New to ducks. Why can't they be wet?

[Lelilamom]

TSC had ducks they were practically giving away because no one wanted them. Hubby came home with 9 ducks a week ago. They were over a week old then so now they are over two weeks old. I know squat about ducks. We had the waterer and feeder from our chicks and the ducks couldn't fit their bills into the holes so I took a small, shallow tupperware for both feed and water and that lasted about 8 seconds. The ducks jumped into the water one at a time and rolled around, getting themselves as wet as possible, then ran to the dry bedding under the heat lamp and dried themselves off. The small water dish was tipped in the process. Back to the drawing board. I got a shallow pan, put a quarter inch of water, and they all hopped in, rolled around and ran to the bedding and dried themselves off. Then ran back to the water, drank it, rolled around and ran back to the bedding and dried off and went to sleep. Needless to say, I have a serious mess on my hands that I clean twice a day. I don't mind the mess but I'm worried I'm not caring for the ducks properly. They LOVE the water. When they drink all the water or splash it out they start screaming for me and I have to run down and pour more in. Do I nix the pan and risk a revolt?

 

[Serin]

Baby ducks want to swim but the issue is that yours don't have a mother. In the wild, they'd lay under mother's feathers, and the waterproof oil from her plumage would get into theirs. They can't produce enough of their own preen gland oil for several weeks so are at a big risk of becoming chilled and water-soaked and actually, they can sink if they stay in too long!

You are best using a waterer they can only dip their heads into until about 8 weeks of age. You can allow supervised swimming in a pool of shallow water every day, but it should be only for a short time at this age, and can be lengthened every week a little bit. As they can becoming chilled, they need to be able to get out of the water and back to their heat lamp easily so they do not get hypothermic.

In the wild, they'd just sit under mom when they got too chilly.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Here is a homemade waterer that you can easily do. Put it over a basin or something with a grate like a cookie cooling rack type thing and you won't have hardly any mess and they won't be able to get in it!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Nine ducklings? - That's a lot of work!
In a moment of mental derangement I ordered 15 ducklings this spring, you can read their story here. I experimented a lot with different waterer setups to keep the ducklings dry. Setting a standard poultry waterer on a platform in a bin with an entrance:


An apple-cider bottle as a duckling bar:


In the end the poultry waterer on a platform, inside of a bin made the cut:

But the ducklings were large enough to stand and reach over the bin and get to the water.

Feel free to look into my duckling album and use my ideas.

 

[chickens really]

Less mess waterer...

 

[CrystaBub]

Sorry - not laughing at you @Lelilamom - laughing with you b/c we've all been there! Some good advice from others here too!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Sorry - not laughing at you @Lelilamom - laughing with you b/c we've all been there! Some good advice from others here too!

Yes, ducklings are so lucky that they are sooo cuuuute! - Nobody would tolerate the mess they're making would they be ugly beings.

 

[bluemerle]

The 'water issue' is a big debacle with every brood. I used a system like @chickens really mentioned - until the ducklings kept getting bigger and started drinking a LOT of water (and being big enough to tip plastic containers over, soaking everything). Just experiment until you see what works!

 

[chickens really]

The 'water issue' is a big debacle with every brood. I used a system like @chickens really mentioned - until the ducklings kept getting bigger and started drinking a LOT of water (and being big enough to tip plastic containers over, soaking everything). Just experiment until you see what works!

By that time they can be outside

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I agree with everyone here except for one thing. Ducklings will produce their own oil within a few days if they get wet. On my ducklings second day of life I introduce them to water by letting them walk through a pie pan filled with warm water and bits of floating grass or greens. They then go right back under the heart lamp. I increase depth of the water and how long they get to stay in the water over the next several days. By the fourth-fifth day I open the side of my brooder and playtime begins (see video). You can see in the video that the water is beading up on them.
Note: I am a teacher and the ducklings are in my classroom with me and a class full of students watching them all day. I do not leave them alone. I have successfully raised several batches of babies this way.