OMG its a disease!

[Mikhail]

yeah, I have a set up similar to it. I have a little tub with a water bowl in it that I use for their water (the tub keeps most of the water from not getting on the floor) and for the food I use a cat litter pan with a bowl of food in it.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Yeah i think that little seperation technique really helps to cut down on the filth and debris.

 

[W.CharltonChickens]

Yup... messy, messy ducks

I'm using straw in the brooder now. I've found that it keeps the mess down. The water goes to the bottom, and the poop seems more controllable. I still clean it every day. Sometimes every other day. Water changes a couple times a day. And, they get to play in the tub when I clean the brooder. I love my duckies

Todd

 

[Luvducks]

I Love my duckies too so when they make a mess I Deal with It. No worse then changing dirty diapers! Thank Goodness those days are way over! I'd rather clean up duck poop.

 

[barnwife]

I use pelleted bedding..just a thin layer of it, it absorbs the water (thak-you to the creator of woody pet!) And gets nice n fluffy for them to sit on...and its easy to scoop the top layer of droppings off without having to change the whole thing!

For their food, I bought one of the metal feeder pans and suspend it with coat hangers bent properly. For water I use dishes that dont get dumped easily...goat feed pans seem to work best! I have 9 ducklings right now, and have four pekins (3 f, 1 m) and none had the smell issue or attack problems mentioned here.

I do have an agressive blue swedish drake..he chases off everything, including my great dane! thje tricky thing is, he is only 9-10 weeks old !!!

I also have a couple runner drakes that chase everything off of what they beleive belongs to them...usually female ducks, but there's one that like my 8 week old buff orp pullet, too.

I think the agression is more a drake thing than a breed thing...but thats just MHO.

For the smell and wet problem...try pelleted bedding..it is a work saver! $6 at TSC and it will last a month for up to a dozen ducklings.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Maybe this could help. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=148026 There are more threads with better photos but I couldn't find them. I try to use the widest pan I can find under the waterer to catch the splashes.

 

[ChickenToes]

I realize this isn't an option for everyone, but I brood my ducklings outside from day 1. They are kept in a smaller, fully insulated coop that sort of resembles a large dog house. I use wood shavings. The smell is never that bad as long as I clean the wet shavings out from around the waterer everyday. Whenever it starts to smell poopy I just add more shavings.

 

[vfem]

Get hoseable mat of some sort! One of those plastic draw liners or something. My goodness are they nasty. I like them outside, just not in the house. So we're done with ducklings its been decided.

I couldn't take the stink anymore and when my girl was 4 weeks old she got moved outside. The weather is fine here, and its really just easy to hose out the duck house!

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Quote:
cleaning ducks WHILE dealing with diapers is a little much.. lol. At least it is in my life... lol.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Iam sending the female back. She's just not getting on with the mallard like the male, who iam sure will get on even better with the mallard without his female.

Two pekings is just too many. I wish I had known earlier how less messy other breeds are.