Duck mess

[Bpmarmstrong]

My Neighbor gave me 5 2 month old indian runner ducks and i was wondering if they were really messy.

 

[Goat_Walker]

LUCKY!!! Ive never had runners but ducks are messy in general.

 

[Bpmarmstrong]

hmm im not sure what to do they are twice the size as my 3 month old chickens but the get along so im not sure

 

[Up-the-Creek]

Yea my neighbor just gave me 4 now month old pekin ducks. They are VERY messy,..and just wet.

I believe if you are going to have ducks,..you better have somewhere for them to roam free. Not unless you like to clean up big messes. Its a different world from chickies! My kids like them though.

 

[TK Poultry]

its not that they are messy per say but they just string water everywhere causing a mess so i guess you could say there are messy but they are clean them selves and you really need to provide them water you shouldnt be affraid of the mess they are very rewarding!!

 

[newchickmom09]

We had our 2 ducks kind of dropped in our laps and didn't know much about ducks or what to expect. But so far I can say for sure they are messy little things.

Since they need to have there food next to there water to eat they always get the food full of water. So you have to watch that and change it if needed so it doesn't mold. We have a little pool for ours to swim in, they love it. I can empty that pool 4 times a day and it will still be dirty

. I guess the plus side to them making a descusting mess of there pool and having to clean it all the time is the grass is loving it.

It is worth it, they stand there and wait while I clean there pool then once I start filling it they are in there swimming and are in little duck heaven. They really love a clean pool. If you get a routine down with them it makes it a lot easier to keep everything clean and under control.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Yes, ducks are messy especially if you keep them confined. After my first experience with ducklings, I said I'd never do it again. But I did...I have 4 four week olds and this time I did what others suggested and made a waterer from a milk jug and it works great - they can't get in and slop it all over and the water lasts longer. It still gets icky but I have them outside so it's definitely easier. I also feed them pellets instead of crumbles and there is less mess/waste.

 

[rainplace]

You don't have to have the food next to the waterer after 5 days or so. If you look at the pictures of Holderreads brooders, you''ll see that they keep the water "outside" and the feed inside.

http://holderreadfarm.com/photogallery/brooding_facility_page/brooder.htm

Of course most of us won't have quite that nice of a setup, but once I saw that picture I never kept water and feed next to each other again.

 

[froggie71]

We don't keep our duck's water right next to the food either. It is close, by not next to it. Never had a problem They can easily walk over to the water when they need it. I'm always afraid they will get the food wet and it will get moldy under the food dish (which has happened before).

 

[rainplace]

I'm having a mold problem under my outside waterers. It's driving me nuts. It's that white sort of spider webby mold.. gah!