is everyones duck coop a mess?

[CoriM]

Agree that it's essential for ducks to be able to duck their whole head in the water. I have 6 ducks and I am constantly out there cleaning their area. They are messy and love water and that's just their nature. Maybe you could build a separate area away from the chickens so that the ducks can have their water fun and not mess up the chicken area.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

can you send a picture of the waterer you made

Idk which you are talking about. If its the duck one, i don't have that anymore (I used it when they were locked in a shed and I didn't want to soil the bedding. Now they are free range with access to lots of water, so i don't provide water inside the coop at night. Just picture a 3 gal ish bucket with a board on the top, covering a little over half the bucket

As for the chickens, I gave away my bucket chicken one I made when I sold a family a little group of chickens! I never got a picture of it But it looked just like this! (This is a google photo).

EDIT: This waterer is NOT SUITABLE for the ducks! If you use this for the chickens, you will absolutely still need a bucket or deep container for them to wash their bills out! So sorry if this wasn't clear before, my bad!

There are plenty of tutorials online to make one!

 

[Isaac 0]

re talking about. If its the duck one, i don't have that anymore (I used it when they were locked in a shed and I didn't want to soil the bedding. Now they are free range with access to lots of water, so i don'

That is not a suitable waterer for ducks, they need to be able to clean their nares/face 24/7.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

That is not a suitable waterer for ducks, they need to be able to clean their nares/face 24/7.

Oh gosh, sorry if I made it sound like that was for the ducks! I totally agree, that would be the worst for ducks. In my first post i mentioned I use these for the chickens when housing them together instead of your typical chicken waterer, since my ducks just make a mess of those!

I still have a bucket for the ducks. Along with these for the chickens. I was saying since they keep them together, having these just for the chickens cuts down on mess.

Sorry about the confusion, I will edit that post and make it clearer what I was meaning!

 

[Isaac 0]

Oh gosh, sorry if I made it sound like that was for the ducks! I totally agree, that would be the worst for ducks. In my first post i mentioned I use these for the chickens when housing them together instead of your typical chicken waterer, since my ducks just make a mess of those!

I still have a bucket for the ducks. Along with these for the chickens. I was saying since they keep them together, having these just for the chickens cuts down on mess.

Sorry about the confusion, I will edit that post and make it clearer what I was meaning!

No worries! I just didn't want anyone to get any ideas.

 

[Niche Flock]

Yep, I learned that the hard way and got tired of cleaning the stinky puddles. Or mucking out a swamp when I removed the deep litter. You could try elevating their water bowl so that they can only put their heads and bills in (enough to clean their nostrils out) maybe place the water bowl within another bowl to catch any overflow, or creating a splash tray. If your coop is a dirt floor, you could even excavate a small section, place a wooden frame with screen overtop and set the water bucket on that, allowing the water to drain right through. I no longer give my ducks food or water at night in their coop. They only receive food twice a day (foraging throughout the rest of the day) and free choice water during the day.

 

[SunnyD]

.... you may try a water drip catcher so the water doesn't spread over the bedding so much. Here are a few ideas- Also, mixing PDZ in the bedding will help absorb a lot of the moisture.

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Like Issac I made a"drip catcher". My ducks use poultry nipples. I made my drip catcher using a vinyl covered wire shelf I had laying around. I thought it might be kinder to my ducks feet. To start them on the nipples I just pushed up on a nipple to release the water drip while an interested duck was watching. Flipped a little water on the duck went into the next room for something and when I came back 12 ducklings were fighting over 6 nipples! Ducks are messy no matter what so I would get them outside during the daylight hours ASAP

RE:"That is not a suitable waterer for ducks, they need to be able to clean their nares/face 24/7." As ducklings I took them outside once a day where they have access to a pool for cleaning and swimming. Also I would strongly suggest that if you feed and water them outside during the day, you take water and food out of the coop at night. My ducks are very healthy and doing great!!

 

[DuckyDonna]

i have 5 ducks living in a huge coop with 6 chickens. The ducks make a huge mess. why? i sat inside there coop holding my hurt one watching them and they just put there beaks in the water and splash it out and then play in the puddles. they are getting so messy. i need help. how do i stop this ?

The first thing I would do is get the food and water out of the coop! There is no need for that to be inside with them at night while they are supposed to be sleeping. I am assuming that the ducks are grown? If so, leave all that outside with them all day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I made food cover out of scrap week so their food stays dry. I would not have food an water inside once over 5-6 weeks old, I have 3 of these since I have 34 birds