I have 2 Pekin ducks and as you may all know it's already Summer! I have their little pool and change it every three days. I was wondering if it's okay for them to drink their own "waste" from the pool It sounds nasty but my ducks do it everytime they get thirsty yuk! They have their fresh water but decide to drink from the biggest "supplier" Also, since it hit summer they start getting hot, obviously, and when they rest they breathe heavily, like huffing Is there any way to keep them refreshed or up n running so they don't sleep all day?! Any help is greatly appreciated thanks!!
That's what they do...and when it's hot let them be, you don't want them to drop dead. I know it's been in the 100s down there, they need a shady place and plenty of water.
Plus their poor hot bodies cant cool down because you only change the water every 3 days. You need to wait untill about 4pm then stick your hand in there to feel how hot the water is. That is why your ducks are panting because they cant cool down in HOT water!!! If you dont want to fill their pool up every day then go to a dollar store and buy 2 bowls so they can get in and cool down before they die of heat stroke. How would you like to be up and running in this heat!!!
My ducks drink from their pool all day long and they dont seem to mind. I do change the pool water every morning though. My pekins would be in and out of the pool from sun up to sun down and by the end of the day you couldnt see the bottom of the pool.
How big is your little pool? If it is the small kiddie pool, then it should probably be changed more often - do they typically use it a lot when it isn't surface of the sun hot out? I know last summer, my little pool was 100 degrees. Like jumping in a hot tub without bubbles! Now with their large pond, their water is getting warm, but still much cooler than the air. Plus they get a fresh bin of water as well to play in. Make sure they have shade. My 2 are out running around, then run to their tub to rinse their face and then hop in the pond for a bit and then back out to clean themselves up and back on the hunt for bugs again. Every now and then, they take a break and hop a squat under a tree and rest in the shade.
I change ducky pools a couple of times a day and I bought 2 mister systems for them. Drinking their own waste can lead to a couple of different diseases, but I know it's so hard to keep their water completely clean. First thing they want to do in nice, clean water is poop.
We throw ice cubes into the pool to cool it off during the heat of the day if it is still "clean" I also get the hose out and turn on the mist setting. I sit in the grass and hold the hose out...the ducks come RUNNING over and dance around in the water. It is the cutest thing ever. Free entertainment. Sounds like you need to cool off the water or change it out more often.
i have 2 bowls that holds 2 buckets of water each and a little pool of 4 buckets. i keep them under the trees and i change them 3-4 times a day, but until 3 days ago i had 70 ducks tho (i have 44 left now).
Hey thank you all for your replies!! Reason why I change the pool every 3 days is because it doesn't get as dirty the first day for I change it every night/morning, the 2nd day is when it STARTS to get dirty and the third day in the morning I empty it out and change it.seems to me They LOVE puddles more than the pool but I do keep their water fresh. They have their drinking water clean almost every 10 minutes because it gets so hot. I add ice cubes to their drinking water but not the pool, I heard from someone to get a liter soda bottle and fill it up with water, freeze it and put it in the pool. My landlord has ducks himself but keeps them very dehydrated under the sun it's so heartbreaking He says they dont need a pool therefore he's against my pool. I had the 18" deep kid pool and he said NO so I dropped it down to the tiny kiddy pool. He's against me changing their water AT ALL but I still do, even if it's once every 3 days. Sometimes the drake goes to a little tub I have filled with water, but my girl chooses the pool.
