Smelly Waterer

[wildpeas]

I have a large plastic waterer for the ducklings and I noticed that it gets smelly on the inside. I washed it out with dish soap and hot water and this morning it smells again. Is that normal? Could there be something defective with the plastic? Do I need to wash it everyday? Is it harmful to the little peeps?

 

[tweetysvoice]

Mine smells as well, but I just assumed that's the smell of ducks and the food that they insist on "washing" in the waterer. I'd be more scared of leaving soap residue in the waterer than of the smell of the waterer itself. As long as you replace the water a couple times a day, it should be fine.

 

[wildpeas]

There was also a sort of slimey feel on the inside near the bottom of the tank part. I made to sure to rinse with really hot water, the soap residue occured to me too.

 

[Amy S]

I've noticed that mine has been like that here, and there. I just wash mine well with each refilling. (so, twenty times a day, lol)

 

[Amiga]

What I found that works quite well for me is wiping out the container as best I can, then rinsing out with about a cup (depending on the size of the waterer) of half hot water and half vinegar. You may even be able to get away with this every other cleaning, since it seems to knock out a bunch of bacteria.

The plastic seems to be somewhat porous, so bacteria get started and just chow down on whatever little muddiness the ducklings leave in the waterer. It is a distinctive aroma, yes, indeedy!

An extra bit of disinfecting is to swish a little hydrogen peroxide around in the container after cleaning, then pour it out before refilling.

 

[ChristineR]

I put about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per gallon in my waterers every couple days. That seems to help with the slime and it's supposed to be healthy for them.