water for ducks in winter???

[raimnel]

We have a kiddie pool now and in the mornings it is frozen. what do you guys do for "swimming" in the winter. do they NEED it? or is a waterer (for drinking) all they need?

 

[Lund121671]

We use the black rubber tubs from Farm and Fleet/Fleet farm. You can just flip them over stomp on them get the ice out and fill them back up and on nice sunny days the black actually helps keep the water from freezing. We are also in Wisconsin

 

[FrenchToast]

Another Wisconinitte here with the same question.

What I wonder about since this is our first year with ducks is the mess they make with their water bowl. I'm afraid they will have an ice skating rink in their coop and run.

Btw we are going to be building a new coop just for the ducks, what do you reccommend?? We have about 13 Runners, 2 mallard drakes, and a pair of Roens.


And as long as I'm at it I may as well ask you what you are feeding your ducks? And how often would you need to feed in winter??


Sorry if I hijacked this post. I just thought others in the colder climates might have these questions as well. I'll edit and delete my post if you feel I should. (Just PM me and I will)


Anxious to here others opinions on the water issue for ducks in winter. I was under the assumption that they need water 24/7 and have to have it while they eat. I actually put their food in water since I feed a semi mash mix.



I did see a guys duck coop that actually had a pond built right in it. All he did was dug an area that he wanted for the pond, buried pvc drain pipe with a pip burried I don't know how many feet away from the coop. It was made of poured concrete. Nothing fancy but the ducks sure loved it. He had a drain plug so when the pond got dirty he just pulled the plug and could rinse the pond with a hose and it all drained out away from the coop. Of course it would have to be buried deep enought not to freeze in our colder climate. He has a pole barn with all sectioned off coops for his chickens with individual runs on the outside. He says it really doesn't get that cold in the building but I don't know if the pond freezes or not. The pond was inside. Not real big but served the purpose.


Must be nice to be able to build a whole pole barn just for your chickens, or should I say have one built which is what he did. My poor horses are still waiting for a pole barn !!! LOL

 

[Quacking]

During the winter months I only fill the pools for my ducks on weekends. They can still get muddy and dirty and love to clean off again. But I do worry about them getting chilled so dont let them have access every day. They have drinking water conatiners big enough to get onto should they really want to during the week days- but I leave the larger pools for when I am home to monitor them. They always have water at night too,just a small bowl , it sometimes freezes over but at least they have it for some of the night.

 

[Mom 2em All]

I have a pond in the back- but this is my first year with ducks.
I just now plugged in their heated waterer. They are staring like it is an alien right now.

My plan was to keep this full all winter- and they can use their pond as long as it is not frozen. Once that occurs- well, they are going to have to wait until spring just like the rest of us.

I hate winter. I hate cold. I would not make a good duck.

 

[b&b's barnyard]

I'm from north central WI I'm going to try something for my first year with duck and geese I found a old metal bath tub and I built ramps for them to get in and out and I placed a tank heater in there with a protective metal cage on it so the animals cant get burnt or mess with the wires the heater was given to me built the cage out of hardware cloth and pvc pipe. and pluged the drain with a pvc pipe so I don't have to reach in and open drain and prevents overflo the drain for the tub is over the drain for the barn they will only be able to swim during the day but have heated dog dishes in there pens for drinkin water...open for more suggestion

 

[chipmunkridge]

We have a small black rubber tub from Tractor Supply that I put on a heater base. Nothing more amusing than looking outside in a snowstorm to see the duck sitting in the water. He treats it like a little jacuzzi.

 

[BlueLagoonRabbitry]

Set It Up Maybe On top of electrical poultry water heaters, you would have to make something between them so pool dont melt

 

[bwmichaud]

I use a 3 gallon black rubber tub. I don't heat it. The ducks don't stay out of it long enough for it to freeze. I flip it over at night and fill it back up in the morning. Just remember to watch out for the ice build up and dump it somewhere where it won't matter. Winters can be long in the north.

Brian

 

[veronicasmom]

Use a bird bath heater, they work very well. We've been using them for 8 years now and have never had a problem. Make sure it is a bird bath heater not a livestock tank heater. I used a heated dog water bowl for their drinking water, but am thinking of using a small 8 qt heated bucket for drinking water, they won't be able to get in it and make as much of a mess.