DIY - Build A Better Backyard Duck Feeder

[@stephaniedotson980]

FINALLY a simple feeding solution that makes sense for how ducks eat! Thank you!

[@josephefasciani7343]

I've raised 100s of ducks, mostly Khaki Campbells, because I sold eggs, not them for meat. At the time I lived in the Slocan Valley, halfway between Nelson & Castlegar. My best clients were Chinese chefs for the eggs: in the mid-1970s I earned $6/dozen on the eggs, which went a long ways to cover their feed bill. Being a journeyman carpenter, I built a tight, snug duck house & they were closed in every night to keep out predators. As they forage relentlessly, I let them out 365/7, since they're waterproof, come with down jackets, are very social & community-minded, reduce insect pests to a minimum, and keep a sharp eye out for predators. When I lived there at the time, Winter lows during January were -30° F, and they laid right through it. As we also had 4' of snow I had to be out @ 7 to get eggs, as they didn't always use the nest boxes I made for them. If you fail to pick up warm eggs promptly, they melt snow, freeze 6"+ deep, and become very difficult to take up without breaking the shell, though it is very strong! Because I studied Chinese art, I remember paintings showing "Duck boy herds his flock w/a long stick," so I cut and made one 8' long which was infinitely useful moving them from place to place. I hope my comments help future duck herders of the world. Unite, all feathered ones, link wings and let us soar the skies! Joseph E Fasciani, 76, Esquimalt, BC I've had positive response to my comments; if you'd like more info from my 7 yrs bush living w/o hydro email me: [e-mail]

[@zackariahp1873]

That's funny because I found using a broom stick was really good at herding them also

[@marliem.5575]

Looks great! I think I'll make this. I found out ahead of time that ducks are pushy, so with my small flock of 6 ducks I bought a sturdy little feeding trough from TSC that hangs to a fence, but with not having a fence, I drilled through the pre-drilled holes to make the holes a little bigger, and fed two 3-foot cuts of rope into both sides and tied it to the side of a cinder block. I later added key-clasps tied to the trough and clasp it to the rope loops tied through both sides of the cinder block to make it easy to frequently remove it to clean the feeding trough. Works enough not to knock over the dry food, but they still make a mess of it sprinkling the food on the ground while taking it to their water bucket with their mouth. So this PVC feeder in the video is a much better idea especially with a bigger flock of fussy ducks... Thanks for this video!

[@MARTINADBA1980]

On behalf of all the ducks around the world, we thank you for your care of these pretty and funny creatures.

[@annwithaplan9766]

Pickle Rick - Are you the same Pickle Rick that stood at the bedroom window of the potter's house?

[@joenewbie4793]

WOW, it helped A LOT, we could not figure a way to get them water & food at the same time. LOVE the idea of pvc and such an easy clean out system. You're like my Duck God on how too. Many thanks and my duck say "quack quack quack" which is thank you in duck language.

[@wholeNwon]

I don't own ducks and never will. So why did I watch and enjoy your video? Guess that's another mystery of the universe.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

wholeNwon Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sinofprideescanor6619]

I love this comment😅

[@rocasey1]

God Bless you for what you’re doing on your farm, in your community and with your family. It’s so encouraging to see a father filled with the faith and following in the example of St. Joseph. We also have a 2-3 acre pond at our house and are just trying out ducklings for the first time to help with weeds, bugs, mosquitoes, ticks and pond health, plus just fun and education for the kids. I can’t wait to try out this feeder once our 6 ducklings are older. Thank you so much for sharing this on KZbin, it’s a smart design!

[@janej813]

Thank You❣️I want to do this for my Ducks 🎉 I just subscribed

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Brilliant and Elegant solution to keeping many ducks happy !

[@deborahdonohue351]

Finally I found a duck feeder that makes perfect sense for me!! Ty!!!

[@mike-n-texaswoodturning9481]

I have 18 new ducks & they are absolutely driving me crazy with how to figure out the best feeder type, nothing is working well for me, but I'm sure this will do the trick, gonna build it this weekend. Thanks for posting this along with the materials list..Great!!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Hope it works as well for you as it has for us. Best wishes for the build!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Please let us know how it works out.

