Food & Water Craziness

[brandilly]

I imagine I am barking up the proverbial tree, but here goes nuthin...

I need advice on setting up food and water stations. I have 4 ducks and 1 big goose. I know not to put the food and water too close together. Nor do I have either inside the sleeping house. The food is in a bowl inside the pen, under cover. I have 3 water bowls; essentially large dog water bowls. These are set about 15 feet apart out in the yard, near their swimmy pool. Water bowls and pool are set in a sand pit, which is probably my first problem. Also, this area is about 6 feet off the side of my shop and when I drain my pool or it rains, it creates a muddy area, which THEY love but I know adds to my issues. I can fill all 3 bowls with fresh clean water and in less than an hour there is mud on the bottom and their bowls are 1/2 empty. Nope, they aren't getting IN the bowls. Simply drinking and flinging. It isn't the 'work' of refilling the bowls that concerns me, it's more that I feel like if I'm gone for too long, they won't have enough water. As it stands now, between my husband, myself, and my kids schedules, they are never alone more than a couple of hours and I know they aren't going to die. I just feel bad for them. They are spoiled! The food bowl isn't a real problem, other than crappy weather is about to set in and, while it's in the pen under cover, the walls of the pen are 'open' (it's a large 10x10 dog kennel) and dampness gets in and then my food gets damp and I know I'm not supposed to let them have damp food because it can harbor bacteria. Plus, let me repeat, they are spoiled.

So I'm calling on ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE on this site to please please please tell me your stories and post your pictures! No setup is too extreme or too simple and I'm hoping enough people respond that I can find the right things to work for me. Part of my problem, too, is that the whole area is an eye-sore. There has to be a better way to set myself up and make it functional, efficient AND pretty. I know, I know... ducks/goose... water... dirt... not so pretty.

Orrrr... you can all just say it's a lost cause and I'm going to be a slave to the Feathered Butt Gang forever!

HELP!

Thanks y'all!

Here's a pic of 4 outta 5 of the Crazies... WOW; I just realized how MUCH Petunia (the goose) has grown!

 

[Going Quackers]

First thing ditch the dog bowls there too small and you will be (sounds like you are already lol) going insane, you need big livestock rubber bowls, here i'll show you...



I run two of these and then have 2 50GAL stock tanks... that is what gives water to a flock of 19.

As for food these are my feeders...



now there are some great threads on people making basically tall tables to stick feed containers under... me? i'm quick and cheap for now and just balance a long wide piece of siding over top of them and stable it with two bricks. This keep the majority of water out of them, i hope one day to build something with real legs lol but for now this does work.

The areas where water is for ducks is always a nightmare, some have added small gravel and so forth to help with drainage which maybe something to look into, where my ducks area is for now i just leave it being a muddy world, it's their own specific area anyways, mine have 1/3 of an acre penned then free range the farm but i keep all pools, water/feed in this penned area which is also where the duck house is.

 

[Apyl]

I keep a kiddie pool filled. They use that to splash in and drink from. As for feed I either toss it out in the yard in the morning or in a old sled we have. My flock free ranges so I only feed them about 4 cups of feed in the morning, they get the rest from foraging. I have 8 ducks, 2 geese, and 28 chickens.

 

[brandilly]

Thanks for the posts! I will find both items Going Quackers; LOVE the super bowl! I would let them drink exclusively from their kiddie pool, which I clean and refill every 3 or 4 days but I balk (me, not them) thinking they have to drink from the same thing they poop in. Of course, THEY don't care! I am considering putting some small gravel down and setting the water bowls on that but then I worry about their feet. I am a complete wuss when it comes to worry about my girls! I'm also going to dig a shallow pit, throw some boards across it, put the pool on top and then surround it (with what; that I haven't figured out yet) so the water drains below the pool. That will help with the monster mud pit they are always excavating after I drain now. If I can get past MY aversion to small pea gravel, I will fill in the mud area with fresh dirt, pack it and cover in gravel. But they SO love their mud, I hate taking it away. Maybe I could make them a new mud area towards the back of the yard...

Keep the posts coming, my Backyard Friends!!!

 

[Going Quackers]

The trouble with letting them ONLY drink from pools is the food, it will will dirty the pool even faster, which is imo a big waste of water, the smaller rubber bowls are far less wasting of water and the filth that comes with them needing it to eat with. Being on a well, i need to be mindful of my water usage.

 

[brandilly]

I cut a pallet and placed up against the outside of their pen and then placed all three water bowls on that. It lets the water drop through the slats when they get over zealous in their drinking and splashing but it's over grass now and they don't make a muddy area; it seems to distribute the water a little more. SO FAR SO GOOD!!! I also switched to crumbles... WAY LESS MESS! Food is still inside their pen, under cover. Will be ordering the Super Bowl! Just did this yesterday morning and can already tell the difference! Water is still vaguely clear (has grass and a little discolored but not muddy) and mostly full after 3 hours! Yay! Before, water would be completely opaque and half gone in less than an hour where it used to sit! Yippee!