Cleanliness

[HayleyCrum]

-How do you guys keep your ducks from pooping all the time in the cage or house?
-What is your routine with food and water?
-How do you keep the water and food from being pooped in and keep it clean?
-I am in the process of building them a house and need ideas on how to prevent there food and water source from being gross?
-I also dont have my ducks on a schedule with there food and water so they basically eat and drink whenever they want, i have recently been taking them out at night and putting both food and water back in in the morning? what should I be doing?

 

[Isadora]

When you say pooping in the house you mean their house, not your house, right? I can't imagine having ducks in the house!
I keep my ducks food and water outside. That will help you greatly with keeping their house clean. My ducks pretty much only use their coop for sleeping in at night and for laying eggs.
As far as feeding them, it's probably a personal preference. I know how much my ducks need to eat in the day based on weight charts and such and that's what I give them.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Keep the feed on the other side of the house. If they're side by side, you'll quickly have a mushy mess. I allow my ducks to eat all day and night. Of course that means they need water at all times too. I only do this because sometimes they're not let out right at sunrise and ducks can become dehydrated fairly quickly. Having water available to ducks means a mess. To help slow the mess a tiny bit, I have a drinker that just fits into one of those black rubber bowls. This keeps them from getting into the bowl and helps contain some of their mess while they drill and putter around in the water. My question is the same as the ever so lovely @Isadora Are they in your house while you build or in their own house?

 

[ruthhope]

I have food and water available 24/7 in my duck coop. It is 8'x4' and currently houses only 3 ducks, but generally houses 4 ducks. I rarely get poop in the food dish; I did have a problem with them occasionally standing on the side of the dish and turning it over, but I created a hollow in the dep layered floor cover, so that the bowl is set partially inside and resolved that issue. I have the water tubs far enough away [4 feet] from the food bowl that they do not take over bills full of food and dump it in the water as they did previously when the water tubs were adjacent to the food. With the food on one side of the coop and the water in the front corner on the other side, I dont get poop in the water and rarely get the water upset [the deep water tubs are also set into the deep layered floor covering. When I peak at night, the three ducks sleep at the far end of the coop from the food and water.

My son also has an 8' x 4' coop of different design. It currently houses 4 ducks. His water tubs like mine set into the deep layer of the floor cover are about 2 feet from the food bowl. His ducks do bring over bills full of crumbles and the bottom of his water tubs are full of "sludge" in the morning when they are emptied. The tubs cannot be topped up because the sludge in the bottom ferments when it is warm. His food bowl is in the center of his coop and it does get pooped in regularly.

I think positioning is important and keeping food and water to the side when most ducky foot traffic is down the center helps. Also, keeping food 4 ft from the water definitely stops the little ones filling their water with food!

My son and I each have muscovies and pekins although I don't think that this is a breed specific issue.

 

[Duckies321]

My coop is a big movable one so dont really have a problem with poop as I move it every few days. For food I have a big feeder where they learn to step on a bit and the lid opens for them to feed out of which stops poo and rain from getting in. Water they have a big bowel to drink from plus a bigger tub to swim in. My ducks usually arent in their cage very often they are more free range ducks but I only have a few just as pets.

 

[KaleIAm]

-How do you guys keep your ducks from pooping all the time in the cage or house?
-What is your routine with food and water?
-How do you keep the water and food from being pooped in and keep it clean?
-I am in the process of building them a house and need ideas on how to prevent there food and water source from being gross?
-I also dont have my ducks on a schedule with there food and water so they basically eat and drink whenever they want, i have recently been taking them out at night and putting both food and water back in in the morning? what should I be doing?

Ducks are just going to poop all the time. I put down a thick layer of bedding (straw, pine shavings, aspen shavings or hemp bedding) inside. We spot clean often and clean out the entire thing when it gets gross. My ducks are outside in their aviary on grass, too. The more space the better.

I give my ducks food and water during the day, outside only. At night they go into their room in the barn with no food or water. I tried to give water at night but it was far too messy. I even tried a drainage system. Everything was soggy.

I give my ducks 2 water buckets that are tall enough they can't get into them. I change the water at least twice daily. More in hot weather. My ducks eat food from sloped dog dishes and very rarely poop in them. They get new food daily (I compost anything uneaten) and I wash the bowls and buckets every night.

