Practical Poultry Magazine No.124 Nifty Nankin Back Issue

Spring is always a lovely time of
year; everything seems better once
the sun begins shining in earnest
and the bright green leaves start
appearing. Life everywhere moves up a
gear, and that includes in the chicken pen.
With the hour having changed and everyone
benefi tting from the lighter evenings, the
warmer temperatures offer even more of
an incentive to get outside after work, and
commune with your hens. They’ll benefi t
from the attention, and you’ll benefi t from
their calming infl uence; everyone’s a winner!
This month’s contribution from poultry
vet David Parsons – which starts on page
58 – is all about drinking water, and an
interesting read it is, too. However, it’s
timely as well. With ambient temperatures
rising, now is an ideal time for a gentle
reminder about how essential it is to
provide your birds with a constant supply of
clean and fresh drinking water.
I think that a lot of people fail to
appreciate how sensitive chickens are to
dehydration; something that’s graphically
illustrated by some fi gures I remember
reading years ago. A chicken can lose 100%
of its fat reserves, up to 50% of its stored
protein and yet still survive. However, if
an empty drinker results in it losing just
10% of the water in its body, then it can die
from dehydration. This shocking possibility
should be enough to prevent anyone who
cares about the health and welfare of their
hens, from ever letting them run short of
good quality drinking water. Of course, as
spring turns to summer – and, apparently,
we’re in for a good one – the need to keep a
vigilant watch on the state of your drinkers
becomes ever-more pressing. Not only
are evaporation and consumption rates
increased when the weather’s warm, but
the growth rates of bacteria and other
microscopic nasties explode too.