Best Waterer For Ducks?

[LapisLazuli]

Hello, I have been using a 5 gallon bucket with holes cut in it, this design was suppose to block the water from getting on their bedding but they still manage to get water everywhere. I would like some ideas of better waterers for ducks.

 

[LapisLazuli]

@Isaac 0
@Magnolia Ducks
@Miss Lydia
@Mimi13
@416bigbore

 

[416bigbore]

Hello, I have been using a 5 gallon bucket with holes cut in it, this design was suppose to block the water from getting on their bedding but they still manage to get water everywhere. I would like some ideas of better waterers for ducks.

In all honesty if there is a better method out there in duck land, I sure don't know of it. You will just need to keep their water and food away from their bedding. They love to make a mess and seem very happy doing so in the process.

 

[Mimi13]

How old are your ducks right now? Their age will make a difference. I used several different setups depending on their age/stage and whether they were inside or outside. Let me know and I’ll show you what I used.

 

[LapisLazuli]

They are approximately 19 weeks I have been using this watereing setup since they moved outside. In the brooder I used plastic milk jugs with holes cut in them so pretty similar to what they have now.

 

[AgnesGray]

This is what I have been using along with rubber stall bowls. https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/...er-for-ducks-geese?criteria=waterfowl+waterer They, of course, make a huge mess.

The key for me was finding the right bedding. We tried shavings, straw, sand, and pea gravel and in our weather/environment have finally settled on wood chips from our local arborist because they are, for us, the right balance between absorption powers and draining capabilities.

 

[LapisLazuli]

Wouldn't the wood chips hurt their feet? I'm using hay for their bedding right now. I have been doing research on better options and the best I found are the shavings.

 

[AgnesGray]

Wouldn't the wood chips hurt their feet? I'm using hay for their bedding right now. I have been doing research on better options and the best I found are the shavings.

I worried about that at first, but they actually love foraging in them for bugs from the wood and we haven't had any foot issues. I tried it when I saw it repeatedly recommended here and have been glad we did. I will say that it may not work as well in a dryer or otherwise different environment, but it does well for us.

 

[Mimi13]

They are approximately 19 weeks I have been using this watereing setup since they moved outside. In the brooder I used plastic milk jugs with holes cut in them so pretty similar to what they have now.

Got cha! They are practically grown now.

I love the waterer @AgnesGray posted from Premier 1, and I think I’ll probably still buy one. But what I actually did for my ducks once they were outside is shown in this post. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-love-affair-with-ducks.1357054/post-22721497

I like it but it still holds too much water. If ducks use the same water for only two days, that water is STANKING. That is southern for “it really stinks.” Anyway, a smaller container that they can only get the heads in is all you need, simply because it will HAVE to be changed every day or two.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have one of those float type automatic cut off things in a long trough (actually, a piece of plastic gutter, with the end caps on it. When it gets dirty, I pick it up (its pinched in place, but not screwed in place and wash it out, then put it back. It sits on some broken concrete.

I also have an automatic dog watering bowl, also attached to a hose. It hase to be emptied every day to get the sand/dirt out of the bottom, and allowed to refill.

Both hoses are attached, eventually, to a 275 gal tote with gets rain water viaa gutter on the side of my barn.