Drinking a lot!

[kada6305]

I never realized how much my ducklings drank! I have 3 two week old mallards and two khaki Campbell who will be 3 weeks on Monday.they have drank 2 gallons in past few hours! Do all ducks drink this much?! Will they need more as they get older?

 

[EggsnQuackers]

Are they actually drinking it or are they splashing it all over the place? What kind of waterer are you using? Ducks splash like it's their job. The key to ducks is making sure they have enough access to water without allowing too much access to water.

 

[jdywntr]

They don't drink that much. You've got a puddle somewhere.

I have 1 three week old and 10 two week olds and their mom and they don't go through 1 gallon in that time.

 

[Going Quackers]

I have a mama duck and 4 ducklings with a 2Gal waterer and they don't go through that much lol I bet it's wet, i am seeing even my little 1wk olders slopping the water, they don't call them waterfowl for nothing

 

[kada6305]

Well yeah they splash through it too... I guess what I meant is not knowing they would go through that much haha we are using a chic water thing for them right now and they get swimming sessions twice a day.

 

[EggsnQuackers]

Get a different waterer. They're probably trying to swim in that chick waterer unless you've got it up off the ground. With 2-3 week old ducklings I've had luck using one of those reusable plastic tubs lunch meat comes in (the smaller ones) mounted on a block of wood so they can't get in it. As they get older it gets more challenging to come up with waterers they can't get into. There are a lot of creative ideas on this site if you do a search. Good luck! Have fun with your ducks, they are a riot to watch.

 

[kada6305]

Get a different waterer. They're probably trying to swim in that chick waterer unless you've got it up off the ground. With 2-3 week old ducklings I've had luck using one of those reusable plastic tubs lunch meat comes in (the smaller ones) mounted on a block of wood so they can't get in it. As they get older it gets more challenging to come up with waterers they can't get into. There are a lot of creative ideas on this site if you do a search. Good luck! Have fun with your ducks, they are a riot to watch.

yeah I was just using a plastic container with holes cut in the lid for them to fit their heads into but boyfriend had a bright idea to see how long a chick water would last since it was a gallon...LOL so back to my idea....now it stays dry once again. we just use a old pizza pan under it to catch and water that does fly out.

 

[EggsnQuackers]

If you can get the chick waterer up off the ground you might be able to get a few more miles out of it. We have a couple feeders and waterers mounted on wood blocks that we use for ducklings and chicks that are a little older. It seems like keeping them off the ground keeps the poop and bedding out better.
The pizza pan is a great idea. We used pie pans, but same difference. It helps alot.

 

[kada6305]

If you can get the chick waterer up off the ground you might be able to get a few more miles out of it. We have a couple feeders and waterers mounted on wood blocks that we use for ducklings and chicks that are a little older. It seems like keeping them off the ground keeps the poop and bedding out better.
The pizza pan is a great idea. We used pie pans, but same difference. It helps alot.

yeah the mounting wouldnt work with our set up. But we are getting chickens after the ducks go outside so we will get some use out of it

 

[Going Quackers]

Sounds like you have a way to deal with it, common issue, to duck their water is a toy, even my barely 1wk olds are starting that nonsense, sadly were not even close to being warm enough for a bath and no way is mama & babies coming in the house.