Keeping chickens and ducks together, how do you manage their water?

[ElCerritoPlace]

I was hoping to go to a chicken nipple water system this summer. I've read ducks will drink from them but still need a bowl of water to dip their heads in. But is it a concern that my chickens drink out of that bowl as well? It gets pretty nasty within a 12 hour period. Should I be concerned about the chickens health from drinking such mucky water from the ducks bowl?

Anyone with experience in keeping a mixed poultry flock? What do you do to keep water clean?

 

[chaschkn]

Just starting out with a mixed flock, but I have found the chickens ignore the dirty water and should stick to the fountain.

 

[ElCerritoPlace]

Just starting out with a mixed flock, but I have found the chickens ignore the dirty water and should stick to the fountain.

I hope they do soon! So far they seem to go back and forth between either one. What do you use for a feeder for ducks? It seems that their wide bill has a hard time getting into the chicken feeders. I do have a pvc pipe cut in half hung up but that is only filled in the morning and by night is usually empty. I'm debating on doing something different for that as well.

 

[triplepurpose]

I wouldn't be concerned about the health factor directly so much as just that with chickens and ducks together things can so easily become a soggy mess and a pain to manage! To be healthy and happy, ducks not only need to have water they can dip their heads into, but also water they can get into fully to bathe, and they will splash it ten feet in every direction doing so. Chickens, on the other hand, are most conveniently kept in dry deep litter, and need to bathe in dry dust. I'm sure plenty of people have found ways to combine the species happily, but I have never tried. A lot depends on how your set up and how crowded your housing is too.

 

[chaschkn]

I just put in a pvc feeder (3" pipe with a wye, so a verticle one) and the ducks are great with it. The chickens still make a mess but they are too young for me to add an extension to the wye to make it deeper. I like the feeder though and was super easy. Mine are all about 7 weeks old.

 

[ElCerritoPlace]

Thats exactly what I was thinking of doing with mine.