Ideal pool size?

[diamondshine]

What's the ideal pool size for two ducks? (Adult domestic mallards.) Searching didn't answer my question but I found some beautiful setups - I'm jealous of the person who has the in-ground concrete pool for theirs! If you know of any threads that discuss this, link them please!

Also, does the 10 sq. ft. per bird rule in a run apply to ducks like it does chickens?

 

[LLCoyote]

A plastic baby pool is perfectly fine for ducks that size. You don't want to go to much smaller than that. It can be as large as you want XD but for only two ducks most people use baby pools. I'm not sure about the size rule. I do know that ducks need much more room than chickens because they poke their bills into the mud and destroy the grass in small areas. They make mud pits fast.

 

[Funsizeracing]

I have two ducks and use two baby pools. One is about a foot deep and 4 ft around. It gets dirty in about two days. The other is almost 2 ft deep and 6 ft across. It can go almost a week before being drained. For the winter they only have the small one because the drain is on the outside and I don't like sticking my hand in freezing cold water to pull the drain on the big one. I highly recommend adding your own drain on the baby pools. Otherwise you end up bailing and stepping on the sides to empty them.

 

[JulieNKC]

I have 2 kiddie pools I use. The ducks would probably like something bigger, but the pools are easiest for me. They are deep enough for the ducks to swim, but not so big I can't empty and clean them out every couple of days. I think for a bigger pool you'd either need something huge that doesn't need cleaned often, or a really really really good filter system.

 

[otterpop33]

I have numerous ducks and I've tried all sizes of children's pools. This summer I found some small, blue, plastic "doggy pools" just like the ones for kids, but much smaller. They are perfect and much easier to empty and clean.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I use the plastic kiddie pools from WalMart. I have about 5 of them placed in different locations in the chicken yard.

 

[Oregon Blues]

A concrete mixing tub (try Lowes or HD) works well. They can get into it and it is easy to dump out to clean up all the mud that will be in it.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
How big is it? Is it bigger than the kiddie pools? That would be a good thing to replace my kiddie pool.

 

[diamondshine]

Thanks for the responses! I was thinking about a 50 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank, with a little climb-out ramp inside and maybe building up the area around so they can wade in but the back open so it can be drained at the edge of the run.
Currently our ducks free range and have access to two large ponds but eventually we'll have a coop & run. Ducks are so messy but so worth it! On really hot days we put out extra water around the coop in 4 quart tubs and sometimes I catch the ducks trying to swim in them rather than the pond.

edit: Added a link.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I wasn't able to get the link to work.