Help......messy, messy, messy, ducks and geese

[silverfilly]

These little buggers are messy, cant keep water in there couse it just ends up all over the floor making all the beding and food wet, everything is wet puddles all over the brooder! what can I do? Then when they want to nap they try huddling in the dryest corner they can find and make discontent peeps couse they cant get dry. Im cleaning it 3 times a day...is there an easyer way???

 

[Katy]

I use puppy pee pads in the bottom of my duckling brooders. Helps absorb at least part of the water. They need access to water 24-7 if they've got feed in front of them. Ducklings can choke to death without water when they're eating. Ducks are just very messy critters....even when they get big.

 

[Cara]

A wire bottomed cage with a pull-out tray...just remember to empty it often! I forgot and tipped liquid duck poop all over the floor in our mudroom when I tried to take it outside.

 

[Professional]

Quote:
Cara has a good idea. You also have to remember that they are what they are, waterfowl. If their living conditions are constantly dirty, they're not being provided with the right conditions to account for their natural behaviors. ANY bird can be dirty if not kept according to what it needs to keep itself clean and dry.

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

When mine were teeny tiny, I just filled up the base of the waterer ever 2 hours because they has a tendency to spill the water everywhere and I even lost some due to that cause. You can even put marbles in the base.

 

[MissPrissy]

I kept my two little ducks in a big rubbermaid tote. On one end I put in one of those hospital bath basins with about 1 inch of water in it. The rest of the box I put in shavings. I then use a brick for them to climb in and out of. It worked out real well but they were still messy as they poop in the water and all. Every evening I filled my kitchen sink with warm water and let them swim for about an hour. They were the cutest things in the world but the absolute messiest little critters!!

 

[deeszoo]

The wire bottom cage with the pull out bottom works best for me. I fill it with shavings. I still have to empty it regularly! They are very messy and grow really FAST once they get going. They also hog down tons of chow and water to support that very fast growth. The ducks don't seem to mind the wire too much. We use a small wire cage at the beginning, and then graduate them to the rabbit cage very soon.

Once I saw where a person set up some sinks and set their waterfowl brooders on top of them. That would be great because you could just wash the poop down the drain!

A swim in the bathtub daily helps to let them clean off, but I always make sure they can get under a heat lamp afterwards to dry off because they can chill until they get their feathers. Otherwise, they don't really even need much heat after the first 3 weeks or so, unless you keep them outside or in the basement where it is chilly.

I need to find the heat schedule for ducklings, because it seems to be very different than for chicks.

DeAnna

Oh, yea. I was also going to add that for a waterer, I use gallon milk cartons with holes cut in the side for them to stick their heads in. It helps to keep the pen drier. I have to use several because as they grow, they need deeper water, so I cut the holes different heights. I was using ice cream buckets, but the milk cartons are easier to see when they are empty. When they get bigger, I have to put a cable tie on the handle to hold it in place because they will play with the waterer and drag it all over the cage. Ducks love to play! I cut out part of the top so I can fill it from the top easily.

 

[Hope0491]

What I do for the older ducks and geese is take a plastic bin of some sort with a lid... cut the lid's middle out so there is a 1" lip around the whole perimeter and put their feed and water inside that - that way it keeps the brooder clean and dry but they can still have their food and water in one place, they should be able to step over the lip with ease.

Edited for a spelling error.. HEH!

~Lacey

 

[pips&peeps]

When I got my sebbies last year, I had the same problem. I ended up giving them water a certain times of the day and took it out when they were done.

I don't know if you have the kind of time to devote to them, but it worked for me.

 

[dreamgirl]

Deeszoo,
do you ahve a picture of your milk carton waterer? or can you provide my instructions for dummies (like are they plastic or cardboard cartons?)

Thanks!