Did I buy the wrong kind of pea gravel?

[Moochie]

Storey's ducky book said to put pea gravel in the stinky mud places. I put one whole bag of pea pebbles (it's what home depot sells) where my ducks' waterer is. I did that in the afternoon and when I checked the place out around 4 the pebbles were... Well, most of it seemed to vanish. It looks like it went into the ground. So there's stinky mud again.
I don't know much about this stuff, can someone help me out? Home depot had different sizes of gravel but I looked for the one that had something to do with peas. I'm really hoping none of the ducks ate some of the pebbles aswell, when I was putting it down my drake Romeo kept coming over trying to nibble at the stones so I chased him away with the hose until he stayed away. I don't know if ducks are supposed to eat rocks but I kept them away just in case.
I really need to get rid the stinky mud around their food and water. A boy I know from school says that whenever he rides his bike past our house he can smell the mud sometimes. I can too. I don't want my ducks taken away just because of that, they have alot of room but it gets hot here and the flies swarm around that one puddle of stinky mud.



So any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gottsegnet]

I guess some questions: how much space do they have? Can you move their food and water to different locations? And what kind of a waterer do you use?

I water my poultry with those big plastic self waterers. I have it up on a concrete block so that the ducks and geese can't splash quite so much. They're still messier than chickens, but it helps a lot. I just have hay down in their run and I don't rake it out often enough, but there is no mud problem and no flies.

I don't give them a pool to play in all the time. Once a week, I take it out to some spot of the lawn that needs water and fill it up and let them play and splash. When it is icky, I dump it out and they go another week without a pool.

I do have an old refrigerator drawer filled with water I keep by the barn for the dogs and the ducks have found it is just big enough for one of them to fit in at a time, so they still get to swish around here and there in between, but not in the henhouse or anywhere that I have them penned.

But then I also am on five acres and free range most of most days so that helps.

 

[mandelyn]

Yes, the gravel sinks. You need to make a platform using treated lumber, allowing for 3 ft all around where the waterer is. Use 2x4 or 1x6 lumber. Lay down landscape fabric, then fill with pea gravel up to the height of the boards. Set the waterer on top.

We did our whole run this way, and it took about 2 tons of gravel to fill it. To do a 3x3 ft area with 4 inch sides, you're looking at about 8 bags.

Around that platform, sprinkle DE, liberally. "Sweet PDZ" is another option. Or spray the heck out of it with "Natures cure". Then put pine shavings over that, and keep the pine shavings fresh. Stinky mud gone!

You need more gravel than you think, it doesn't go far. Sort of like mulch... you think 6 bags will do it, but then you have to go back for a couple more. One bag... not going to do it. You need enough to thoroughly cover the mud, and elevate the waterer to provide drainage. If it isn't deep, the ducks will dig down to the mud. That's why you put the landscape fabric down, they can dig all they like and find nothing, and the gravel won't sink.

Before you build the platform, if it's as stinky as you say, remove the ducks, get a hose attachment for spraying things mixed with water, add bleach to that, and spray it onto the mud. Then build. That way you've removed the stink instead of covering up the source. Don't put the ducks back in until you've got it covered with the gravel and aired out.

 

[Mr Andersson]

Use the heavy duty "pro" grade landscape fabric. Not the cheap stuff, that you can tear with your hands.
good luck