Ducklings arriving next week!

[Dougdilman]

The sink and bath tub works perfect for me

 

[Phillyndilly]

Anyone try anything like these (I’ve attached pics from an image search, I do not own them) diy duckling waterers that I keep seeing all over the internet? They seem popular, but I worry about their necks getting stuck, or them falling in.

That’s basically what we used it was a soda bottle. For the first few weeks we did use a regular chick waterer though. I definitely agree don’t let it be anything they can get their bodies in, but as you know their beak needs to be fully submerged.
Another word of advice is they grow at an insane rate way faster than chicks. We only had three at the time and we needed to switch to two plastic storage tubs joined together within a few weeks.

I also wish I cuddled mine more because they are still so afraid of us. We didn’t give ours the b complex but I definitely would do that with our next batch. They are way less friendly than chickens in my opinion and need a lot more hands on I would google “how to raise friendly ducks.” I remember reading an article once.
If you want them to like a variety of things I would introduce them to a lot of different veggies early on ours are very picky but I’ve heard the more variety you give them early the more they will like.

I would also try to train them with some type of “come”call early on. I’m definitely doing that with our next ones. Like clap or ring a bell or say a certain phrase when you are giving them food or treats that way if there’s a predator or emergency situation and you clap etc they will come to you. I used to scream girlsssss and they would come but I never gave them treats or kept up with it!

 

[Phillyndilly]

See, it sounds kind of gross (though ducks habitually swim in water filled with their own crap), but no one has so much as peed in this thing for probably two or three months. We still flush it every week or so, but no poop, no piss, no chemicals. You could probably drink out of it if you wanted to (I don't).

So, I could let a couple three ducklings swim in it for a bit and once they're fished out to be dried, we could just flush the duck-poo away.

Wow I would be way to terrified it would some how get flushed. I’m one of those people who would keep picturing that the entire time lol.
Ya there’s no way to keep the pools clean you just have to dump it. They like when it’s dirty mine used to drag clumps of mud into it the second we filled it up...

 

[Dougdilman]

How far through the floors and walls would you smash open if you flushed a duckling down the toilet?

 

[Phillyndilly]

How far through the floors and walls would you smash open if you flushed a duckling down the toilet?

I would literally rip the toilet out of the floor with super human hulk strength the second I flushed it hahaha. That’s one way to demo the house!

 

[Dougdilman]

I would literally rip the toilet out of the floor with super human hulk strength the second I flushed it hahaha

Hahaha thats a good answer

 

[Phillyndilly]

Hahaha thats a good answer

I’ll tell you a true story once me and friends were driving this poor woman tried to guide these duckings and mama across the road. Well she lead them over a sewer.. they passed over the sewer grate and guess what- one fell in. He was running along the outer lip and in the center was all open leading allll the way down to the sewer. My friends bf and another guy with all their strength lifted the grate I hopped in no shoes on ( idk why I had no shoes on) scooped him up and he ran back to mama. Thank the lord I did not miss and make him panic and fall because I would’ve had to jump down 5 ft into sewer water lol...

 

[Dougdilman]

I’ll tell you a true story once me and friends were driving this poor woman tried to guide these duckings and mama across the road. Well she lead them over a sewer.. they passed over the sewer grate and guess what- one fell in. He was running along the outer lip and in the center was all open leading allll the way down to the sewer. My friends bf and another guy with all their strength lifted the grate I hopped in no shoes on ( idk why I had no shoes on) scooped him up and he ran back to mama. Thank the lord I did not miss and make him panic and fall because I would’ve had to jump down 5 ft into sewer water lol...

Oh thats awesome you got it! Good stuff !

 

[Phillyndilly]

Oh thats awesome you got it! Good stuff !View attachment 2022488

Yes thank God my heart still races when I think about it...HHahahahah I’m laughing out loud because I was thinking of IT the wholeeeee time I was doing it! How’d you get that photo of me wiggling in there?

 

[DuckyDonna]

Well, to be fair, ducks actually are pretty useful for gardening (natural fertilizer produces plus they eat bugs and slugs) - as long as whatever you're trying to grow is outside their "snarf range."

As far as keeping the pool water clean, maybe someone else here has an idea, but I figure it's mostly a lost cause. Something with an inflow/outflow might work, but standing water that ducks use is basically going to be a toilet. Honestly, I've had the thought that if I ever do get ducklings, I'm going to let them swim in one of our toilets. We almost never use it, so we almost never have to use chemicals/etc to clean it. And any water they get into is going to get used as a toilet anyway.

Gee John, what an absolutely awesome idea! I don't know why nobody has thought of that before!