Expensive trip to Tractor Supply

[Jared77]

Doing a set up like this would be pretty easy. A simple threaded attachment near the bottom of the stock tank and a ball valve would give you the abilty to drain the tank. You could run a hose from that attachment to the garden and gravity would bring the water right down the hose for you into your garden. That way your not carrying water buckets all over the property.

Then you could build a few ramps going up into the stock tank. Id probably use 1"x 12" planks with strips running across it to give your poultry something to help walk up and down the ramp in case the slide. I would imagine it would be pretty easy to train them to go up and down the ramp. Treats on the ramp and encourage them to go up and they'd figure it out. Then a few treats for them to go back down. Few trips up and down the ramp and they'll have it in no time. The biggest thing I could see causing issue would be making sure the ramp isn't too steep so its difficult to climb.

Another thought would be to build a small deck that lines one side or sides of the stock tank. Then your ramps hook up to that. That way your poultry are walking up to a stable flat area that they can drink from or enter the tank from. That way chickens could walk up the ramp or fly to that shelf lean foward and drink safely without having to compete with waterfowl going in and out of the stock tank or trying to perch on the edge of the tank to get a drink. I would use the composite decking material (the plastic stuff) so its MUCH easier to clean than wood and you don't have to repaint it every couple of years. Powerwash that stuff, scrub brush with some bleach/soap and it would be as good as new. The extra money you put in up front would save you money down the road. It might not hurt to put a shelf that sits just below the water line inside the stock tank too, on the same side as the outside deck that way your ducks could step onto that and step out if they got tired, and help young birds that don't have the strength or body control to just go up and out. You could build that out of PVC and some extra composite deck planks.

I REALLY like the rabbit hutch idea over the compost pile. I never thought of that but will be something I do if (more like when) I have rabbits.

 

[nachoqtpie]

That's a great idea with the "deck" idea. I could hang some feeders from the sides too! It would give them some shade under the deck as well as under the chicken coop. I'm liking how this idea is coming together. Maybe I could rig up some type of device that would let me hang a shelf from the deck into the water for them to jump up on, with it wide enough to let them stand on, but still give them room to swim. Maybe one of those planter box hangers that you put on the side of a railing? Hmmmm... I will have to think on this more I think.

 

[nachoqtpie]

So.... I was talking with a friend today and she said that I would need to be careful about adding chickens to my ducks... she said she didn't know which it was, but that it was either you shouldn't add chicks to ducks, or you shouldn't add ducks to chicks.

Am I going to have issues adding chicks in another month or so?? The ducks will be a couple months old, and we're going to get day olds when my husband get his VA check. (Hopefully within the next week or so!)

 

[lesa]

Obviously, you wouldn't put day old chicks in with anything- but certainly tons of people have ducks and chickens on the same property.... I have read some drowning stories about chickens- so you wouldn't want them to have access to a deep pond.

 

[Jared77]

I would think you could use some large hooks and hang your "shelf" into the stock tank. Id have the inside shelf on the same side as the outside deck so the birds can step up and out easily enough. Maybe 12" wide? Should be plenty for them and that should leave them plenty of room to swim. An inverted window planter box might work too. Maybe with some eye bolts and hooks I don't know you'd have to get it set up and go from there. Maybe you have the lines come up and attach those lines to the deck? You'd have to build it and tweak the idea till you get something that would work for you.

I didn't even think about shade. I think feeders would be a great idea.

I've never heard chicken and duck combinations being bad. Id ask on BYC regarding that. I know people free range them together but I don't know if they live together. I've never kept waterfowl so I don't know. Oh and in case you really want to go overboard and get into waterfowl check out the Mandarin duck. Your welcome!!!

 

[nachoqtpie]

OMG!!!! Those are the most beautiful ducks I've ever seen!! Maybe when we get our farm with a real pond, I will get some to be "wild ducks."

So... do you think it would be BETTER to put them in 2 different enclosures? I was thinking of getting a longer shallower stock tank. I have found a couple on the TSC web site that are longer and shallower. Hopefully if they don't have one like that they can order me one. If I can do that, then I think I would feel better about having the chickens in there with the ducks. The one that I'm looking at is 2'Wx4'Lx1'H. Do you think that would be big enough for the ducks, but not enough for the chickens?Maybe I could put a small shelf on one end so the ducks could use that if needed.

I def wouldn't put baby chicks out there with them! We're planning on putting them in the bath tub as well. I guess it will depends on how big the ducks are when we get the chicks! You We're going to order from MyPetChicken.com, and they have a couple dates with limited availability, but the next one that's not limited or sold out is June18th, which is Bugs birthday. That's when we were INTENDING to get them, but, I guess we will see.

 

[Carol Dee]

Is Bug a good Mimic? When my son hatched a few duck eggs he would walk around the yard peeping like a duckling. They followed him everywhere. When he would stop moving they would climb up on his feet and snuggle in. Too cute.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Too cute!! I can do the peep pretty well. They stop and look at me when I do it like "what a weird looking duck!" Lol


Today they were all racing around the tub. It wa quite cute, but they are starting to make bigger messes! I forgot how messy they are! I clean I out every other day of all soiled litter. We've gone thru almost a entire bag of shavings so far! Lol

 

[Jared77]

You'd have to ask on BYC about seperating them. That or if you have multiple waterers they may not even bother with the stock tank. Id think a deeper tank would be what your after but I don't know. Only ducks I've ever owned are training birds for my retrievers. Their enclosure is made by Whirlpool.

 

[nachoqtpie]

I may have to do that. I guess it wouldn't hurt to pop over there and see what they have to say about putting the ducks and chickens together and the shallow stock tank idea vrs larger with multiple waterers