Chicks & Ducks co-mingling

[I dig chicks]

I recently got 6 chicks and 2 ducks. They are all about 2 months old and are living in a fully enclosed run with coop access. The problem I am having is with the ducks being ducks and using all the water in a matter of hours and not leaving any for the chicks to drink (plus they are bigger and thus poop more and are messier in general). I want to eventually let them live cage free (at least during the day). So my question is, at what age can I do that (for the ducks)? Or is there some other way of not letting the ducks use the chicks drinking water that I'm not thinking of? I have your standard plastic poultry waterer, but the ducks still use all of it even after they use all the water in a bowl I have for them. They all get along well, but I need to solve this issue somehow. TIA.

 

[eviemethugh]

We have geese and chicks together and have found a few solutions. If you have openings large enough for the chicks heads, put the water outside where they can reach through to get a drink. Or wrap chicken wire around the watered so there is less opportunity for splashing. When ours were days old our brooder had a nipple system that the geese loved! So we had an alternate water source so the could clean their eyes and nose. Any deep lidded container like a plastic deli potato salad, cut a whole out of the lid to allow them to get their heads in but not their whole body. You can also do this with milk jugs by leaving the lid on and laying them on their side with a whole cut out of the top or side depending on height. Hope that gives you something to start brain storming!

Not sure about the age for ducks!

 

[MountainOrchard]

I'd try nipple waterers. That way you can give the ducks play water to splash and wash in, and still have clean drinking water for everyone. I've never had ducks but all of my chickens took to the waterers pretty quickly.