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Old timer at the feed store told me to stop cleaning my waterers with bleach | Backyard Chicken Keepers - Hub Chatter

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Old timer at the feed store told me to stop cleaning my waterers with bleach

I used to scrub my chicken waterers with bleach every week for like 2 years straight. Nothing bad happened but this guy named Carl who runs the feed store in Grove City said I was killing the good bacteria my birds need for digestion. He told me to switch to white vinegar instead. I tried it for a month and honestly I didn't notice a difference at first but then my hens started eating their feed way more consistently. Also the water stays clearer longer because vinegar stops algae better than bleach from what I can tell. Plus no more breathing in bleach fumes when I'm cleaning the coop. Has anyone else made the switch or found another cleaner that works even better?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaela163mo ago

I get where Carl is coming from but I gotta say I disagree with the vinegar thing. "Good bacteria" in a chicken waterer is a myth lmao. Their digestive system handles that stuff in the crop and gut, not from sipping out of a plastic jug. I've used bleach for five years now and my birds have never had digestion issues, plus vinegar doesn't kill off salmonella or e. coli like bleach does in my experience. Algae I'll give you that, vinegar keeps it down better, but I'd rather deal with a little algae than risk bacterial buildup in warm weather. You do you though, not trying to be a jerk about it.

joelthomas3mo ago

Oh man I gotta jump in here because I've been using vinegar for like eight years now and I just can't get behind the bleach thing. See my thing is yeah vinegar isn't gonna kill salmonella like bleach does but the whole point is you're supposed to clean the waterer regularly anyway, not just dump bleach in and call it good for a week. Bleach residue freaks me out with birds being so sensitive to chemicals and all, I've heard too many stories about guys accidentally mixing it too strong and losing birds. The algae thing you mentioned is actually a bigger deal than you think too because that slimy buildup is what traps bacteria and makes them multiply faster. I clean my vinegar waterers once every three days and I never have issues, birds are healthy as can be. I guess if your setup works for you and your flock is doing fine then that's what matters at the end of the day.