Wow! The mess. Newbie shocked.

[Ren2014]

I too was a shocked newbie. Folks had warned me that ducks poop a lot but I didn't think much of it. Had someone told me they can not hold their bowels it might have painted a better picture. We have 11 and they went outside after 1 week. Now they poop and quack all the time but I love them all.

 

[toowoombapekins]

I also underestimated how messy they are
I read all the stories, and thought really how much mess could just 2 ducks make.....
WELL.....

I'm at the stage now where I'm replacing all their straw and bath water every day. 24 hours and their coop stinks and almost the entire floor is matted with stepped on/layed on poop.
Then they spill half their food under the feeder, water everywhere. Their bath is...... God only knows.... it stinks, it looks like... I don't know!

I emptied out their clamshell pool yesterday and refilled with clean water. I could literally see it turn from clean, transparent water to murky, junk filled water in less than half an hour of their play time...

Likewise, I would do it all again, but boy I underestimated just how messy they are. How can two birds poop so much!!!

I'm also now looking at caging an outdoor area for them. Hopefully if they spend most of the day grazing and pooping on the grass, they won't mess up the coop as quickly.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Hello. Many helpful tips in this thread. Love the rubber snake idea. Will try that in the spring. Thanks! I have chickens & geese and was thinking of adding ducks to the mix. It's a toss up whether the geese or the chickens make a bigger mess. They make different kind of messes. Can anyone out there w geese & ducks tell me if their mess creating abilities are similar or more so. Also runners vs mallard type: mess factor?

I try to give my birds as much room as possible and move them frequently to manage their mess. All poultry housing is on wheels and chicken house has wire mesh floor so their poops fall through. It's easier when there is no snow on the ground, but the houses get moved regularly to "fertilize" different areas of the lawn. Also in non-snowy months I use the electric net fencing and rotate where they graze. Helps a little w mess factor & the chicken pen never looks like the surface of the moon.

 

[Amiga]

My runners are not messy. Maybe they are different? Getting the water under control makes an enormous difference.

When they were ducklings, I was brand new to the experience. So we did have some messes and I spent quite a while cleaning the brooder. The house never smelled bad. Not one day. Eleven ducklings.

I learned, after the fact, some good techniques from Tweetysvoice, 70%cocoa, OldGuy43, and some others. If we ever brood again, I will have a much easier time of it. But now I am aware of ducks needing to be adopted after being dumped, so I don't know if we will go the duckling route again.

I spot pick and fluff bedding daily, keep water in a watering station, top up bedding every couple of days, do a big clean out as needed, maybe once a week, or two weeks. With the winter weather keeping us in, I replace small sections of bedding every couple of days. I have been using Sweet PDZ because they are inside so much. We seem to be fine.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Watering station. I need to build one of those. How close to the watering station do you put their food bowl/feeders?

 

[Amiga]

Food is placed two to four feet away.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Thanks for the pics. Looks like a good system.

 

[Amiga]

Works well. We have thirteen ducks now, so I have a second watering station that is mostly used by the four buffs.

 

[GentFarmer]

Two weeks in to the brooding process for 10 ducklings, and I have to say this thread scared me more than any other prior to getting ducks. Maybe it was a good thing it did, because I've had zero issues with mess. All it took was a little planning and a strategy.

I opted to go for towels rather than bedding. I have a rotation of 6-8 old towels.
I bought a tote from Rubbermade that has a front-opening hatch for the water/feed.
And I used a galvanized tub as the brooder.




Step 1: Line the galvanized tub with bedding. I opted for pine shavings, and then decided after the first week to add straw on top of that to provide a bit more aeration.
Step 2. Insert the tote with the lid down.
Step 3: Line the tote with shop towels. To brood 10 ducks for 4 weeks, you'll need 6 rolls.
Step 4: Place cloth towel on top of bedding, but not in the tote where the food/water is.
Step 5: Add ducks.

When the towel gets soiled, just fold it inside out. When it's dirty again, put in a clean towel. I've not had to do laundry any more than normal. The ducklings make messes, but it's been easy to contain and maintain a clean environment. They're brooding inside the house (which is a small studio <600 square feet), and you'd never know I had them in here.

Cost:
1 Tote @ $13.
6 rolls of shop towels @ $2/ea.
8 used bath towels: free/donated by friends.
Galvanized tub (5-feet long): $100 (this is the big ticket item and can be eliminated. I'm just pulling double duty with the tub, and will turn it into the duck bath when they move out.)

 

[Amiga]

GentFarmer, you've got it! Wow. You get a gold star.

Thanks for laying it out clearly, also.

I plan to bookmark this thread.