![]() ![]() There doesn't seem to be one main cause of water belly, but rather it appears to occur when a combination of genetics, environment and flock management are combined.Īscites isn't a disease or an illness. This puts added stress on the liver, which then begins to leak fluid into the abdomen. When the body isn't circulating oxygen fast enough, the heart works overtime to push oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. What is Water Belly (or Ascites) in Backyard Chicken Flocks?Īscites is a condition caused by yellowish-colored fluid from the liver accumulating in the chicken's abdominal (or peritoneal) cavity, and is commonly the result of pulmonary hypertension syndrome. More common causes of a bloated abdomen in chickens include tumors, such as those caused by Marek's disease, obesity/fatty liver syndrome or egg binding/peritonitis, but if you notice a bloated belly, water belly or ascites could be the reason. There are actually several things that can cause bloated abdomens in poultry. It tends to be more prevalent in fast-growing broilers or meat birds rather than laying hens, but if you notice your chicken or duck's abdomen is swollen and distended, it's something to consider as a possible problem. Air sucked in here could show itself as bubbles at the drinking trough.Ascites, or "water belly" as it's more commonly called, isn't a terribly frequent occurrence in backyard flocks of laying hens or ducks. At each of these, the system is at less than atmospheric pressure. ![]() Apart from the seal around the lid of the bucket, I see six places where air could leak into the delivery system: both sides of the elbow, both sides of the valve, the packing on the valve stem, and the connection to the bottom of the bucket. One possible explanation for the constant outflow you experience is leakage of air into the delivery system. More water will then flow out of the fill tube (sealing off the flow of air into the fill tube), the air in the bucket will expand, its pressure will drop back down, and the outflow will stop. Here, the air raise the pressure in the bucket. When the thirsty chickens drop the level in the trough below the bottom of the fill tube, some air will work its way into the fill tube and up into the bucket. The closer to full the bucket is at the beginning, the less the amount of this outflow. Eventually, the combined pressure at the bottom of the fill tube will drop to atmospheric pressure, and the initial outflow will stop. ![]() As the water flows out of the bucket, the air in the bucket will expand and the air pressure in the bucket will drop. The pressure at the bottom of the fill tube from the combination of air and water in the delivery system will exceed atmospheric pressure, causing water to flow out the fill tube and fill the drinking trough. The system as described should work as planned.Īssume that the bucket is only partially filled with water when the lid is sealed in place and the valve opened. Would a check valve accomplish this, or would it not have enough pressure to work correctly? The reason I put this valve in is so I can stop flow, take the lid off and fill the bucket without it flowing out of control down to the watering portion. I've searched for hours for an answer, without knowing the proper terms to search for, I can't find anything. What's more, bubbles come out the bottom.Īssuming the bucket is air-tight, is this because the head pressure is so great it forces itself out or? That's all I got. My assumption was that once the hole was covered, it wouldn't get air to drain, and it would stop. My problem is, when the bucket is filled, lid on, and valve turned on, the water doesn't stop flowing when it goes above the hole I drilled in the downpipe. I want to make a watering station for my chickens. I'm not very educated when it comes to physics. First, I apologize if I don't use proper terms.
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