how much does duck poo smell?!

[Cuqui18]

how awful is the smell?

 

[THunter]

You know the smell when you're in an apartment building on a real hot summer day and there is no air conditioning and everybody on every floor is cooking something different? That, mixed with crap, about sums it up.

 

[SassyKat6181]

And mixed with the smell of wet duck feed makes it ten times worse. But......they are worth the stink!

 

[Cuqui18]

im just worried about my mom freaking out about the stench, anyone got any tips on how to keep the smell down?

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
clean,clean,clean...it's the best way. Ducks stink up a brooder and pen very quickly.You have to be diligent in cleaning it daily ...

 

[sourland]

Not as bad as pig poo, but worse than chicken poo. Clean, clean, clean and keep everything as dry as possible. Yeah, I know that's a real challenge with ducks.

 

[SassyKat6181]

I just switched my coops over to sand. This will allow the water to drain through and then I can rake the poo off the top. The smelliest part is the waterer. They eat and dunk their bills still full of food and then splash it all over. You may want to look into "nipple waterers" on here.

 

[Cuqui18]

Quote:
did a little research on the nipple waterers and it seems i would be able to make them fairly easily and for like... 10 bucks? so ducks will really use them?

 

[Kschwartz]

Personally, I don't think the ducks poo smells that bad during their first week of life... but honestly I think the smell has gotten worse these past two weeks

but then again I DID switch from pine shavings to straw, and I think the pine smell kind of "drones out" the smell of the poo better than straw.. oh well, they are outside anyways now!

If you go to fleet farm or a farm supply type store, they usually have this stuff ( like pellets/kind of like cat litter but for farm animals, idk how to describe it) that you can buy to put under their bedding that absorbs the smell so it doesn't stink that bad. I forgot the name though, sorry. I'll try to see if I can find it.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Ducks need to be able to clear their bills (nostrils) under water many times daily. MANY times. A nipple or cup waterer will not work for ducks. They need to dunk their heads and SWIM.

To the OP- you have posted many threads today wondering how to raise ducks. To be honest, and not mean, it sounds like you need to do some more research. They are messy and require care several times daily. With your school schedule, you may want to hold off a bit. Once you have ducks, there's really no such thing as a vacation. Not many pet-sitters or neighbors can really take care of them well. It also sounds like your mom is not really on board with this plan to get ducks.

If you don't change the water and rake the pen twice a day? You will be hearing from everyone. Ducks are smelly at best, unless you really work at it. And even then, you are in school and athletics, I think you said. Last thing you need is relatively high maintenance pets who live 10 plus years easily.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=534318 In answer to this post, yes, I think you would be in over your head. Sorry, but it's just the realistic view, hold off until you have more time.