Duck Smell

[Isindu]

I have 3, 16 day old Pekin ducklings and their brooder smells really bad. I was wondering whether they would keep smelling bad when they grow up because that would be a serious problem.

 

[Helloworld]

Ducks are wet and smelly if housed up. They need fresh air and penned at night. Your smell should be minimal in this circumstance.

 

[PirateGirl]

It's not as noticeable when they are outdoors. Also, once outdoors, ideally they will have more space than in the brooder so the waste will not be as concentrated. You will have the option of various ways of waste management, and waste will have the opportunity to compost (which doesn't smell). You will need to do some work and trial and error to see which bedding and waste management technique works best for you and your flock in your environment. My duck run only smells if it gets really wet. I mean wetter than the normal ducky splashing around. I just had 6 inches of snow melt in an afternoon, things got a bit stinky for a day. On a normal day, however, no major odors.

If you are planning on keeping them indoors, I would say yes, they will continue to smell.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I have 3, 16 day old Pekin ducklings and their brooder smells really bad. I was wondering whether they would keep smelling bad when they grow up because that would be a serious problem.

When I brooded Pekins, I had to change the bedding daily.
What I did was use 2 tubs. One tub on stand by and one in use. I'd swap the dirty but cute ducklings to the fresh brooder and clean and rinse out/dry and stage the second tub for the next day's swap out.
A very vicious cycle but I survived it. In the end, once the ducks are outside, it's easy peazy I tell you. The brooder days are trying times to say the least.
Hang in there!

 

[thumper650]

My adult ducks don't smell bad. And yes I picked them up to smell them.

 

[PirateGirl]

My adult ducks don't smell bad. And yes I picked them up to smell them.

Oh, I agree, the ducks themselves don't smell, it's the bedding and dirty water.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

With proper space, bedding, and daily cleaning, my 3 don’t smell. When I was sick last month, I wasn’t able to clean as throughly for a week and the difference was noticeable. Ducks are a particularly messy sort of birds (mostly when water is involved), but the work needed to keep their area fresh-smelling is not in any way overwhelming. However, messes are made, and they have a heck of a fun time making them.

But what seems to make a duck person a duck person is an appreciation for that fun-loving personality and an ability to find their messes not particularly annoying.

I have friends who have chickens only. A couple of them tried having ducks or geese in the past, but didn’t like the mess and found they preferred chickens as they felt they were less messy/stinky. Maybe you’ll find that ducks aren’t your thing, and that’s ok.

But I will say that once you get them into their bigger run/enclosure, it will get better