Snow - it's for the birds

No, I mean this literally.

My chickens absolutely love to eat snow. I find I keep a bucket filled with snow on its side in the coop with them. This is dual purpose to me: they like it and if the waterer freezes up before I get home, they have a source of it still.

Does anyone else do this? I haven't noticed a negative effect on the birds from it, and they go as nuts for it as they do spinach!

Mine attack my feet when I walk into the coop with snow covered boots. Funny thing though, they refuse to go outside and peck it off the ground.

Mine love snow too, even when there is water. They go outside to attack it in the morning and if I go in the coop they attack any on my boots too. It always makes me laugh.

For that matter the sheep like to eat new snow too. Sheep are very fastidious - they only like clean fresh water and clean fresh snow.

I give mine snow in dishes every day they love it.
Do not understand why they prefer this to the heated
water they have. Even the llamas and sometimes the
goats will be out eating snow instead of their heated
water.
The only think I can think of is maybe the snow
has minerals or something in it.

karona wrote:I give mine snow in dishes every day they love it.
Do not understand why they prefer this to the heated
water they have. Even the llamas and sometimes the
goats will be out eating snow instead of their heated
water.
The only think I can think of is maybe the snow
has minerals or something in it.

Good Point! I wonder if it would, perhaps, be the lack of trace chemicals? The purer choice, maybe.

I read a study years ago warning people not to eat snow due to the lead and other atmospheric chemicals it absorbs on the way down.

Schipperkesue wrote:I read a study years ago warning people not to eat snow due to the lead and other atmospheric chemicals it absorbs on the way down.

Well then my idea is out the window

Sweetened wrote:

Schipperkesue wrote:I read a study years ago warning people not to eat snow due to the lead and other atmospheric chemicals it absorbs on the way down.

Well then my idea is out the window

I went and did a little search and can't find anything on the internet. Lots of mixed reviews as to weather snow is OK to eat. In the past I have watered my animals from a heated horse trough that i kept filled with snow.

I think animals eat snow for the same reason children do; because it's there.

My chickens are the same. Will peck it off my boots but heaven forbid they have to go outside and stand in the stuff! Thought those tough, Canadian developed Chants I got from Coopslave would be rugged, winter hardy birds. No. The wusses are hiding inside, mid day, with all the other wimpy birds.

I don't mind critters eating snow but worry about it when it's too cold as too much of it depletes energy that can be used for other things, like keeping weight on. You know what they say, eating snow instead of drinking water will kill an old, skinny horse faster than starvation will. It sucks up lots of energy to turn cold snow into the tiny bit of water it yields. For compromised animals, it can be a bad choice! But doing it for the heck of it, like most of our animals do, no harm. Just wierd.

It snowed here for the first time this year My birds were really afraid of it. I threw sunflower seeds on top of it thinking they would venture out. It took them the whole day to eat them. They hugged the buildings under the eaves and didn't go anywhere. Maybe they just have to get used to it. I don't remember them being so wimpy last year,

It was funny to see the ducks this morning. Big snow flakes were dropping from the sky and they were standing in the coop and looking up....the sky is falling maybe?

My silly chickens only eat snow in the winter, I have a 5 gallon waterer that would stay full if I kept bring snow in. So I will bring snow in four days a week and three days they must drink the water. lol I don't think they are happy but I want to make sure the get adequate H2O intake.

My sheep do the same thing!

Whew! Here I thought that I was the only one with weirdo birds. I can't even take a step without stepping on a bird and I'm pretty sure they are giving me heck when I do try to move You know every well that they pecking away saying just hold still while I do this! Quit moving, oh wait she left some here......Its MINE , BACK OFF

Ya, my chickens don't like snow much, especially the cochins. Think they are afeared of getting snowballs on their toefeathers. Ya, funny how they pick the snow off the boots eh? I think they think they are tons of little white bugs and they gotta clean us up. Why eat it when afraid to step in the stuff, weird as weird can be. Now my pups eat snow, they love to eat it, but I haven't seen the chickens outside gulping it up, just off my boots. Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.