How Often Do You Change Swimming H2O?

[Crazy Maizie]

I change drinking water daily. Depending on the season - in summer it gets changed 2 to 3 times a day. Sometimes drinking water becomes swim water.
I change swim water weekly, but again in summer it's changed 2 to 3 times a week.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am sure if you have the resources time and money there would be a solution to building a pond with a nice filtration system.
But I would say for most of us that's just not practical.
I just emptied these and refilled them yesterday afternoon.
Ducks are just dirty. I give up worrying about their swimming water being dirty as long as it isn't growing anything in it. Lol. I do try to make sure they have access to clean drinking water daily. So at least there is some clean water to wash down all the mucky water with. View attachment 2912135View attachment 2912136

This makes me feel sooooo much better! My ducks' feather quality is very good (imo), but I was feeling like a bad duckie mama for letting the water sit for 2-3 days. I give them fresh, clean drinking water in 2 1/2 gallon buckets once and sometimes twice a day. But they do drink that when they're in the yard....

I read somewhere (might've been on BYC) that I might be able to scoop out some of the much using a fine mesh pool net. I think I'll try that before $$$ for a filter.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I change drinking water daily. Depending on the season - in summer it gets changed 2 to 3 times a day. Sometimes drinking water becomes swim water.
I change swim water weekly, but again in summer it's changed 2 to 3 times a week.

2 to 3 times a DAY!
Lord have mercy I'd have to quit my day job. They prefer to drink out of a mud puddle anyway.

 

[ShrekDawg]

2 to 3 times a DAY!
Lord have mercy I'd have to quit my day job. They prefer to drink out of a mud puddle anyway.

My chickens literally drink to the dirty mud dumped from their bowl when I empty it instead of the nice clean water I fill it with I imagine ducks are worse lol

 

[ShrekDawg]

I walked outside to take that picture and stepped in a nice fresh pile of Mason .
Thanks Dawg.

Whoops!

 

[KaleIAm]

I change swimming water everyday. I use a big stock tank in my ducks' front yard and a very large slightly sloped dog bowl in their backyard. I rotate fully enclosed aviary "yards" to let the grass regrow. Since the ducks drink and poop in their swimming water I feel I should change it daily. I also give them water buckets they can't poop in. I scrub pools well once a week, and in the summer a give a quick scrub daily as well.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

2 to 3 times a DAY!
Lord have mercy I'd have to quit my day job. They prefer to drink out of a mud puddle anyway.

I only do that in warmer weather. I refresh with cold clean water. Not all of their waterers, just one or 2. I feel like bacteria could build up in the hotter weather. But, maybe I'm just being too cautious.

 

[Isadora]

I change all their water every day, but I don't have anything as big as a kiddie pool, and I have 12 ducks and 4 geese all together. For swimming, I have a large cement mixing tray which holds about 10 gallons. Then I have a large bucket for drinking that stays (a little bit) cleaner.

 

[Beccatrix]

Concrete mixing tubs here for the most part.
I have a large stock tank sunk in the ground for my calls I think it's about 60 gallons.
There's no way I can change that out any more often than about every 3 days. I close that off in the winter and just give them a concrete mixing tub on nice days to clean up in.
The cayugas have concrete mixing tubs year round the largest ones I have found. The seem plenty happy with them. I change them about every other day.
I have a deeper fountain pond thing in my yard they have access to if I let them out in the yard. But honestly they seem just as happy with the tubs.

I was thinking of 2 50 gallon stock tanks for spring, summer, and early fall for 8 ducks and 4 geese. I'm worried about the cleaning time; water will go to the garden. Do you do one mixing tub per bird? I'm wondering about ice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I like to use cement mixing tubs in winter. And mine only get bathwater when it's around 35 and up and if the spring is thawed. Right now the spring is frozen so their pool got dumped yesterday.
In summer I have a 50 gallon stock tank and a very large kiddy pool. I add fresh water daily and dump every 3 days. That's with 17 waterfowl. To kill some of the bacteria that is probably in these pools I add a couple of caps of Oxine AH. The cement mixing tub they usually empty pretty quick so I have to fill it multiple times a day.