In the breeding of ducks, the presence of clean water in the house and on the walking area plays an important role. This will require high-quality drinking bowls that meet safety standards and are easy to use. They can be constructed with your own hands.

Requirements for drinking bowls for ducks

Basic requirements for drinkers:

• quality material, safe for ducks, not accumulating toxins;
• ease of operation;
• structural stability;
• spaciousness;
• the possibility of heating water in winter.

When equipping a poultry house and territory with drinking bowls, it is worth considering the behavioral characteristics of the bird. The water tank must be stable and closed so that ducks do not spray water and bathe in it.

Did you know? The duck is able to independently find the way to the reservoir, and then return home.

Types of drinking bowls for ducks

There are several types of drinking bowls:

• cup;
• nipple;
• vacuum;
• grooved;
• simple variations.

Simple variations are the usual basins, installed in a convenient place for the farmer. This design is the cheapest option and has a lot of disadvantages. Ducks will constantly tip over the pelvis and climb into it with their feet, which will cause a lot of inconvenience and complicate the cleaning of the territory.

Cup

The design is a tank that delivers water in a dosed manner through a hose to the bowls located below. The cup drinker is easy to use and easy to assemble with your own hands. Suitable for birds of any age. If there is a water pipe, you can install a water heater on the tap, and in the winter warm water will flow into the drinking bowl.

Nipple

The nipple or nipple design is a container with dispensers coming out of it. Water is supplied after pressing the nipple. When using such a drinking bowl, the water does not stagnate and is supplied only at the request of the bird. The only design flaw is the complexity of the execution.

Important! There are nipples that open the water supply only at an angle of 90 ° - they are used for adult livestock, and those that work at 360 ° are used for young animals.

Vacuum

The vacuum drinker is easy to carry out. It is an inverted tank filled with a liquid that is under pressure and flows into a sump. The design is universal and suitable for adults and for feeding daily ducklings. The disadvantage is the instability of the design.

Grooved

Groove drinkers are easy to perform, but not always convenient. Most often, a sewer pipe is used for manufacturing, in which holes are cut to the size of duck heads. This design is durable and roomy. The disadvantage of this drinker is the need for frequent replacement of water and the complexity of this manipulation. Ducks, having free access to water, will not miss the opportunity to constantly rinse their beaks in it.

How to make a drinker for ducks with your own hands at home

Before making a drinker, select the place where it will be located. Consider securing the structure to prevent overturning. Think in advance how disinfection of drinkers will be made.

Nipple

A self-made nipple drinker will be much cheaper than the factory analogue, and will be fully adapted to the bird available on the farmyard. We offer to consider a detailed description of the process of creating a home-made drinker.

To make a nipple drinker you will need:

• polypropylene pipe with a diameter of 20 mm;
• corners;
• tees;
• flexible hose;
• 360 nipples
• fasteners;
• ten-cube syringes.

Tools:

• 8 mm wood drill sharpened under a feather;
• hair dryer;
• tap for threading under nipples M9x1.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Prepare syringes. Close one, leave the second open and cut it.
2. Insert syringes on both sides into the tube.

3. Turn on the hairdryer and weld the syringes into the pipe. The heating temperature should be within 400 °.

4. Mark out the nipple holes. Using a wood drill sharpened under a feather, make holes and outline the thread with a tap. The design is almost ready - it remains to insert the nipples.

5. Fix the tube to several fasteners and attach to the wall. The hose can be connected to any water supply device. It can be a full water conduit or a bucket mounted under the ceiling.

Important! The cut off end of the syringe is left to stick out of the pipe. In the future, a flexible hose and a tee will be mounted on it.

The nipple drinker connected to the water main is easiest to put on for heating. The heating device is installed directly in the faucet and is called a thermostat.

Video: DIY nipple drinkers

From a plastic bottle

A drinker made from a plastic bottle is the easiest and most affordable fixture. With its help, you can build a full vacuum drinking bowl. If you need to drink a large population, you can make such a drinker from a 5-liter canister.

To create a drinker you will need:

• 2 liter plastic bottle;
• shallow bowl or flat plate with divisions (you can use a special bowl for dogs with divisions for food);
• profile frame.

To make a drinker, use the following set of tools:

• nippers;
• 2 screws;
• drill;
• 3 mm drill.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. In a pre-selected place, screw the profile frame with screws. Set a bowl below.
2. Fill the bottle with water, do not fully screw the cap and turn it over.
3. Insert the bottle in this position into the prepared frame.

Did you know? The first electric drill was created in 1895. It was a large unit weighing 8 kg, equipped with 2 handles. And even more ancient ancestor of the drill is the arc drill, used in the Stone Age to make holes in the handles of axes.

To keep the water warm in winter, a good option is with IR lamps. They heat the objects they shine on and do not burn oxygen. From them comes a pleasant dim light, which can not be turned off even at night. Thus, you will immediately solve 2 problems: water heating and additional lighting in winter.

From the canister

An elementary version of the vacuum design can be created from a canister of any displacement. This type of automatic drinker is equally well suited for day-old young animals and adult birds.

