access to water question

[HSerChickLady]

Thanks everyone. We'll be getting some rubber pans, and some dish pans from the dollar store, and seeing what we can rig up for a pool with a de-icer for winter time. I wonder why this wasn't mentioned in any of the books i read? Not a big deal but important none the less. The books just said they needed constant access to water and that a pool was optional. I assumed a poultry waterer was sufficient. Glad i asked to be sure.

I don't thinka bucket with deicer in it will work for our guys. The Mallards will be too short to reach. So we'll have to do things that are short for them. Probably a large, rubber dish or another large container like that that doesn't have sides too high. I'll just have to wait and see what i can find when i go duck supplies shopping.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Thanks everyone. We'll be getting some rubber pans, and some dish pans from the dollar store, and seeing what we can rig up for a pool with a de-icer for winter time. I wonder why this wasn't mentioned in any of the books i read? Not a big deal but important none the less. The books just said they needed constant access to water and that a pool was optional. I assumed a poultry waterer was sufficient. Glad i asked to be sure.

I don't thinka bucket with deicer in it will work for our guys. The Mallards will be too short to reach. So we'll have to do things that are short for them. Probably a large, rubber dish or another large container like that that doesn't have sides too high. I'll just have to wait and see what i can find when i go duck supplies shopping.

I use large sized heated water bowls for my breeding pairs of Runners and Magpies on the coldest days. It is definately deep enough for them to clean their nostrils. If you have a lot of ducks you will need to replace the water more than once a day.

 

[HSerChickLady]

Like the heated dog bowls? I've got 10 ducklings coming, 6 are Mallards, 2 are Cayuga, and 2 are Blue Swedish. I'll be filling their bowls mornings and will check them again at least once in the afternoons. Night they'll have no food or water to keep the coop clean.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Yup, just the regular off-the-shelf heated dog bowls. You may need at least a couple for a crew like that. My neighbor has a flock of six Welsh Harlequin and only one bowl and tell me they change the water once a day, but they also have a pool open for the ducks for part of the day.
I wonder if your Mallards would try swimming in those bowls though? I never had a problem with that but none of my ducks are bantam sized.
You might consider using one of those heated buckets and providing a way for the small guys to climb up to it, and also to get out, like put a rock inside. They will mess in the bucket but ducks are completely biologically geared to ingest that yuck. With a large bucket you wouldn't need to worry so much about them running out of water.
A lot of people use no heated water containers for their ducks even in very cold winters. The ducks stick their heads in the water so often it doesn't have much chance to freeze. Those rubber buckets and tubs will usually work fine. I was using some old metal pots for my smaller breeding pairs and their water did freeze quickly so when I saw the dog bowls on sale I nabbed them.

 

[gardendufus]

Quote:

Hey guys, It is NOT necessary to "suck" on one end of the hose. It is only necessary to get the air out of the hose you want to siphon with. I do this all the time by taking a second hose (these are both garden hoses) attached to a faucet, putting both under water in the pool, turning on the water and placing the ends together (under water) until the siphon hose is running water out the other end. Make sure you put a weight on the end of the siphon hose (I use a rock or a brick) so it stays at the bottom of the pool so as not to get any air into it until the pool is as drained as a garden hose can get it. Then it's fairly easy to upend the pool to drain the rest.

Not to mention sucking on the hose exposes you to whatever bacteria, etc. is in the pool water. I agree, YUCK!!

 

[HSerChickLady]

Yup, just the regular off-the-shelf heated dog bowls. You may need at least a couple for a crew like that. My neighbor has a flock of six Welsh Harlequin and only one bowl and tell me they change the water once a day, but they also have a pool open for the ducks for part of the day.
I wonder if your Mallards would try swimming in those bowls though? I never had a problem with that but none of my ducks are bantam sized.
You might consider using one of those heated buckets and providing a way for the small guys to climb up to it, and also to get out, like put a rock inside. They will mess in the bucket but ducks are completely biologically geared to ingest that yuck. With a large bucket you wouldn't need to worry so much about them running out of water.
A lot of people use no heated water containers for their ducks even in very cold winters. The ducks stick their heads in the water so often it doesn't have much chance to freeze. Those rubber buckets and tubs will usually work fine. I was using some old metal pots for my smaller breeding pairs and their water did freeze quickly so when I saw the dog bowls on sale I nabbed them.

My mom works at TSC and said they have small galvanized wash tubs that i could fit a small de-icer in. I'm going to look at them next time i'm at the store. I'm also going to see if Petco has any of the dog bowls on clearance since winter is almost over-i'd like one for the dog in the barn anyhow. I'll snoop to see what other ideas i can come up with. You guys have given me some good one's to look for.

 

[Rosepath Garden]

The syphone I use is from amazon.com for like $9.
It works with a marble in a short metal tube attached to a four ft hose.
You shake the marble end in the water till it flows out the hose.
As long as the end of your hose is lower than the bottom of the pool it works great.

 

[ChristineR]

That's a good idea. Wouldn't it work to just attach two hoses together, turn them on and when the water is flowing through both, put the spot where they connect under water and unscrew them?

Hey guys, It is NOT necessary to "suck" on one end of the hose. It is only necessary to get the air out of the hose you want to siphon with. I do this all the time by taking a second hose (these are both garden hoses) attached to a faucet, putting both under water in the pool, turning on the water and placing the ends together (under water) until the siphon hose is running water out the other end. Make sure you put a weight on the end of the siphon hose (I use a rock or a brick) so it stays at the bottom of the pool so as not to get any air into it until the pool is as drained as a garden hose can get it. Then it's fairly easy to upend the pool to drain the rest.

Not to mention sucking on the hose exposes you to whatever bacteria, etc. is in the pool water. I agree, YUCK!!

 

[Dances with Ducks]

That's a good idea. Wouldn't it work to just attach two hoses together, turn them on and when the water is flowing through both, put the spot where they connect under water and unscrew them?

That's exactly what I do now, it does work. Its just thaat hate sticking my hands in that cold poopy water, or even when the water's not so cold its still a hassle compared to what I hoped a siphon would do. I think I will try the siphon from Amazon that Rosepath uses, that's a good price and maybe I can get connectors at the hardware store to attach it to a longer hose.