do my two runner ducks need water and food in there coop

[joeys60]

Hi as above to my two runner ducks need food and water in there coop they free range all day and have share the chickens feeder and i give corn in the afternoon do they need it at night they put them selfs in there coop at dusk

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have never given my ducks food and water over night, they are too messy,

 

[joeys60]

Thanks for the reply i think ill keep it out the coop and just let them out early in the morrning to get in

 

[crj]

Learned my lesson. I leave the water outside for sure. If it rains I do put the food in the coop but I leave the door open so the ducks can come and go. No more mess.

 

[Amiga]

A couple of guidelines I have found helpful are that ducks must have water if there is food available so they don't choke (it can happen), and they can go without water for 8 hours or so with no problems unless it is really warm.

I avoided the mess issue by having, attached to their house, a hardware cloth covered veranda with a sand and sawdust floor where they have water all the time. I take the food away overnight to reduce predator attraction.

This winter, because the ducks aren't doing real well with below freezing, they are in the walk-out basement overnight. I have water for them in that area, but it sits in the bottom half of a large plastic dog crate - it catches all the water. I put sawdust pellets in the bottom of the crate to absorb splash. I empty it every few days. But this is just temporary, till we figure out a better long term winter solution. It's not bad, though. No ugly smell, no water on the floor (I put sawdust down around the crate just in case).

 

[WizChick]

My two runners sleep in a dog kennel at night. No room for food or water. I let them out when I go to work (6:45am) or when the sun comes up, whichever is later. They seem just fine without for the night and my hen leaves me an egg just about every morning.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I know they can make a mess...But I always have food and water for mine. I know I get thirsty during the night- and need a drink. So I provide my birds the same comfort. I use a small bucket inside a larger container to catch drips for inside the sheds in the night pens. I only fill it half way in winter- and to the top in summer. Its always empty in the morning - and no mad rush to the water containers when I let them out. They can actually produce a lot of body heat- and especially if they are in a small area with no ventilation in summer they should have some water.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i lock mine in a coop/playhouse at night and don't put in food or water, due to space constraints. They seem fine in the morning when i let them out. No one rushes to the feeder or waterer. Although i've been meaning to completely hardware cloth the kennel surrounding their playhouse so they can sleep outside at night (as half of them seem to want to), and when i do that to make that area predator proof, they will be able to access food and water all night, which is probably better. This area is right on our back porch. They have another protected run during the day where we have their pond, but i feel safer having them sleeping right outside our back door.

Edited to add, i just reread and see you only have two ducks. For two ducks, i would put food and water in their coop, that won't be too messy. If you have a dozen or more, it will be super mucky to give them food and water inside their sleeping coop.

 

[Aria]

Our Call Ducks: Water outside Food inside. Never together. In ...in the Evening out in the AM. They loved to SWIM in the Pond. Other than Winter...they were free Range. In the Winter they would love the POND.

They would lay in the Sun if and when Sun was available. The Cold did not bother them. We did shovel a path to the Barn. They did not like the snow on their feet. In the Barn we used Hay on the floor and kept adding clean hay as needed. Twice a year we would use the
hay for mulch and lay new clean hay.


They went in and out of the Pond. Door left closed to the Barn. We needed to drive them in...in the Evening. We find tending for our Chickens is easier.