These ducks are so messy!!! lol

[newchknlvr]

This is our first time with ducklings...3 of them. We did chicks last year, and have 3 more right now with the ducks. I have the 6 babies in the same tote for now until they get bigger. Since they love the water so much, what is the best way to keep their habitat clean until they can go outside? Cleaning every day is turning into almost twice a day because of the water they are throwing around! lol
We have them in a large tote with some shavings, two water bowls that are open (the ducks there going crazy when they were covered).

Can someone point me to their ducklings homes, or the better ways to have a home for them? They are about 2 weeks old now.

 

[EJPedrazzi]

I keep my ducklings in a large dog crate with boarded up sides so they can't squeeze out. I put shavings in the back part, with the heat lamp over, and in the front part I put a puppy training pad down, and the water and food goes on top of that. They're still messy, but I only have to change the pad every day which is a lot easier than scraping out shavings and replacing every day. I can just scoop all the mess up in it, bag it and chuck it, and place a new one down. They get a 'deep clean' - shavings, hay, everything, once a week.

 

[SJUDD]

Here are pictures of my duck house and brooder. My husband won't let me keep them in the house anymore due to the fact that now that they are a bit older, the brooder I was using smelled by the end of every day, even though I cleaned it every morning.

The top lifts up on a couple hinges so I can lift the whole thing up so I can stand in it to clean it out... also I prop it open during the day for more air flow. There are small holes towards the top for ventaliation.The bottom is hardwire cloth sitting on the grass. And it gets locked up tight at night to keep predators out.
This is the brooder inside the duck house. The bottom is hardwire cloth and sides & top are chicken wire. The entire top lifts off for cleaning, feeding, watering and playing with the ducklings. I didn't have to worry as much about predators getting inside since it is inside a locking box. They basically are just sitting a little off the ground... their droppings go through the wire onto the grass. The whole box is mobile so I can move it to a different place in the run. As of right now, I just take the ducklings out and spray out the entire thing once a week, leaving the box open to let it dry in the sun before putting them back inside. I am not sure how well this will work with my new hatchlings but it is working great for these little guys. I put them out here when they were about 4/6 weeks old

 

[PoultryGirly]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

 

[nutelladuck]

Our three ducklings are inside (sorta like a screened in porch). They don't rlly smell that bad as long as you cleat their "environment". We have a big metal tub sorta thing (28 gallons) and its about 1.5-2 ft tall maybe. They can't jump out of it and you can get it at any supply/tool store. They are normally used for drinks (to keep and cool drinks like soda ect.) inside we have a medium sized duck stuffed animal ( make sure anything you put in their cage, they can't get on it and jump over the cage thing) we also have a tiny food bowl but you might need a bigger one or two cuz they go through A TON of food and water. We have a little thin fencing thing to close off the to and a water bowl Made for chicks. It's like a bowl covered by a water bottle type thing and they can't get in it they can just stick their beak in. You can get it at many pet stores or pet supply stores and they come in MANY sizes for MANY different animals. We have maybe 1-3 inches of bedding ( make sure you get bedding that is VERY absorbent) you need about one square foot per duckling so make sure you get a bigger tub that 28 gallons. Btw of corse we have a teat lamp. Make sure you give ur duckies mushed peas! They LOVE themmmmm! GOOD LUCK!

 

[nutelladuck]

Btw dairy products, rice, and bananas make your ducks poo dryer and less liquidish so foo them tiny doses of that so that their poop will be much easier to clean. DONT GIVE THEM TOO MUCH OF THOSE FOODS, they will get constipated!!!! you can give a little though that won't hurt good luck