[@mike-n-texaswoodturning9481]

I built it this past weekend & put it in service, it is working very well, I had a problem with the test plug sticking in the end bell but its better now, I Think i will make another just for water only. Thanks for sharing!

[@caseyvue6086]

Wow!

[@KATZFamilyadventures]

Great efficient design, we recently got some duckling and now understand. I can tell this will help a lot when they get older. Thanks for sharing

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Your welcome! Blessings to you and yours!

[@johnnypena1083]

I think it’s best I’ve seen so far.

[@smithmal01]

Wow! What a great pond your ducks have (color me jealous). Very interesting idea. How often do you need to clean out the trough? How would this work when dealing with freezing locations? I'm thinking you need to add food and water each day right? I use the trashcan with three 4" elbows in it. Just fill the trash can up and you're good to go for about two weeks. You get a little bit of loss of feed due to spill out, but I never need to do any upkeep/maintenance. You can see my gravity feeder in use at my channel.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

We flush it out about once a week, which really only takes about a minute to do. The upside of this design is losing no feed. Dealing with freezing weather was not something we really considered in making it. Thankfully for us, the ducks have the pond, and with an aerator, it never freezers over completely, so they have access to water. I'll look forward to checking out your design! God bless!

[@tgblaser]

That looks so awesome! I have 3 ducklings and something like that would be perfect. It would just have to be a lot smaller and portable so I can move it. Very nice looking duck!

[@FknNefFy]

What about using bamboo because it’s already hollow and it is non-toxic much better than PVC I feel like plus you don’t need end caps if you cut it in the right spot.... no?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Not a bad idea. It would just make cleaning and refilling a little less automatic.

[@tonymalaluan]

I have been looking for this kind of feeder. Your design is both practical and functional. I guess it can now prevent the ducks/geese from stepping on their food (which always grosses me out, tbh)...

[@elsiecorbett673]

We're new to ducks! This is a great idea....thank you!

[@MarkMarkovich-j2u]

10:10 - Love your feeder design. Since it is made of PVC will your feeder float or if smaller.

[@Strainj1]

I'm about to build a bigger enclosure for my ducks, and the feeder has always been the messiest issue - but this is an excellent solution! Thanks so much! :D

[@billymiller5003]

Great idea. Definitely given this a try. Thanks & I'm sure our ducks appreciate it also.

[@andyandrea5968]

Love this video. The ducks are so cute. We have 3k ducks in our farm in Thailand and just adapting some pvc bins as feeders. May adapt your idea by creating a 50 meter length of feeding pipe outside and try to automate it as the feed empties.

[@madjeepernh6834]

That's a great idea!!! I only have two ducks but man they make a mess of the food trough. I'll try a much smaller version. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@ttott0013]

Amazing video. Mom just got 3 ducks and feathers are showing. Gonna build a house for them.. this is a brilliant idea on how to feed the easily

[@adrigarbenis3256]

Awesome idea, I plan to steal this! Great video, great looking ducks. I hope my Khaki Campbells, Welsh Harlequins, and Indian Runners like it!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

If your ducks are like ours, their appetite helps them conquer a lot of fears :-) They should take to it pretty quickly. We just put feed in and around it. The brave ones put their heads in first and the others followed suit. Best wishes and thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@Jim0i0]

Very cool idea. That's a lovely flock of ducks too.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks!

[@ShawnKittel]

Thanks for the video! Been looking for a better way recently and I'm going to give this one a shot!

[@lisaanderson8159]

Thank you for this idea!! I am new to having ducks (3 beauties!), and couldn't figure out the best way to feed them. I have had chickens for quite some time but didn't have the water issue... And boy, ducks are so much messier!! My one question still remains: how often do you feed them like you did in the video (when you added the feed to the trough)? Is it just once/day? I understand you clean it out once/week, but do they have food available throughout the day? ...again, thank you!! This was the most helpful video I have seen!!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Lisa, sorry for the delay in reply. Our situation may be unique for some "backyard" duck owners, in that we actually have a pond. Our ducks can and do spend the whole day out foraging in the pond and on our pastures. So we really only feed them first thing in the morning to make sure they get niacin in their diet. Also, our neighboring farm has geese and ducks that would certainly help themselves to our feed - something we're not keen to do - if we didn't control access. So they get fed as soon as they are let out of the pen in the morning. I hope this helps! Thanks for watching and for your kind words about the video!

