Duck mess solution?

elfael · **Posted:** Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:17 pm

Does anyone have any tips for reducing the amount of mess ducks make in and around their water containers? I'm going to be building pens for my ducks shortly after New Year, and I'd prefer not to be constantly wading in mud. I'd also like to only be refilling their water once a day, if possible.

At the moment my babies are still in the brooder box most of the time, and the mess they manage to make even with a fountain waterer is astonishing. I've had to resort to putting the waterer inside another container, then that and the food goes inside a larger tray; the whole lot has to be cleaned and changed at least 3 times a day, and the bedding of the box still gets drenched. It's not so bad when they go outside for a while, to have a proper bath and eat some grass, but even then it only takes an hour or so for the ground to get slushy.

The pens are going to be of the half-wire/half-enclosed type, with an earth floor, and a standing water feature isn't an option for me. Time out of the pen will be limited to a couple of hours roaming the yard each day, when I'm there to supervise them. What are my options for providing water but keeping the pens and yard from becoming a quagmire?

Rebecca

elfael · **Posted:** Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:36 am

Hmm, no responses ... should I take that to mean that ducks=mess no matter what I do?

Honks · **Joined:** Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:08 pm **Posts:** 47

Raise the hanger up ona concrete paver. Ducks will make water mess no matter what you do, but if you can prevent them putting everything they can carry into the waterer it does make it easier.

Ducklings in a broooder are a lot more messy than ducks in a large pen.

Regards

Honk

elfael · **Posted:** Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:18 am

Thanks Honk!

Muscovy J · **Posted:** Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:29 am

hi elfael.
hi mate ducks can make a bit of a mess with water . but what i do is i use plastic containers i buy from cheap discount shops i think thay are a 9 liter size thay come in round or square shapes . and i move them around every couple of days in my yard . also i use a plastic babys bath for them that i can move around as well a lot of people use clam pools but i think there a waist of time and water as a baby bath works a lot better and you can fill it every day . also i use a lot of river sand in my yard that i spread all over the place that helps keep your yards and pens clean i use it in there duck houses and all over the pens i live in town so i like to keep my yards cleen . i lot of duck pens i have seen in the past are very dirty because of water everywere and give ducks a bad name. i have 11 muscovys and i manage to keep there yard very clean . hope this helps
regards jase

elfael · **Posted:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:30 am

Thanks Jase. I was going to use a clam pool, but I'll try the baby's bath as well. First thing my father said when I told him I was getting ducks was "but they're filthy things" ... I'm keen to prove him wrong!

Muscovy J · **Posted:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:52 pm

good to hear mate.
yes a lot of people i know all say ducks are dirty ? the sad part is thay have never kept them to know. so give my way a try and see how you go. as i said a babys bath is a lot better than a clam pool and i simply fill it every day , were a clam pool needs a lot of water and thay get very dirty and are a lot more work. let me know how you go

regards jase
ps what breed do you keep?

elfael · **Posted:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:40 pm

I have a pair of calls, two bantam saxonies (4 1/2 weeks old and unsexed), and an unsexed baby muscovy. I'm not sure yet which will be my favourites. The calls came to me as fairly wild adults, though the drake has been shown before and he's not too bad; the saxonies aren't keen on being handled and bite me sometimes. The muscovy's the quietest of the lot, and I'm hoping it turns out to be a girl so it can be a backup egg-sitter. Given that I have a limit of 10 poultry, and I'm wanting to get some chickens for eggs, I can't branch out too much.

I can see that it won't be long before I'll be applying to the council for a permit to go over the 10-bird limit!

Muscovy J · **Posted:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:06 pm

great to hear about your ducks mate.
hopefully your muscovy will be a girl . as mussies are the best egg sitters . how old is the muscovy? maybe you could post a picture so everyone can have a look maybe someone could see if its a drake or a duck?

regards jase

elfael · **Posted:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:14 pm

Mussie baby photos are already up, taken about a week ago.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I've got myself a boy though ... it was one of the larger babies in the pen, I picked it because it was the only one with a decent amount of black on it.

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