How Much Water Does An Adult Hen Drink Per Day?

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Kassandra Smith

Senior Editor • Backyard Chicken Coops

Last Updated: 21 July 2020

In order for your girls to stay healthy, they need constant access to fresh water (along with a healthy diet of feed and grit, of course!)

chickens need to drink plenty of waterSo, just how much water does a chicken drink? It really doesn’t seem like much at all as they sip a little here, sip a little there, and go on about their business or their flock mate’s business. Typically though, a mature chicken will drink approximately .5 liters of water each day in temperate weather, even as much as a 1 full liter in warmer weather. If you have meat birds, they will visit the chicken waterer much more often than this, due to their fast growth rate. Free ranging chickens may drink more or less than this amount based on how busy they are exploring and foraging and how much water is in the plants and grass they eat. FYI, a chicken who is feeling a bit under the weather, may drink continually or drink nothing. This may mean refilling your chicken waterer twice a day or more.

In these cases it’s always best to overestimate, so keep this in mind when you’re choosing your chicken waterer. Also, it’s important that the water your hens are consuming is clean - and free of any manure or debris.  Check out this article on How To Keep Your Chicken’s Water Clean if you're having trouble keeping your chicken’s water free from any contaminates.

Having the right chicken waterer for your flock is also very important - you don’t want your flock to go thirsty because you’ve bought the wrong size! For more information, check out this article on The Importance of Chicken Waterers.

Fresh water is an essential part of a hens diet - so making sure there’s enough for everyone in the flock will keep them fighting fit, and laying delicious eggs everyday!

 

From hydration to healthy diets, we all want to do an eggcellent job when caring for our feathered friends. It's essential that you make sure that you've got the right knowledge you need to raise happy, healthy chooks. Did you know 67% of chicken keepers surveyed experienced a chicken health or behaviour issue in the first 12 months that they didn’t know how to handle?

But don’t worry! Our feathered friends over at Chickenpedia have created a Chicken Healthcare Course. It is a comprehensive online course that includes everything you need, including what to look for in an unhealthy chicken and how to support your egg-laying hens to optimal health. All of their courses are really well structured and filled with vital information, which is why I highly recommend them to all of my readers! From raising baby chicks to feeding to behavior, you’ll find valuable information that’ll give you the knowledge and confidence to successfully look after your chickens.

Check out Chickenpedia today. As a member, you will also get access to the ALL of their chicken courses!

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