[@ymash001]

Brilliant thanks! I'm new to ducks can you shredded what you feed your ducks?

[@stevenlindsay8305]

How wide did you make the opening slot down the length of the pipe?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

About 2.5 inches. Hope that helps. This thing has worked out great for us. God bless!

[@jannelynvongkhamsene3426]

I would love to try this idea.Its really hard for me to change water for all our 100s ducks at the moment together with the duckslings.Thanks for sharing.

[@alexandisiu]

I love it! I'm just getting started with ducks and I'm wondering what type of feed you use with this system? I tried crumble but it becomes such a mush... thanks for your time and expertise!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

We mix our own, adding brewer's yeast, but with pellets - not crumble. Hope that helps!

[@csalsera]

@@StIsidoresFarm Recipe please... !

[@roberthayes2027]

I'm so cheap. I keep imagining how I'd get by with even one less $5 fitting. I really like your clean plan - so that plug is great - just one. I'd get a hole in a 2x10 scrap to fit and eliminate that "T", & the supply end could be a scrap of that 1/2 thick plastic trim board ( or even yellow pine, etc ) drilled for a male hose fitting & tapped with teflon tape or pvc glue. I'm gonna salvage some 4" pvc too. My costs are now just that plug! Thanks. I'm gonna imitate your good design!

[@sarahhubert3582]

This is genius! My twelve will love this XD.

[@nitafarmer3139]

Thank you. Very much Stolen. I am going to be make one. THANK YOU. :)

[@StIsidoresFarm]

As one of my professors used to say, good artists borrow, great artists steal. Hope it works for you as well as it has for us!

[@sudhirray5335]

@@StIsidoresFarm l hava

[@tangelwills7644]

This is great! Just wondering if there's a reason why the end piece is curved? And would you be willing to share your feed recipe? Thanks and God bless!

[@tangelwills7644]

I noticed you said the end piece was so it wouldn't twist (missed it first time! Oops!)

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Yes, that's the reason. I'd have to get the recipe from my wife. She uses pellet chicken feed, oats, and brewer's yeast. Don't know the exact ratio.

[@dariend6368]

Genius idea, i live in newengland, wondering what you do during the winter months if you freeze up like we do?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

It rarely freezes that much in NC, but occasionally enough to even freeze the pond. In those cases, we break the ice on the pond and take water from there. Sorry, don't have good suggestions for how to solve the problem up north with significantly colder winter weather. God bless!

[@MrSanteeclaus]

What pretty flock of ducks. I am going to give Ducklings once more. I think dog and coyote issue is fixed. That is a nice way. To feed them i may also steal this. Thank you for sharing.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

You're welcome! Hope it works as well for you as it has for us!

[@Personalized_Workshop]

Nice! Thank you. Got everything at Home Depot for $70 (2024 California). Made use of a $40 gift card I’ve been carrying around for at least a couple years. And I’m there weekly 😅

[@rofree154]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing! Is there a way to add a float ? We live in a dessert area, and evaporation is a real issue. Thanks!

[@herbgraybill8963]

Just the plan I needed. Thanks for the video. May God bless!

[@csalsera]

So food and water go in together? Do you have to worry about rotting food? How often to clean it out? and would you have a lot of waste, assuming you have to clean it ... every day or so..? Also didn't catch, why don't you just put an end cap on the 4" tubing and skip the T..? (or the test thing - just stick it directly into the end of tube rather than on the T?)

[@tabletop_edu]

Thanks for this I am building this this weekend

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Hope it worked out well!

[@SuperAvi06]

Best set up ever Thank you good sir And video btw

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks!

[@azlanali2441]

Good day wat the width u cut off for the duck head to fit in d PVC pipe thank you

[@calvinkalmon6746]

Do you think a float could be mounted in it for use as a waterer?

