can i leave three week old ducks without water overnight?

[Wifezilla]

You can use a rabbit waterer for overnight. Then give them their dish in the mornings.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Nope, they need waster constantly.

 

[Brickman House]

I'll be the lone voice of dissent and say YES. Not because I think so, but because Dave Holderread thinks so, and he's forgotten more about ducks than I'll ever know.

His Storey's guide says that, if you're not trying to maximize growth in a short period of time for meat purposes, you can start leaving ducklings without food or water overnight after a few weeks.

 

[crazy cat lady]

I make sure my babies have water before I go to bed at night. By the time I get up in the morning their waterer is bone dry like I never gave them water the night before.

 

[headred]

I raise the water on a brick. Has worked for 7 weeks so far. They only occasionally knock it over, but they need water. Good luck!

 

[farmertank]

I agree with Brickman House After they are a few weeks old, I take the water out just before bed and I put it back in when I wake up. I have never had a problem. Just make sure they can get away from the heat so they don't get too hot. This could cause them to dehydrate. When I first put mine out side I take their water away at night so they don't get wet and get stuck outside the heat from the heat lamp. They can take chill so easy.

Either way is up to you I wish you luck and would love to see pics of these little ones

Julie

 

[Kats]

Quote:
I'm sure you are right. Even before 4 weeks, I have their water outside the duck barn in a separate cage, outdoors. Holderread has what I think he calls a "verandah" attached to his brooders where he puts the waterers.

I don't see why we should be total slaves to the livestock.

 

[cyanne]

I am pretty new to ducks, but I have had no problems so far with leaving mine without water overnight. I currently have 3 adult ducks which sleep in a dog crate at night with food but no water and they've slept that way since they were about a month old with no issues. I also have 7 babies right now that are various ages and they sleep in a crate in the chicken coop at night with no food or water.

I tried putting water in with the babies in the coop, but they would without fail slosh it all out into the shavings of the coop. After cleaning up shavings that were soaked, stinky, and teeming with maggots at one point (EWWWWW! but the chickens LOVED it) I decided the ducklings could sleep without water. Figured it wasn't like they were drinking much anyway since they usually had all of the water dumped out within 5 minutes.

I like the idea of having a duck brooder with a 'drinking veranda', though. I might build something of this sort for future batches of ducklings. Maybe a solid-floored brooder with a section of wire floor where I could put the waterers and let the mess fall through...or maybe just a wire-floored brooder with a smaller sleeping spot with a solid floor. Hmmm....

 

[peachick]

Wow Im surprised how many of you said to keep the water available.

They will be FINE! Make life easy on yourself..... if they have water available all day. they do not need it all night too. Unless they are beeing cooked by a heat lamp they wont dehydrate in 8 hours. sheesh