Better water setup question

[TandN]

Hi. I am new to keeping ducks. We have 2 young ducks, and I am trying to come up with better water access for them. Right now I give them fresh water daily in two square containers large enough to accommodate them both, and they like to sit in them. I wonder if I can buy one larger container at a place like Tractor Supply and put a solar operating submersible filter into it to keep water cleaner longer for them? I don't have access to an electric outlet where the ducks stay and solar would be the only option I can think of. I've seen several on eBay, but not sure how efficient they would be.
Any suggestions?
Thank you!

 

[EverythingDucks]

I havent seen the ones youre talking about but to keep them from getting in it and getting cold you could do this

@Miss Lydia has something like thhis I think but this is only picture I could find on Google.

Also, to keep everything from getting wet you could set up this under the food and water

 

[TandN]

Thank you. These are great ideas! We live in a warm climate with warm winters. So I actually want them to get into the water and enjoy it, but my concern is more with keeping it cleaner longer. We don't have a pond, but I am thinking of making a mini pond from one of those large containers they sell at Tractor Supply and putting a submersible filter in it to keep the water cleaner.

 

[IceHax]

For my geese and ducks I just use a 4 x 4 feet pool by Intex. It’s about 1.5 feet tall and they can get in and out easily. Obv no filter, but they don’t really care, it’s not like a pond would stay clean for long either, I change the water every so often (once every 2 weeks or so) and they seem to enjoy it nonetheless. The ducks actually love to eat the algae that forms on the bottom so they help keeping it clean for longer.

 

[IceHax]

And as for the geese they love to swim and it also helps them mate more efficiently (hard due to their size out of the water)

 

[SegiDream]

Ducks produce a ton of waste and in my experience solar powered pumps are weak unless you spend big bucks for a really good one. I keep fish in naturalistic aquariums and small ponds. I have had ducks too but never tried the two together. Generally in the fish world a big waste producer needs a large water volume, large filter, beneficial bacteria (and bog plants help too!)

I think at least with a bigger container you will still do water changes but less frequently. I think bog plants would help more than a weak solar powered filter. You might also look at pond liners and digging your own shaped pond area so there is a gradual slope for your ducks.

The more naturalistic and bigger the pond with a small number of ducks the less water maintenance you would need to do. Something like that would be an expensive upstart and no guarantees how successful it would be, like if you put a lot of money and work into it but the water volume is too small it would lose all the benefits of such an attempt.

Check out this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ater-clean-with-minimal-to-no-effort.1118478/

 

[TandN]

Great ideas. Thank you all!