[@gracieacresfarm8279]

Awesome!!! I’m going to use this as inspiration to build a waterer in the coop!

[@EventheSparrowHomestead]

We have runner ducks! Ducks are such fun animals! New sub! Looking forward to seeing more 😊!

[@hajjjawad4321]

utter brilliance :D thanks for sharing this with us.

[@TAPriceCTR]

You might be able to find an offset reducer to let the hose spray the bottom of the trough.

[@hotmessfarms]

Brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing!

[@tammygirlm]

Do you put your ducks up every night?? What about the winter time... Will the aerator keep the pond from freezing for the Ducks to be protected

[@Metal8Lover]

I have this same problem bit I never thought of this to keep the ducks from destroying my chickens wateriers. I'm going to try this this weekend. Fingers crossed and high hopes.😁

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Hope it worked out for you! Ours is still working great.

[@joaniespain4459]

We have eight 8-week-old ducklings. This looks like a GREAT set-up, but we're still feeding Chick Starter. It seems like the starter feed would get really clumpy and/or diluted. What are you using as feed in this set-up? Does it break down?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Joanie, we use this once the ducklings are old enough to handle crumble and/or pellets. We didn't use it for young ducklings. You can control the amount of water in the bottom of the feeder. In our experience the ducks clean most of the solids out of the feeder in short order and saves them from having to go back and forth to the pond to get water. Hope that helps.

[@ernestocaranto9225]

my friend witch one is better feeds ? feeds with water or without mixing waters ? , that's why i'm asking because i saw many duck farming is saparate the waters to the pellet

[@-shnae4God.family]

Do you get wild birds eating the duck food while it's wet like this?

[@Lunarmoth3]

Thank you for sharing! I'm making this today!!!

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

This is brilliant. Thanks!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@muradkhaled7455]

What a fantastic idea!!!? Excellent

[@MrStevie15]

What sort of tube is that and rough price would like todo the same but would like to know material names :)

[@snthdp]

thank you v much,and what feeding are you giving....bro

[@StIsidoresFarm]

We mix our own with poultry feed (pellets), oats, and Brewer's yeast.

[@snthdp]

now i will try it....Thank you for this upload,

[@terriefriday2462]

Thanks for sharing, I'm going to make one for our flock.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Hope it works as well for you as it continues to work for us!

[@retrocu]

i used to give my chickens food mixed with some water so they don't waste the food. and they loved it.

[@MrTunioro]

great idea + great vid thanks !!! what a great looking place for ducks !!!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks!

[@Suuegrl]

This looks great for a water system during warm months. Any ideas on watering for cold months. I knwo they need to get their noses into the water, but traditional way with can, they wear the water in front of them which turns to ice on them

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Honestly, this is a challenge with this feeder we haven't fully solved. We do several other things during the winter then end up being a bit more wasteful and time consuming.

[@Suuegrl]

Any suggestions would be grest. Mine end up with frozen beards

[@davelawson2564]

@@Suuegrl feed hot water ....or keep them in greenhouse/barn that is warmer.

[@Mary-had-a-lil-farm]

Wow! That’s genius! Thanks. Sooo tired of wasted food that the flies love.

[@mountainmikeoutdoors]

Awesome idea! I think I'm going to try this when my ducks are old enough to be outside. We've got 10 khaki campbells on the way. We're so excited!

[@michaeldomec5275]

What feed are you using?

[@anthonysanchez9746]

Great idea!! Thank you

[@jenneliz8013]

Pretty interesting set up I would love to create...

[@elbishuki]

Great solution for Messy sucks 😂😂 Thanks a Lot!

[@jenschwartz3140]

How do you get your ducks off the pond? I just bought 8 ducks and I’m worried they won’t come off the pond and then be eaten by predators.

[@CarienDuPlooy1]

Another idea of yours that I'm going to borrow ;-) Genius! Thanks for being willing to share your brain wave.

