Need coop/water ideas

[ChickPrincess]

Right now, I have 3 ducks... a mallard and 2 rogue (sp?) ducks. They have their own area outside but we take them indoors into our garage every night. They sleep in two wire dog crates pushed together. It gets very messy and we clean it completely every couple days. The main problem is their water.
I would like to enclose an area in our chicken coop specifically for the ducks where they would just spend the nights and winters. My only problem with this would be the water mess. Is there something that can be used so water does not get everywhere? Or do I just have to deal with it? What are other people's setups like for their ducks?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Many make water porches for that type of thing. We don't keep water in any of the houses over night. We also don't have winter so no worries of freezing.

 

[ChickInDelight]

I love my Little Giant auto-waterers. My hoses do freeze a bit in winter, so then I resort to a bucket on a cookie-tin heater (with 100 watt light bulb inside).



Shot is looking down into my pallet duckhouse. I am still experimenting. I dug a drain, put flat rocks around the waterer, then gravel.... but I still get a wet mess around the waterer. I also have a leaking auto-waterer outside, and the ducks often hang out around it.

 

[ChickPrincess]

Thanks... I like that idea!
I'm not quite clear on how to handle the ducks during the winter. I'm in western NY and we are typically frozen solid most of winter with temps in the 20's and 30's, sometimes colder than that. Do ducks need to stay inside in that weather? I know wild ducks are outside obviously but I'm sure some freeze to death.
What are the general guidelines?

 

[Paigej]

Many make water porches for that type of thing. We don't keep water in any of the houses over night. We also don't have winter so no worries of freezing.

x2 to this. We don't keep water in the coop, instead it's in their run attached to the coop and the entire thing is secure so they can go out at night if they really want water and the bedding inside stays dry.

 

[Going Quackers]

I have heated buckets for winter.. and i keep water/feed with my birds 24/7... i just keep buckets it's less spillage that way. I know others have designed some neat concepts for keeping the mess down...