ducklings and water question

[Keene's coop]

my pekin was born 2 days ago. i put in there with her/him the bottom part of a plant pot with water, about 2 inches deep. is it ok to keep it in with her/him over night or should i take it out so she can dry out before the next day of swimming. she/he is in and out of it all day long. she/he absolutely loves it. what should i do

 

[kuntrygirl]

You can leave it in but make sure that it is not too deep, so that she doesnt drown. You can place some marbles in it to ensure that she will be ok. I sometimes recycle the cans that my cat's canned food comes in. I put marbles in it and I fill it with water. The cans are about 1 1/2 inches tall. I haven't had any problems at all.

 

[Amiga]

I'm not sure from your post if this is the only water in with the duckling. They need drinking water 24/7 for the first several weeks. Just wanted to mention that.

Enjoy!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Yes, I know they need water 24/7. I'm trying to give the OP an example of how to use the marbles so that the duckling does not drown. The OP mentioned that she has ONE duckling that was born 2 days ago. From the experience that I have had having ONE duckling (that young) in a brooder, this is what I use. I have raised several hundred ducklings over the years (40 - 65 muscovy ducks every year), and this is the set up that I use. None of them have died from not having enough water.

As the ducklings get older and are able to have a deeper dish in with them that is "safe", then that is when the waterers are changed. I have read many posts on BYC where people have lost new born ducklings due to drowning because the water dishes that they used were too deep.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate you mentioning that.

Please feel free to post a pic of how you setup the waterers for your new born ducklings. I would love to see it and the OP could possibly get another idea as well.

 

[TLWR]

Amiga, I'm pretty sure, was addressing the OP. It was mentioned pulling this dish of water out at night and if that is the only water provided, that means no water overnight for the duckling, so Amiga was just reminding that ducklings need water for drinking 24/7 for a while.
Pretty sure she wasn't responding to your post at all by mentioning 24/7 water.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
No problem.

 

[Amiga]

Hi, kuntrygirl, I was responding to the original post - your idea looks great, by the way.

For new ducklings, I used some quart sized chick waterers. For swims, I put a cake pan with almost a couple of inches of warm water in the brooder for the first time or three, then we went to the bathtub for water just up to their bellies.

The main challenge was catching splash, so I had a few different setups as their water needs increased.

Here's the broiler pan version:

Then there was the on-top-of-a-butter-tub-in-the-large-salad-bowl version

And the most successful to date, the straight-sided-pot-in-the-dog-crate-bottom-with-sawdust version

(note - this last one is for adult ducks)