Ducks ignoring New Feeder + Waterer

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Greetings All, my deep and sincere thanks to the info I've found on this site. Been looking around for awhile. I apologize if this issue has already been addressed, I have not found the answer so far. I have 2 Rouen Ducks, 2 Pekin Ducks, 1 Khaki Campbell Duck and 1 Khaki Campbell Drake. All 15 weeks old, got from TSC. Everything healthy and fine except a week or so ago I switched them to a 5 gallon bucket vaccuum waterer and a 5 gallon bucket feeder (as I saw detailed on YouTube).

The problem is, the Ladies (&Drake) just don't seem like they like the new feeder and waterers. I can tell that they definitely seem to be creatures of habit, that they need time to adjust to change. BTW, fwiw, my neighbor, who is an experienced poultry keeper, evaluated my equipment, said it worked great and she loved it. What does this community think? Thanks for the input.

 

[Amiga]

Hi!

Just some thoughts:

15 weeks old, they are pretty good sized, now. Seems to me that vacuum waterers have shallow reservoirs where the ducks drink from. My ducks seem to do much better when they can stick their bills all the way into the water.

Also, my ducks seem to like their feed to be at least two inches deep. They get more per mouthful with an open tray.

Do your ducks have a swim pan or pool?

Do you have both old and new feeding and watering containers available to them?

Are you working to reduce splash or waste?

 

[Miss Lydia]

AND

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Thanks Amiga & Miss Lydia. Yes, The Ladies are indeed pretty big now In fact, that was the reason why I had this feed/water issue in the beginning! Short story long, I started out with the standard chick type equipment, and as they grew I could tell that the sizes of their bills were just too big for the equipment. So I tried a variety of containers, none of which they really took to, or held enough water to do the job.

For the feed base, I used a plastic tray that is apps 18" wide and is 1.5" deep. For the water, I recycled a hard plastic lid from a big barrel and that measures 22" wide and the sides are also about 1.5". The design itself is *intended* to minimize the mess. Lol

Yes I did have both old and new equipment out together for 2 weeks. My ducks have a little puddle- pond, lined with pea gravel, that I fill a few times daily with fresh water from the hose, and it drains naturally. They do go in there and splash and drink.

Update: today I went out and noticed that the waterer was much lighter and had dirt and debris in the tray, so that makes me think The Ladies (& Drake) decided to try it out. I was looking over OldGuy's thread about his ducks that wouldn't go in his pond, and I must say, I think I have the same type of super cautious ducks! Thanks again.