no water at night?

[grammaschicks]

Just wondering if I can stop putting water and food in goose coop at night. I have a male and female in there and here lately, every AM when I go out to let them out, they have spilled the whole bucket, which seeps over to where Mrs. Goose has her nest and also will start rotting out the floor even though it's covered in rubber mats. I have heard of other people withholding water at night, but wonder if its ok, especially since the weather's getting warmer. Haved tried all different kinds of containers for the water, but they manage to spill EVERYYTHING.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We are in FL, and no adults have water over night. They are out by 7-7:30 am and fed at that time with fresh water in the buckets too. All hatchlings have food/water 24/7

 

[GardenerGal]

I always make sure my ducks and geese have water, including @ night. I keep them in a stall overnight and they go up a ramp and out into the pen for the day. I keep a small bucket half-filled with water so they can sip if they need to, as waterfowl tend to be active even at night (it's in their nature -- being alert to predators) and nap off and on. Because they are in a stall with deep shavings, I can make a hole into the shavings and sink the bucket into that so it doesn't get tipped over.

You could try weighting their bucket down with a very heavy rock or brick. Or screw an eye hook to a post or wall and use that to clip the bucket to the post.

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

Just like chickens, I don't believe it would be a problem, but I feed them mash in their shed, so I keep water in there 24/7 so they don't have any choking problems - I cut holes a little bigger then their heads in the side of a 5-gallon bucket (make sure it has a top on at all times and the top is on tight, or else they can get stuck from the top of the bucket head-down and drown.). This way they can get all the water they need but it doesn't make very much mess. It is easy to snap the lids on and off to change.