Created a water saver for my duck brooder

Yoles32 said:

View attachment 1018559 I used the same idea as the original poster of this thread, but instead of a drawer I used a shallow plastic storage bin. I built a ramp up to it using shavings. The have no problem using it and they are only four days old. I used coated hardware cloth for the screen. Found that on Amazon.

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tweetysvoice said:

So, everyone that owns ducks KNOWS how much they splash and waste water. It's especially bad when you have to brood the ducks in the house and are subject to cleaning the brooder daily just to keep the smell down! I did some hunting at walmart and found the perfect solution to keeping water from saturating the pine shavings within minutes of filling the water dish. Thought ya'll might like to see what I did. (I have seen something of the sort for outside pens - but it'll work for inside as well!)



I found these modular drawers at Walmart for $12. They are designed to support weight, so I knew they would support the water and a duck or two. The drawer pops out, so it'll be easy to remove to empty out the water.

First I cut a hole in the top using a hand jigsaw, then staple gunned on some hardware cloth to the top: (I put duck tape around the edges just so the hardware cloth edges weren't as sharp).



Finished product in use: It's been day 3 and working GREAT!!! No more smell in the room and dry shavings!!

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EarlJ said:

Inspired by the thread to make this:

View attachment 2157736

Shallow storage tub + cookie cooling rack. I was going to use HWC, but I saw the rack walking back through the store and it fit snugly on top of the lid. Jagged on the one side because I applied too much force getting started cutting through. I think duck feet are too big to fit through anyway. Cookie rack seems really sturdy.

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EarlJ said:

They got the waterer down low enough and knocked it over, getting everything wet and defeating the purpose. The tub did collect a ton of water, though.

I considered some kind of bracket setup with scrap 2x6 pieces to kind of hook on top of the brooder and prevent it from tipping... but then I remembered we had another waterer that might fit the bill.

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Yeah! Too big and heavy to knock over, and they figured out the cups with minimal help. Of course by now they're going to need a bigger brooder : p But they're staying dry. Have 5 duck eggs on day 24 in the incubator, so assuming all goes well they'll be able to appreciate it and not have to ever worry about stinking sopping messes.

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