To create a drinker you will need:

• 5–20 L thick plastic food canister;
• faucet with drip irrigation;
• pallet 20x20 cm.

To build a structure, you will need such devices:

• drill;
• a drill suitable in diameter to the faucet.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. At the bottom of the canister, approximately 5–10 cm from the bottom, mark the hole. Try on the side of the pallet. It should rise above the faucet by 3-5 cm.
2. Install a tap and your drinker is ready.
3. Fill the container with water, put it in a pan and open the faucet. Water will fill the pan until it covers the faucet itself. Then, under the influence of vacuum, the flow stops.

In order not to carry a canister of water each time, you can connect it to the water supply. Make a hole in the cover and thread the flexible hose into it. Connect the other end of the hose to the tap.

Video: Car drinking canister

In the case of connecting to the water supply, heating is extremely simple - by installing the thermostat directly in the faucet. If the set of water is produced independently, the option with IR lamps in the house is suitable.

From the sewer pipe

A drinking tank from a sewer pipe is a good option for a large livestock. The advantage of this design is the convenience of connecting to the plumbing system.

The following materials will be required to make a drinker:

• polypropylene sewer pipe 1.5 m long, 20 cm in diameter;
• stub;
• turn signal;
• wide latches.

From the tools you will need:

• jigsaw equipped with a metal file with a fine tooth;
• screwdriver;
• 8 mm drill;
• level;
• construction pencil;
• crosshead screwdriver.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Lock the pipe and mark with a level. The size of the slots is 25x10 cm. The step between the slots is 10 cm.
2. Having made the marking, use a Phillips screwdriver to place marks under the holes in different diagonal planes of the first rectangle.
3. Drill the marked holes with a drill.
4. Next, enter the jigsaw into the hole and draw a straight line along the edge of the rectangle. Thus, you need to go through the entire rectangle, and then take out the cut piece.
5. Remove the chips and continue to work with the following holes.
6. Fasten the pipe with latches in a pre-selected location.

The problem with heating water is easily solved by the above methods.

Video: Sewer drinking bowl

From the barrel

An equally interesting and simple option is a duck drinker from a barrel. Such a device will provide water not only for a large number of ducks, but also for other inhabitants of the yard.

Did you know? First of all, the duck leads its brood to a swimming pool. The ability to swim is inherent in babies at the genetic level, so they freely feel in the water a few hours after birth.

To complete the task you will need:

• 50 liter metal barrel;
• 6 pieces of pipe 10 cm with a cross section of 25 mm;
• 3 pieces of pipe with a cross section of 25 mm and a length of 20 cm;
• droplet eliminators;
• finished drinkers with nipples 3 pcs.;
• faucet with irrigation;
• a wooden bar 80–90 cm long;
• flexible hose.

Of the tools you will need:

• drill;
• drill bit 19;
• screws;
• screwdriver.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Make a hole at a convenient height at the bottom of the barrel. Fasten the faucet in it.
2. Fasten the nipples with the nipples together using pipe sections.
3. On the wooden block, fix the droplet eliminators and then insert the tube with drinking bowls into the grooves.
4. Fill the drinker with water, connect one end of the hose to the tap, the other to the construction with drinkers. For convenience, you can make several holes in the barrels and connect faucets to them.

This option is very convenient for summer keeping in the enclosures of several species of birds and animals. In this case, the barrel is installed in the central part and wiring is made from it into all aviaries.

Video: How to make a drink from a metal barrel

It is easy to heat the water in the barrel, because it will stand in a place isolated from pets. In winter, hot bricks can be laid under it or a thermostat can be installed directly in the water tap.

Installation of drinkers in a cage

Several automated water supply tanks should be installed in the house. This will save your time and keep ducks healthy. The best option is a nipple design. Water does not spill out of it, and ducks absorb only the amount of liquid that they need.

The drinkers are fixed to the walls near the nests and near the feeders. Drinkers are hung on the cells from the outside.

Drinking bowls must be constantly cleaned and disinfected. Over time, a plaque is collected on the surface of the material, which can be removed by cleaning with “Körcher”. Parts made of metal can be boiled.

Important! The drinkers should be washed once every 5 days. In the presence of a sick bird - every 3 days.

What water to give ducks

Water is of particular importance to ducks. Their body temperature is much higher than in humans - 41–42 ° C, respectively, and metabolism occurs faster. For a year, a duck consumes 270-300 liters of water. In the first days after birth, the duckling drinks up to 0.03 liters of water. By 20 days, the need for water increases to 200 g. In 1 month. the duckling already drinks 300 g of water daily. Ducks need not only a watering hole, but also a swimming pond. In birds deprived of the opportunity to bathe, the sebaceous glands and the reproductive system begin to work worse, immunity decreases.Rules for drinking ducks:

• the water is clean, fresh, odorless and additives;
• fluid temperature - 9–13 ° C;
• the required volume of water must always be in the house and on the walking area.

In farming, there are always many different details. All of them can be used with benefit and build a drinking bowl for ducks and other birds.