Duckling Electrolyte Water

[raggiedoll88]

Hi everybody!

I'm excited to say that I'm officially a proud mama to six adorable ducklings who arrived in Connecticut today after being shipped on Tuesday morning from Metzer Farms in California! I've been dreaming of this for years + today my dreams finally came true!

I had bought the Sav-a-Chick electrolyte & probiotic pouches to give them a good start after their stressful journey home -- it says to mix one pouch into a gallon of water so I did that as soon as I got them home & they've been drinking it all day (from about 11am when I put them in their brooder). I also offered them fresh water in two different quart mason jar waterers because I had heard that you should always offer fresh, plain water in addition to water with additives like electrolytes in it.

The gallon of electrolyte/probiotic water is only about halfway empty now. I'm wondering how long I can keep it available to them before dumping it out & mixing up a new one.

They pretty much immediately got it mucky from mixing their feed in with their water, as they also did with their plain waterers. As I'm sure you know (and I'm rapidly learning firsthand), ducks are messy, loveable little water magnets. I know there's no way to keep their drinking water "clean" for more than a few minutes, and I'm pretty sure there's no poo in the water since it would be hard for them to be able to go potty in their waterer (although never say never, I wouldn't put anything past these girls!) If there was obvious feces in the water I'd definitely want to clean it out but I'm pretty sure it's just murky because of the crumbles they've mixed into it.

I emptied out the two quart waterers & refilled them with fresh water when I changed their bedding & cleaned their brooder for the night, but wasn't sure if I could let them drink from the large gallon of electrolyte/probiotic water until tomorrow morning since I had just filled it at 11am.

How long can you go between refilling your waterers? Is it better to refill them every 12 hours rather than every 24 hours because of how messy they make them?

I'm not opposed to mixing up a half gallon at a time and refilling the waterer twice as often (or more if that's suggested)... I just don't know what to do in this situation since there's still so much water left & I don't want to throw it out if I don't have to. I have plenty of electrolyte/probiotic packets left so I'm not worried about running out of them, and I want to use them for at least a few days since the trip was stressful for them (especially my teensy little Welsh Harlequin who could barely stand or walk without falling on her face when she first arrived -- she perked up within an hour of drinking the electrolyte solution & is running around like the rest of them now, thank goodness!)

Anyway, just wondering how often you suggest changing the water for ducklings & if you'd suggest mixing up a half gallon at a time rather than a whole gallon in the future. I appreciate any + all advice! Thank you!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Congratulations!!
I add electrolytes to the water for the first couple days, then it is fresh water.
Three weeks ago, I got my first batch of ducklings. I refill the waterer about every 12 hours: I refill in the morning at 5am when I get up, then when I return home around 4-5pm, and I make sure there is plenty of water to last the night.
A side note, I finally bought a brooder plate and it is working amazingly! I’m not sure if their water needs to be replaced more often with a heat lamp since they will be warmer.

 

[KaleIAm]

I'd love to see photos of your babies.

For my ducklings I gave them fresh water every couple hours, all day, for weeks. I might have been a bit excessive. I did leave it overnight. I used the, "cut a hole in the top of a tuberware," method. So that my ducklings could stick their heads in, but not get wet. So there wasn't much water in there to begin with, just a couple cups worth.

Now that they are grown my adult ducks get fresh water buckets three times daily.

I would likely change out their electrolyte water more frequently, or mix it up, keep it in the fridge, and give them smaller batches. I do like an abundance of caution as my ducks are very precious to me.

 

[raggiedoll88]

Congratulations!!
I add electrolytes to the water for the first couple days, then it is fresh water.
Three weeks ago, I got my first batch of ducklings. I refill the waterer about every 12 hours: I refill in the morning at 5am when I get up, then when I return home around 4-5pm, and I make sure there is plenty of water to last the night.
A side note, I finally bought a brooder plate and it is working amazingly! I’m not sure if their water needs to be replaced more often with a heat lamp since they will be warmer.

Thanks!! I definitely think I'm going to make smaller batches and refill more frequently... I did a half gallon today and they still only drank about half of it (they have 2 fresh water sources too so I think that's probably why they aren't drinking as much of the electrolyte water). And I'm actually using a brooder plate too -- it's working out wonderfully!!

 

[raggiedoll88]

I'd love to see photos of your babies.

For my ducklings I gave them fresh water every couple hours, all day, for weeks. I might have been a bit excessive. I did leave it overnight. I used the, "cut a hole in the top of a tuberware," method. So that my ducklings could stick their heads in, but not get wet. So there wasn't much water in there to begin with, just a couple cups worth.

Now that they are grown my adult ducks get fresh water buckets three times daily.

I would likely change out their electrolyte water more frequently, or mix it up, keep it in the fridge, and give them smaller batches. I do like an abundance of caution as my ducks are very precious to me.

That's a great idea -- I think I'll mix it up and then save it in the fridge. Today I did a half gallon instead of whole gallon and they still only drank half of it. I'd rather not waste their "special water" if I don't need to

And oh my gosh, I feel the same way -- I swear I'm a crazy duck mama already! My husband thinks I'm a bit excessive with them -- I've been recording their weights to check how much they're growing each day & he just told his eyes at me -- but I'm enjoying them so much & want the best for them. So maybe I'm going a little overboard but they're my precious babies & that's my prerogative

I've never posted a photo on here before but I'll try to figure it out now it's hard to get a good one because they zoom around so quickly!

 

[KaleIAm]

That's a great idea -- I think I'll mix it up and then save it in the fridge. Today I did a half gallon instead of whole gallon and they still only drank half of it. I'd rather not waste their "special water" if I don't need to

And oh my gosh, I feel the same way -- I swear I'm a crazy duck mama already! My husband thinks I'm a bit excessive with them -- I've been recording their weights to check how much they're growing each day & he just told his eyes at me -- but I'm enjoying them so much & want the best for them. So maybe I'm going a little overboard but they're my precious babies & that's my prerogative

I've never posted a photo on here before but I'll try to figure it out now it's hard to get a good one because they zoom around so quickly!

They are adorable!

 

[raggiedoll88]

They are adorable!

Thank you!! I'm quite smitten with them!