[@mohammedshareef5316]

Which feed we need to give 🦆

[@colinbateman8233]

Like your feeder great idea thank you for sharing

[@corwynwarwaruk2141]

I raise ducks on our pond. For feed I use an open calf shed & just pour the feed in it every day. Much simpler than this very complicated feeder/water.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Excellent. Glad that works for you. Definitely much simpler.

[@CATNP2u]

How old are the ducks before you start feeding them this way?

[@mpedals]

what a gorgeous helper you have watching,,,,,

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks!

[@Duhjr88]

Thanks for the video. I made a similar one, but cut it with a dremel cut off disk because I don't have a jigsaw lol.

[@corthew]

That's pretty ingenious. Thanks.

[@8754roberto]

Thank you, I hve four ducks , and on a regular pan they seat on their own food

[@CameronStewartDC]

What do you use for feed?

[@luigiprovencher]

Is the glue safe for the ducks?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

It's the same glue we use for residential piping, and it is supposedly safe for humans.

[@sartainja]

Great idea for a feeder.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Thanks!

[@poetrativi7632]

What kind of that duct ?

[@ernestocaranto9225]

what kind of food for a duck to mix with water ?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

We use chicken feed supplemented with oats, and brewers yeast.

[@rileysmith5977]

@@StIsidoresFarm, I was wondering this too, it looks like good stuff. What chicken feed do you use?

[@baloramkumarroy2692]

Khaki Campbell are most important breed for egg production

[@raediraq4483]

well done its a very nice idea 👌👍👍

[@combatmako]

VERY Well Done !! Thanks ! ✌️❤️😁

[@FAHAD.TRAVEL1392]

What's your feed ???

[@marskriegsgott9979]

do you eat them ?

[@a3pk]

What would you do in the winter?

[@davelawson2564]

hot water bozo !

[@a3pk]

@@davelawson2564 Mpemba effect

[@karlaug4450]

I'm wondering only who sells " Black & White Pied " adult Muscovy ducks , being 2 females , & one male , for breeding purposes to s/o who wants to buy them one day in n.e. Alabama - n.w.Ga. state , U.S.A. area , & how much they would cost , & so the person there in U.S.A. , can breed them , & how much for shipping ?.Hopefully with no green color , but only black , & white in color .

[@desertdarlene]

Your ducks are hilarious.

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Yes, they are!

[@tonyastewart6454]

Absolutely love this idea so much that my husband bought all the materials and we have it built and ready to go. Problem is our ducks are too afraid of it, they won't come near it. They are free ranging and I just have a spot near their pools where I put their food. We have a big problem with bears getting into our yard now to get the food the ducks leave on the ground so we thought building this would be a good way to control how much mess is left behind. I just have to figure out how to get them to not be afraid of it so they'll use it. Any idea and/or advice?

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Tonya, funny you should post this comment when I was just down giving our ducks a treat in their feeder. My suggestion would be this - just put feed all around it, and in also in it with just a little water in it so them can easily see the food. My sense is that their hunger will override their fear. Eventually one brave duck will make the first go of it and the rest will soon follow. I hope it works. Our ducks love it!

[@tonyastewart6454]

Thank you so much! I am so excited that all of our ducks are using their feeder with no issues now. They run up to me when they hear me open the back door because they know I'll be pouring some food in their feeder. Bonus is we put their feeder close to their new house we got them so they can stay warm in the winter. They had been apprehensive to go in there but they are using their house now too so they are super happy and so are we!

[@StIsidoresFarm]

So glad to hear that everything worked out! Thank you for taking the time to write and let us know. God bless!

[@amyhsieh1083]

Love this!

[@yahyatowaqeen6769]

1:13 This type of duck is crossbred with miscove ducks

[@dadygee]

how did youtube know i just got 2 ducks yesterday? like #1000 :)

[@StIsidoresFarm]

Whoa! A thousand likes! Who would have guessed. Enjoy your ducks!

[@dadygee]

@@StIsidoresFarm Tnx! thank God it was 2 ducks and not 1000 ducks and two likes ^^ have a nice day!

[@cagirlinportland]

My hero.

[@aleyamohamed1520]

What do you think is the best feed for your ducks?