DoodlesDuckies
Songster
Ok, so I am new at this duck mom thing and don't get me wrong I love them and all. But WOW...everyday I am cleaning and spraying and cleaning and draining pools (yes 3 pools) and more spraying and more spraying and more spraying. I put out 3 pools, 3 water stations and 3 food stations and they choose a MUD PUDDLE every single time. (9 ducks and 2 geese) EVERY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going crazy.
Are they happy in the mud? Are ducks actually pigs in ducks feathers? Granted we have had a TON of rain this spring, which is not helping MY cleaning issues. I say MY because if ducks love water, mud and a clean dry hut at night with a clean pool then I am the problem expecting some sort of order and cleanliness from them.
I think the geese expect some order and cleanliness too because they look at those little piggies in disgust while they are drilling mud holes passing up clean water sources.
I think I am slowly beginning to accept the chaos of the mess but it has been a rough road this spring.
I have also apologized to my children (18 and 19 years old) for micro managing their mess ALL these year. The ducks/geese will be getting an apology too when I accept all this.
Are they happy in the mud? Are ducks actually pigs in ducks feathers? Granted we have had a TON of rain this spring, which is not helping MY cleaning issues. I say MY because if ducks love water, mud and a clean dry hut at night with a clean pool then I am the problem expecting some sort of order and cleanliness from them.
I think the geese expect some order and cleanliness too because they look at those little piggies in disgust while they are drilling mud holes passing up clean water sources.
I think I am slowly beginning to accept the chaos of the mess but it has been a rough road this spring.
I have also apologized to my children (18 and 19 years old) for micro managing their mess ALL these year. The ducks/geese will be getting an apology too when I accept all this.
Welcome to waterfowl! You are a wonderful person and you're going to make it! I know this because you wrote "I love them..." Now, about the "...and all, but..." You're ducks are doing exactly what God designed them to do. Ducks are filter feeders, they LOVE digging in the mud and muck with a clean bath afterwards. I spend an hour before and after work M through F and most of the weekend, interacting and tending to 13 ducks and a pair of White Chinese geese. 
Routine is the name of the game for us. As a fellow "micro-manager" of mess, I can relate but I had to trade it in for acceptance and routine when it came to my beautiful waterfowl. I gave them a "duck spa" area in the barnyard. It's a blue kiddie pool that I clean every day. I'm fortunate to live in an area where the soil/ground has excellent drainage. As soon as I dump the water, the ducks & geese get busy jackhammering and drilling to their hearts content. When that's done, they take turns tidying up in the clean pool, instantly turning it into a swamp. By the end of the day, the ground is dry but it all starts over again in the morning. 
I keep the mess to a small section of the barnyard so the rest of the yard stays dry. I rotate the pool to a different section of the yard two or 3 times a year. At night, they sleep in a separate paddock area in the yard that always stays clean and dry. We keep bales of pine shavings on hand and regularly use them in the barnyard and paddock to wick and keep the moisture down. It sounds like you really love your ducks and geese and you're doing an excellent job caring for them. Wishing you great success!
