Inside drinking water solution! Pics added in new post

[duckyfromoz]

I love that shelf liner. I have some similar that I use in my brooders. I have it under the newspaper and shavings- so I can just roll it up and dump the shavings and paper out wash the liner and use it again. It stops the wooden boards on the bottom of the brooder getting too wet- but it sure makes cleaning up so much easier since the newspaper falls apart when it gets wet.

Cute duckies!!!

 

[mandelyn]

We're getting quite the collection of ideas here! I like gofaster's idea for when they get much bigger. I was having an issue keeping the little ones dry-ish and still allowing easy access. Obviously the water situation will need to grow with them.

I doubt I will ever brood more than 10 at a time, that's my mess limit. LOL That's just too much poo.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Nice! We're lookig for new water solutions here too, because my crafty, height on their side Runners, figured out they could stand up tall and knock the waterer over and climb inside it.

BIG mess.

So we're headed to Lowes this weekend and we're gonna try the paint tray to catch spills!

Thanks! lol

 

[mandelyn]

Mine haven't knocked it over at all yet, but I was thinking I could tie it up and secure it to the side if they did! And just switch the corner that the waterer is in, in the tray. LOL Just need to stay one step ahead, that's all!

Haven't been outside yet to see their "damage"... but I'll bet you anything the waterer is empty and it's all in the bottom of the tray. Waterer floating, and them swimming in it. Has to be better than it was though.

 

[easttxchick]

OK, this thread is making me smile. I'm looking at the lengths we are all going through to try to outwit tiny, web-footed, billed critters and for the most part, THEY'RE WINNING!
I just went out and checked on my 1 1/2 month old Call ducklings in the outside brooder and they were quacking like mad. Wanna know why? They had knocked over they're water(from about and hour ago) and were absolutely dehydrated(well, they THOUGHT they were).

It's so nice to chat with people that understand.
I LOVE the shelf liner-I get it for $1 a roll at The Dollar Store. Washable and reusable.

 

[Moe Biscuits]

I think I lucked out with my solution. We had two ducks in a large storage tote (about 2 1/2 feet x 18 inches x 16 inches tall) in the basement. Big PITA going up and down the stairs every day to change water, litter, and food. Unfortunately, they were stuck down there longer than I expected since it took so long just to get the chicken coop built, and I didn't have a place for my ducks to stay yet. So I cut 4 pieces of 1/4 inch plywood into 16 inch by 4 foot strips, zip-tied them together to make a "pen", and set it down right on the concrete floor of the basement. Since there's a floor drain about 3 feet from the pen, I didn't have to worry about water overflow. Got rid of their doggie dish and cut out a 6 inch pan from the bottom of a storage tote (maybe about 12 x 18 inches or so), stuck it in the far corner of the pen, and filled it with water. That gave them one corner for playing in the water, one corner under a heat lamp, and two other nice, dry corners out of the heat lamp if they so desired.

Draining and filling was just a matter of dumping the old water down the floor drain and scooping up the little bit of wood shavings. Once I got 'em out, all I had to do was fold up the pen, sweep up the shavings, and run a quick mop over the area. Worked great, but like I said, I lucked out. Wouldn't have worked so well if I didn't have the concrete floor and floor drain.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Quote:
Ours WAS tied! Sneaky little buggers! We found the string hanging from the side of the cage, still tied and everything...

 

[gofasterstripe]

Quote:
Oh I hear ya when you say 10 is your limmit. All the mess they make, well what can you say...they are ducks after all. We can clean up after them all day and they are still going to make a mess. Im goin gto get mine outside in the duck house this weekend I think. I need to try the fencing out for size in the yard to make sure the skinnu runners cant get thru the fencing. We put fencing ontop of fencing to make the holes smaller but I know fine well they will squeeze their booties thru and I will have to chase some down. MY ducks outside do not get food and water of a night. I tried everthing to keep the wet down in there and did not succeed. So the babies will have food and water but once they reach a certain age it stops. The more wet mess they make the more flies I get!!!

 

[mandelyn]

Well it's noon and the babies in the basement are still dry! They needed a refill, but that's a lot better than a full clean-up.

The setup outside still needs some tinkering. They hopped in behind the waterer to go swimming. So I set a big giant rock on it. Secured the waterer to prevent movement or tipping over, and keeps them from jumping in the bin. ta-da! Find a way around that rock you little sneaky things!

Might have husband cut a board just the right width and with a hole for the top of the waterer, so that the thing is essentially in an encased box with a lip in the front for access. Better than a rock anyways.

I refuse to clean 5 times a day. I also refuse to have smelly, messy, dehydrated ducks. I will perfect this!

Really pleased with the paint roller pan though. It's a major improvement.

 

[Serama Mama 4]

We've been keeping ours in a metal mesh basket that fits in a plastic tote and another metal mesh basket zip tied on top so that they can't jump out. The poop and water goes through and collects in the bottom of the plastic tote. They still get dirty though. AND they use up water like crazy. Sometimes we give them a bath in the utility sink and put them in a pen to dry in the sun (with supervision). Ducklings sure are messy!