Ducks, bedding and water

[foothillsco]

Hi there,

I have 2 khaki campbells in a small crate. The ducks are about 2 weeks old. The crate is 2x3 ft and 2 ft high. When I got the ducks, I put a small dish with water in and they sat in it, splashed it out, and drank some of it.

So I replaced the dish with a gravity fed waterer (made up word?). The waterer holds about 2 qts. The ducks have emptied it 2x today and the 2 or 3" of bedding is soaking wet again.

I know ducks shouldn't be standing on a wet floor. What should I do?




This picture was taken before I replaced the dish. I also put the lid on one side of the crate so they can get out of the light if they want.

 

[Going Quackers]

aw, so sweet! and not to worry a typical problem with duckies.. they adore water and turn everything into a bathing spot, plus that means in the case of brooding.. soaked housing!

Here in this link has an alternative waterer solutions.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

Hopefully, that helps! they look super cute and

 

[Amiga]

Yes, the water management was probably the biggest challenge for me, and that seems to be just about everyone's experience the first time.

I used splash catchers. I now have - for my adults because it took me that long to sort it out - a watering station that works wonders.




It's the bottom of a large plastic dog crate. The straight-sided pot keeps them from dumping it. The bottom has sawdust pellets to absorb water. For ducklings, I would cover the pellets with a towel to keep them from eating the pellets (not all do, mine would), and use the chick waterer - the gravity-feed kind that you have - instead of a pot. And of course yours would not need to be this large - I have thirteen ducks.

 

[Billy-jean]

I used a solid low ceramic water dish,,and placed it on top of a screened/wired/caged area,,larger than the dish,,that drained into a pan beneath it..never got anything else wet..was great!the ducklings would go up a little ramp to get to the water,,but made for less cleaning !

 

[Carcajou]

and X2 to both of the above. I kept my ducklings in a portable house with hardware cloth on the bottom and hung the poultry waterer in one corner. For the most part the mess was confined there as the water could seep out of the coop and onto the garage floor. The house then doubled as an outdoor coop which I could move around the yard (along with portable fencing) until they were big enough to be introduced to the adult duck housing area.

 

[Billy-jean]

This is getting me very excited to have my call ducklings this spring!!

 

[Dwen]

One note on gravity waterers, I have found that you have to watch where the hole is when you set it down. If it isn't level, the thing self empties.


-Dwen

 

[Going Quackers]

One note on gravity waterers, I have found that you have to watch where the hole is when you set it down. If it isn't level, the thing self empties.


-Dwen

and that the lid is screwed on right or SPlash your soaked.

 

[Going Quackers]

and X2 to both of the above. I kept my ducklings in a portable house with hardware cloth on the bottom and hung the poultry waterer in one corner. For the most part the mess was confined there as the water could seep out of the coop and onto the garage floor. The house then doubled as an outdoor coop which I could move around the yard (along with portable fencing) until they were big enough to be introduced to the adult duck housing area.

That is the neatest little thing! very clever.

 

[Dwen]

and that the lid is screwed on right or SPlash your soaked.

Yes, that's happened to me too. Of course it only happens after you've already carried it the 500ft from the faucet to where your chickens are.