Watering ducks advice.

[milkfever]

I am having a nightmare watering my ducks. They splash it everywhere and waste it all and making the bedding smell horrible. I also have to change the water 3 or more times a day because they waste it all. They are in their brooder and I REALLY need a solution! They also always seem thirsty because they waste most of it. I have a normal dog waterer and it is worthless. I know they are ducks and they are always going to play/waste their water but there HAS to be a better way! Any suggestions?

 

[sandcat]

my duckling gets its cage changed so much ive lost count how many times a day i do it, but one thing that helps is giving them heaps of exercise in an area that doesnt matter how much mess they make let them really go for it, I put my duckling in a big lunchbox full of water (with a step so he can rest and not have to keep swimming)and throw some peas in and he has a great time then he sleeps for a couple of hours then we repeat the process all day, its tiring but fun too, all my kids love watching it in the bath, then while they are sleeping they not making so much mess!!! sorry that the best i could come up with, ducks are messy messy messy and i cant see any way around it other that having rubber ducks

 

[duckyfromoz]

As well as a few bought containers - I have plastic containers with holes cut into the lids for mine. Its enough for them to get their heads into- but not there whole bodies. The water container is also put into a larger dish to catch further drips. The brooder still gets damp and messy- but no where near as messy as if they have a fully open container they can swim in as well as drink. I just use different sized containers for them as they grow.

 

[Amiga]

We have had discussions about this earlier last year - perhaps a search of the forum for water or waterers would help. Gryeyes (sp?) had a nice brooder setup. I always used a splash catcher - different models as they grew.

A broiler pan with a towel over it worked well for small chick waterers. In all, if you can catch 80% of what they splash, that gives you more time between cleanings and the bedding lasts longer.

I found having an area for their food and water somewhat separate from the rest of the area worked. They need to be able to easily get back and forth between the areas - they must have food and water 24/7 for their health.

I changed the brooder three to five times a day. It's part of the way I chose to raise them, because I wanted healthy, calm ducks. Early stress can lead to nervous, unhealthy ducks. So, the stress was mostly mine the first two or three months. It was worth it a thousand times over.

 

[gofasterstripe]

The bigger they get the messier they get. I had mine in a big plastic tote for 3 weeks. Mine got in the bath every day about 7pm, I would leave them in there while I cleaned out dishes and the tote, dryed it and put puppy pads back in and had it all back and heated up again for when bath time was over. When they went back after their bath I wouldnt give them food or water untill bed time at 10 to 10.30. It was the only time of the day they stayed clean. I thought with all the preening after their bath, plus them being tired it was down time where they had nothing to puddle in and make a mess, They dryed off and slept for a few hours. I know this doesnt hep you 1 iota but just thought I would share my story. Oh and by week 3...I would get up, put down fresh puppy pads, give clean food and water and have my coffee. After 30 mins it took me to drink my coffee I would go check on them and the tote was TRASHED. It soon made me work just that little bit faster to get their outside duck house done and finished so I could evict them. I rolled then suckers across the yard in the tote, put them in their new house and smiled all the way. My house wasnt smelling of dirty ducks, I found it was the feed they were on. But you know what, I loved every minute of raising them.

 

[FenDruadin]

Puppy pee pads can help, as can a THICK (several inches) layer of straw or chips or whatever you're using for bedding. Placing their water container inside a larger container to catch the splashes helps a lot too.

If you're using a chick waterer, check to make sure that it's level. If it's at an angle it can leak and dump all the water gradually into the bin, even without the help of the ducks.

For odor, a generous sprinkling of baking soda UNDER the bedding works wonders.

Another BIG factor is how many ducks per sq ft. The larger the set-up and the fewer the ducks, the less often you have to clean.

Ducks are wet & messy, but with the right set-up you can reduce clean-up to once a day or so.

Good luck!

 

[awryexperiment]

Try this to conserve bedding and reduce smells:

put your waterer in a shallow container (like a cafeteria tray) on top of the bedding. You can add some folded newspapers in the tray to help soak up the water.

 

[mustangluvrjen]

I was having a watering issue w/ my ducklings that are about 2 wks old now. This is what I did; I took a yoplait yogurt cup w/ narrow top and a small animal ceramic food dish. I hot glued the yogurt cup inside the ceramic dish to weight it down and make it more stable. The ceramic dish will also catch water driplets running down the cup.

Does it stop all water...um no but does help quit a bit. If you could find a betta bowl tha has a opening big enough for them to get their heads in that might work too and would hold more water than a yogurt cup. Thats just my two cents. lol

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
This has worked for me too!

 

[Highlander]

This worked well for me. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=426909