite water supply so long as you leave the tap on!
These bell drinkers are normally more robust and are mounted above ground height, helping them stay sanitary for longer (though you still want to monitor it!).
Cup Drinkers For Chickens
Similar to the automatic bell drinker, a cup drinker is a small cup-like bowl that connects to a hose to provide a continuous source of water.
These cup drinkers are also designed to be above ground level, avoiding a lot of dirt and droppings which helps them stay sanitary.
My only comment would be that chickens often like to drink together as an activity and cup holders make it harder for multiple chickens to have a drink at once unless you install a number of them!
Nipple Drinkers For Chickens
Nipple drinkers get their name from, well, we all know where they get their name from.
A nipple drinker is a small, protruding pin that releases a controlled amount of water when it’s pecked or nipped.
Really nipple drinkers are predominately used in chicken farming or when raising chickens in a more limited space as a way to provide a cleaner source of water, reducing any risk of water-borne diseases.
They are much less commonly used in everyday backyard chicken raising where flock numbers are much smaller and there’s a much larger space available to your chooks.
How Often Do Chickens Drink Water?
Much of a chicken’s desire to drink water is brought on by its environment (if it’s dry and hot) and its daily activities (like egg laying or foraging).
Because of this, any given chicken may vary in their drinking habits depending on these daily activities.
But as a general rule chickens drink water from about 3 – 6 times per day, at varying times throughout the day.
How Much Water Do Chickens Drink Per Day?
The amount of water that chickens need per day can vary extensively, depending on factors like their size, age, activity, whether they’re laying eggs, and their climate and environment.
Out of everything, it’s been studied and shown that the most contributing factors to how much water a chicken drinks come down to:
- Their outside temperature, where all chickens consume more water as the temperature rises.
- Whether they are producing eggs, as an egg contains as much as 70% water, creating a much greater need for water.
Taking everything into consideration, chickens tend to drink between 1 – 2 cups of water each day per chicken.
When Do Chickens Drink Water?
Because chickens don’t tend to make a habit of drinking water at night, most chickens will have some water close to first thing in the morning.
Then, chickens will drink every 4-6 hours throughout the day as they see fit. They may drink more or less throughout the day depending on whether they’re producing eggs, and what the outside temperature is.
Quick Wrap Up
Much like other birds and poultry, a chicken relies on gravity to drink water.
Chickens collect water in their beaks by dipping them into water. They then tilt their head right up and use their mouths and tongue to help gravity move the water down their throat to essentially swallow it.
To keep your flock healthy and productive ensure your chooks have access to fresh drinking water 24/7 through the use of any suitable waterer, whether it’s a simple bell drinker or a more sophisticated cup drinker.
Although each chicken tends to drink between 1 – 2 cups of water throughout the day, it’s important to always offer an abundance of water for your chickens so they won’t ever run out!