pixielauren
Chirping
- Dec 26, 2015
- 18
- 49
- 76
I have had muscovies before, but I didn't get them till they were grown, so I never saw them as young as yours was at the beginning of this thread.
My girls made the tiniest little noise. It sounded like little bells or little chimes. It's super hard to describe but it was really sweet sounding. They never ever quacked at all. The muscovy drakes just hissed -- no quacking there either.
But anyway! You asked about bedding in the coop and waterers.
Bedding: Straw is the best for ducks. It's better than pine shavings because the pine shavings get waterlogged pretty fast , while straw doesn't absorb as much water as pine. In the winter, straw is really insulating because it is made up of long hollow fibers which trap air. So with winter coming, straw is the best idea.
Waterers: Ducks need to be able to submerge their bills all the way to the nostril. This is a requirement. Chicken waterers don't allow for this to happen, so they are not good for ducks. When ducks can't submerge their bills to the nostril, or dunk their whole heads, they can have sinus problems.
I imagine you're thinking that a chicken waterer will leak less in the coop? Not so -- the ducks, in an attempt to submerge their heads, will just keep biting at the water until they've emptied the waterer entirely onto the floor of the coop. That will actually make the coop wetter than if you just put a bowl of water in there. Whatever the water-holding capacity of the chicken waterer, ALL of that water will end up on the floor of your coop in a matter of hours. That's probably not a flood you want to deal with on a daily basis.
With a coop you have two ways to do things: One, you put food and water in the coop with the understanding that it will get wet fast and you'll have to clean it out a lot. Or two, you give them food and water outside (in a fenced area, or in a duck run, or in your yard, whatever you have) but not inside the coop. In this case the coop would be for sleeping at night (and/or laying eggs), but they would do all their eating and drinking outdoors during the day.
In the winter especially, having food/water in the coop is probably a bad idea, since a wet coop can give the ducks frostbite on their feet. So in the winter you can feed them some high-fat or high-carb snacks before bed (warm oatmeal, scratch grains, fermented grains, etc.) so they are not quite so hungry overnight.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don't give water in the coop, it is imperative that you do NOT give food in the coop. Ducks need water when they eat -- otherwise they are in danger of choking.
My girls made the tiniest little noise. It sounded like little bells or little chimes. It's super hard to describe but it was really sweet sounding. They never ever quacked at all. The muscovy drakes just hissed -- no quacking there either.
But anyway! You asked about bedding in the coop and waterers.
Bedding: Straw is the best for ducks. It's better than pine shavings because the pine shavings get waterlogged pretty fast , while straw doesn't absorb as much water as pine. In the winter, straw is really insulating because it is made up of long hollow fibers which trap air. So with winter coming, straw is the best idea.
Waterers: Ducks need to be able to submerge their bills all the way to the nostril. This is a requirement. Chicken waterers don't allow for this to happen, so they are not good for ducks. When ducks can't submerge their bills to the nostril, or dunk their whole heads, they can have sinus problems.
I imagine you're thinking that a chicken waterer will leak less in the coop? Not so -- the ducks, in an attempt to submerge their heads, will just keep biting at the water until they've emptied the waterer entirely onto the floor of the coop. That will actually make the coop wetter than if you just put a bowl of water in there. Whatever the water-holding capacity of the chicken waterer, ALL of that water will end up on the floor of your coop in a matter of hours. That's probably not a flood you want to deal with on a daily basis.
With a coop you have two ways to do things: One, you put food and water in the coop with the understanding that it will get wet fast and you'll have to clean it out a lot. Or two, you give them food and water outside (in a fenced area, or in a duck run, or in your yard, whatever you have) but not inside the coop. In this case the coop would be for sleeping at night (and/or laying eggs), but they would do all their eating and drinking outdoors during the day.
In the winter especially, having food/water in the coop is probably a bad idea, since a wet coop can give the ducks frostbite on their feet. So in the winter you can feed them some high-fat or high-carb snacks before bed (warm oatmeal, scratch grains, fermented grains, etc.) so they are not quite so hungry overnight.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don't give water in the coop, it is imperative that you do NOT give food in the coop. Ducks need water when they eat -- otherwise they are in danger of choking.
