What to use for water for 4 wk old ducklings

[joymommy]

HI there,

I'm a first-time duck owner and have 16 ducklings that are almost 4 weeks old. Anyways, I'm looking for ways to get them water that lasts longer than a couple of hours! I have a basic plastic with the red bottom gallon-sized waterer that they use up quickly. I also had the idea of putting a bunch of quart-sized canning jars inside of a pot and filling those up for them to drink from. The ducks are too big to fall in and can dunk their head out. But still with all of this, it seems they go through the water way too fast! Any ideas for making a larger waterer or things to use for a larger waterer? I always worry about whether they're out of water or not... Thanks for any help!

Melanie!

 

[Settler'sDreamFarm]

Sorry can not help you

But you are a brave soal :O 16 ducks
I am sure you love them, but they must be a handful....... I have a hard time with 5

 

[Duck Keeper]

Search "Milk jug waterer" on this site.


Hey, it worked for me!

 

[fowlmood]

Do they have a pool or other area of water to play in? Even with a shallow bottomed waterer, they will play and splash a lot of the water out. Also, put a pan/tray of some sort under the waterer. That will catch some of the spills. Still with 16 ducklings you're going to need bigger waterers. Even just a few ducks will drink a lot. And you have 16!!!!!

Good luck!

 

[xfilesnumber1fan]

Oh my....16 babies! I have 6 babies 7 weeks old and 5 adults ....I thought it was hard with 6 babies...I have a pool with a ramp but they still arent brave enough yet,,I have been using meatloaf pans they arent too big but deep enough for them to clean out the nose holes...Water lasts about 4 hours..I dont know how you do it...16 babies

 

[Sillystunt]

i was gonna say maybe a disposable pan like to roast turkeys or ziti pan...they are not that deep but they are big enough to hold some water for you. 16 ducks........geesh your brave...lol

i also used a kids pool when mine got bigger

 

[streemers]

when i had 16 in feb. i had the same prob. so i ended up getting another 1 gl. they still went through that fast but i had about 4 1/2 hr break between filling them again. this time i only ordered 11 but i am starting to think that the places like metzer farms where you can get less at a time is the best idea. stink stink stink

 

[streemers]

oh and the self filling dog waterers work really well. just put some rocks in the bowl part

 

[joymommy]

Thanks for the ideas! If anyone has more, let me know! A friend of mine had the eggs and didn't know how the hatch would go and she wanted to add to her flock too. I too the first batch that were ready from the hatch - 16 and she took the rest - 25! It was a pretty good hatch! So we're raising them and will see how many males/females and then will decide how many we want to keep and then will give away or sell for cheap the others. Not planning on keeping 16!

The other hard thing is that we're in Northern WI so the temps here are still not that warm. Today is colder and it's only just over 50 although usually it's more around 70. They haven't been in their outside pen too much because of that so no swimming etc.. until it's warm and/or they're older and have their feathers. They're mostly in the coop although on the warmer days/times they will go out some. They're so afraid of everything still though! Very funny!

What do people use for the adults? A friend uses a big bucket I think. Thanks!

Melanie

 

[Wifezilla]

Where all your water is going....