Ducklings - giving them enough water.

[Anonymous]

I have two batches of ducklings in my brooder. (Mixed farmyard types) The problem I have is that within minutes of filling the drinker, they have emptied it. That's OK when I am here, but I can't go out for more than an hour or so without them spilling it all over the floor of the brooder. Any suggestions please?

 

[Tim]

Hi,

What I do is once they are big enough (you don't want them getting stuck in the water) is put a large water container into a cat litter tray (or similar) - something I found in my local garden center this year is pretty good - a plant pot tray about 4 times the size of a litter tray. I find they go into the tray empty the water but then they dabble in the tray that fills up a little. This way, they spend longer dabbling in the tray with the water than emptying the water container and it should last the day. I change mine morning and evening.

You may need to provide a bit of wood to help them in and out if they are small but usually the real mess starts after a couple of weeks.

I do the same outside too - put them in a small run and they will soon turn the ground to mud - so the tray again helps under the water container.

Empty and clean the tray when you change the water so it doesn't get too full.

The other option I have seen is a mesh floor where there drinker sits - this stops the mess but doesn't stop them emptying the container of course...

Hope this helps...

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I've tried that, with the addition of a tea towel in the tray. It keeps them in water and the brooder just about lasts the day before a complete cleanout.