Completely new and no idea what we are getting into lol

[foothillsco]

Yes, these are really good.

I was given a sand box that holds water, with a plug in the bottom. It's a little stiffer so I can turn it on it's side easier. It also has sides which make it easier to get in and out. I wouldn't pay $50 for it though. Mine has seats that are underwater and the ducks stand on them.

 

[BooBoo45]

Our ducks have a boat for a pond, it scrubs out nicely and they stand on the 'seat' to preen themselves. My husband made a wooden ramp just to help them get into it, but half the time they just jump in over the side. It's deep enough too for them to do the underwater swimming that some ducks like. It is easy to pick second hand ones off eBay and they last for years and year even with heavy frosts.
.

 

[Going Quackers]

I like troughs alot more durable than kiddy pools but then here i pay was more than 15$ 25$+ is about the average for a decent sized round one. Troughs are more money but do go on sale and last and withstand abuse from big livestock so ducks won't kill them for sure.

Here an example of one of them.. plus they can be heated...

 

[foothillsco]

I like troughs alot more durable than kiddy pools but then here i pay was more than 15$ 25$+ is about the average for a decent sized round one. Troughs are more money but do go on sale and last and withstand abuse from big livestock so ducks won't kill them for sure.

Here an example of one of them.. plus they can be heated...

Their water looks about as clean as my ducks water does. I can't break the habit of not wanting to empty it out and refill it with clean water all the time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Their water looks about as clean as my ducks water does. I can't break the habit of not wanting to empty it out and refill it with clean water all the time.

Same here, mine all got clean water this morning in their pools (3) and I just went and looked my goodness what would the neighbors think.

 

[Djcoak]

Welcome Aboard, Just my two cents, a 5' kiddie pool at about $16 is money well spent. Twice I've used mine as a brooder for the ducklings first few weeks, then it becomes a pool when they are a little bigger. I am keeping an eye on the thrift stores to see if I can find a couple more of them.

i have a 1/3 acre pond. No kiddie pool needed

 

[veronicasmom]

I give the ducks clean pool water only once a day. But I change out the bowls frequently so they can have clean drinking water. I use small rubber feed bowls for drinking (too small to swim in). I also keep a heated dog dish in a larger rubber feed bowl in the shed during the winter to make sure they never are without thawed water. To discourage swimming in it, we have a notched board across the middle, they can dip heads in to drink and wash, but cannot climb in to bathe. Make sure you situate your food a good distance from water so they do not dribble in the pellet dish. They MUST have clean drinking water whenever they have pellets available, or they can choke to death.

I offer a lot of cut up greens in winter,and when the pickings get good outside, I cut back a lot, only giving enough to be considered a treat. I use cabbage, romaine, dandelion greens, chicory, escarole,green pepper etc, for their "salad".

I did not read all the replies, so if I repeated something already offered, sorry. But these are things that I think are very important to mention.

 

[Djcoak]

Some duck pen work today. The barn is a mess from all the work. It is usually never this messy.

We had to do some rework of the bottom cord of the rafters to get the wall all tied in

Building the door

Wife putting chicken wire up

Got the waterer

So I should get the top part of the door and the rest of the wire completed tomm morning. Ducks arrive in the afternoon.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Your new ducks are 9mos old, right? You might need to carefully dip their bills in the waterer just so they know where to find it, since it will likely be new. Should be good, but if your barn is anything like mine, cats, mice, possibly raccoons, etc, I would consider hardware cloth plus chicken wire, or at least a triple or quadruple layer of chicken wire.

 

[Djcoak]

I get it with the predators, calm down, the barn is very tight, raccoon are not going to get into it.