i have ckickens and ducks in same coop with deep litter method. the ducks are making a mess with the water , saturating the litter. what is the best way to alleviate this problem?
My chicks and ducks are indoors with their own pens. Yes. ducks are messy........ That's why I have separate pens.
thats great for summer. but what do I do for winter when temps drop to the teens at night. i was hoping someone has an idea of some kind of drip pan under waterer.
Can you divide the coop and put pea gravel under the water pan area and keep the bedding confined to the other side for the most part. Make a little lip about 3 inches tall between the two areas. They will be able to get over it with no trouble at all, and it will keep virtually all of the gravel on its side and most of the bedding on the proper side as well.
ive got a goose in the coop with my chickens and she too makes a mess with the water. ive just given up on deep litter and have started cleaning it out monthly. i think you could try making a stand to hold water with a wire top and pea gravel underneath.
I have the same problem, minus the chickens. I'm just sick of dealing with the marshy mess in their pens. I'm planning to do something very similar to what Denninmi suggests, and I love the suggestion of the slight lip. Only, I'm planning to top the remaining section of the pen with stall mats rather than straw--it will be more expensive up front, but should save me money on bedding in the long run. Good luck!
I have rubber runner mats down from Home Depot. They are textured so no slipping possible. The food and water dish are on a deep lid from a clear rubbermaid tub, but you can also use the ones they have that are 5" deep. Simply park all the dishes in it. That will keep the water contained and it rinses off easily. I use pine shavings for bedding, which I sweep out each morning with the poo. In the evening I simply sprinkle more onto the floor. One bag of shavings goes a long way, since you only need enough to absorb the poo. I plan switching to stall mats so they get insulation from the floor below in winter. It's the same principle. Best I don't need any chemical to cut down on smell or flies. We have so many flies out here that I have fly traps hanging outside. Those flies were here before I had ducks, and yet no flies in the duck house.
I won't keep water in the coop in winter either. I just have multiple small water buckets and rotate a fresh one out there each morning. (I have a heated water bowl I sometimes use as well for the run.)
