How do you manage your ducks?

[Chicks Galore3]

I want to get ducks and the first thing everybody tells me is, "They are extremely messy!". I would like to know how different people deal with the mess so I can figure out if ducks are right for me! How is your duck coop set up? General management?

 

[pearlandjewels]

Hi chicks Galore3 im new to ducks too, yes they are messy little buggars its just setting yourself a routine. Me personally I go out in morning n let them out and feed them then once my baby has a nap usually lunchtime I do a poop clean and wash and rinse (very important) n spend quality time with them until baby wakes up, then later before dark I put them in their sleep house.

I had 2 ducklings 4 weeks ago and adopted 2 today. If u dont mind giving ur time to them they are wonderful as pets. I love them xx

 

[jime]

I have been dealing with ducks for 3 years now, I really like them.
Few things I can tell you so you can see if some will work for you.
When they are little is the worst messy time in my opinion because you can only deal with a limited brooder space.I put their water inside a cat litter pan so the spill water will be in the pan and not in the bedding.When I feed them I take them for a bath time and this is done in a bigger pan and in a place where water can drain.Then I return them to the border and just have the water for drinking (when they are little they don't need much water to bath them self just to wash their faces specially their nostrils.
Once you get them out into their living quarters (older) make sure you teach them to come back at night to their bed, in my case I have a 8x8 run for them where they spend the night and in there they have the dog carrier (xl) open in two so they have a hiding place if they want.For me this is the harder part teach them to go to bed on command.
During the day I let them loose and they get to their kid pool and eat grass all over.
Another thing that is really important to me is the smell I don't feed them mash or pellets they get only grains and green and what ever else they find , the factory food make the poo smell really bad and is really mushy as well.With the grain food you don't have much mess and if there is mess is lot nicer to even look at.
I do feed the babies the store one for 2 weeks but then they get transitioned to the grains as well.
I hope this will help you a bit.
About duck breeds I don't know what you are looking at but Muscovy are amazing they are quiet and don't use much water and amazing mothers so those are 3 extra points.
I have muscovy (of course) saxony witch are pretty and really docile but girl are bait noisy, and call ducks.

 

[AmandaVirus]

They definitely require more time than a lot of other poultry. And yes, they are very messy; they play in mud, splash in water, poop about every 15 minutes and they are wet splatty poops.

My set up for my three girls is a pen that is about 16' x 16' and is 2/3 grass and 1/3 pea gravel around a 5' kiddy pool dug into the ground, along with a 4' x 6' enclosed predator proof pen for night time, that is on top of square flat bricks, that I spray off once a day into a drain we set up off one end. their is a small house for them to lay their eggs in attached to the enclosed pen. I usually give the grass and gravel a quick spray everyday as well. I clean the kiddy pool every 3 days ( a lot of people say everyday, but mine don't seem to dirty it up that fast.)

They are worth every bit of effort it takes to care for them and clean up after them, I love mine and couldn't imagine not having them in my backyard!

 

[AmandaVirus]

Quote:
I didn't know that about grain! I feed mine pellets, I'll see if I can get grain feed and if it's affordable in my area, I don't have a lot of options.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Thanks so much you guys! One more question - how much protection from cold do ducks need? (I am wanting to get khaki campbells.) I live in Iowa where below zero temperatures aren't uncommon.