I also give my ducks bathing water. They poop and drink from it. They are ducks.

 

[Vicktoria Giuergia]

I have food and water available 24/7 in my duck coop. It is 8'x4' and currently houses only 3 ducks, but generally houses 4 ducks. I rarely get poop in the food dish; I did have a problem with them occasionally standing on the side of the dish and turning it over, but I created a hollow in the dep layered floor cover, so that the bowl is set partially inside and resolved that issue. I have the water tubs far enough away [4 feet] from the food bowl that they do not take over bills full of food and dump it in the water as they did previously when the water tubs were adjacent to the food. With the food on one side of the coop and the water in the front corner on the other side, I dont get poop in the water and rarely get the water upset [the deep water tubs are also set into the deep layered floor covering. When I peak at night, the three ducks sleep at the far end of the coop from the food and water.

My son also has an 8' x 4' coop of different design. It currently houses 4 ducks. His water tubs like mine set into the deep layer of the floor cover are about 2 feet from the food bowl. His ducks do bring over bills full of crumbles and the bottom of his water tubs are full of "sludge" in the morning when they are emptied. The tubs cannot be topped up because the sludge in the bottom ferments when it is warm. His food bowl is in the center of his coop and it does get pooped in regularly.

I think positioning is important and keeping food and water to the side when most ducky foot traffic is down the center helps. Also, keeping food 4 ft from the water definitely stops the little ones filling their water with food!

My son and I each have muscovies and pekins although I don't think that this is a breed specific issue.

I have three different broaders & one "duck" pen. 1) a brand new ducklings basket, 2) is a large cow water trough, 3) the executive broader/the only one w/shavings, & 4) the grown up pen/everyine ends up there eventually. I leave food & water down 24/7 so I am constantly cleaning the feeders & waterers. It's alot of work, but they're worth it.

 

[HayleyCrum]

Ducks are just going to poop all the time. I put down a thick layer of bedding (straw, pine shavings, aspen shavings or hemp bedding) inside. We spot clean often and clean out the entire thing when it gets gross. My ducks are outside in their aviary on grass, too. The more space the better.

I give my ducks food and water during the day, outside only. At night they go into their room in the barn with no food or water. I tried to give water at night but it was far too messy. I even tried a drainage system. Everything was soggy.

I give my ducks 2 water buckets that are tall enough they can't get into them. I change the water at least twice daily. More in hot weather. My ducks eat food from sloped dog dishes and very rarely poop in them. They get new food daily (I compost anything uneaten) and I wash the bowls and buckets every night.

I also give my ducks bathing water. They poop and drink from it. They are ducks.

could you take a picture and post it on this thread so i can look at it and do what you have done?!

 

[ruthhope]

could you take a picture and post it on this thread so i can look at it and do what you have done?!

@HayleyCrum, I posted photos of my duck coop on your other thread. I am on very sandy soil with is a blessing for ducks. The bottom of my duck coop is half inch hardware cloth to keep predators from digging their way in. On top of the hardware cloth, I add layers of deep litter bedding. I have sacks of dried oak leaves stored and I buy pine shavings from Tractor Supply. My first layer on top of the hardware cloth is a deep layer of oak leaves to protect my ducks feet. Then, I add a layer of soft pine shavings. Each day, I scoop out the worst of the wet bedding and gross areas, and add more pine shavings over the top. Periodically, maybe once a week, I add another full layer of oak leaves because I think the leaves let wet drain down but don't let ground damp rise up. Then more pine shavings on top, letting the bedding get deeper and deeper. I started doing this last August. The coop does not smell and the ducks were warm in the winter. I just -- mid May -- raked out the top of the deep litter for the first time. [It didn't need doing as it compresses with ducky feet in and out. and so the depth wasn't a problem. But I had to rearrange the inside to accommodate dogcrates, and took th opportunity to rake out.] I raked out the top 6 or so inches -- leaving a good 2 inch layer of compressed bedding -- onto a tarp and then dragged the tarp to my mulch pile, behind my shed. The tarp was really warm when I emptied the contents onto the mulch pile the next day. It's that heat that keeps the ducks warm in the winter.

 

[KaleIAm]

could you take a picture and post it on this thread so i can look at it and do what you have done?!

Sure. What in particular do you want to see. Everything?