2 week old duckling in with the chickens

[HeatherMo]

I wasn’t going to do this already but I really want to get these ducklings outside. The smell is terrible in the house. But I’m open to constructive criticism. The chickens will get locked in the coop. The ducklings in the enclosed dog kennel inside the run. I’m going to remove the water, cover the kennel with a tarp, put a cardboard box inside with lots of bedding. It will get down to about 60 degrees tonight. The ducks will stay separated in the dog kennel for a couple weeks until they are bigger and the chickens have gotten used to them. Thoughts?

 

[DuckyDonna]

I don't know where you are but hopefully you don't have any snakes.

 

[HeatherMo]

I don't know where you are but hopefully you don't have any snakes.

Michigan. Snakes aren’t a problem. Maybe a few garden snakes.

 

[chickens really]

That's not much room to be locked into for a couple of weeks. They will be fine with the temperature though if you provide bedding. Hopefully the Coop isn't too dark during the day.

 

[Jbently28]

I usually don't put my ducklings outside for good until about 5 weeks. At about 2 weeks I let them outside in a large kennel during the day, but definitely not overnight. But I do live in Louisiana where it is much warmer and we have a lot more predators. My chickens consist of a flock of buff orpingtons, EEs, bantam cochins, Welsummer, and leghorns, as well my ducks. They are a very docile flock so they are always very accepting of any newcomers. My dominant hen, a 3 1/2 year old buff orpington, always comes to check them out first. She has never once tried pecking at any of my babies, whether it be chicks or ducklings, but instead almost mothers them so I think that is why I never have any problems. My dominant duck is a WH who is also very accepting and I've never had any problems with them either. All of my babies spend the first couple of months in what I call the nursery before being allowed to free range. It's a 20 x 20 section of the yard that I have fenced off. The fencing is only about 3 ft tall so the hens and jump over and socialize with the babies as the please. After about a week of the new babies spending time outside in the kennel, I allow them out of the kennel to spend time in the "nursery" with everyone else but still place them in the brooder at night.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

I would definitely be concerned about temperature, friend. From experience, please do make sure they are kept warm. As Jbently mentioned, I am concerned about predators as well.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I wasn’t going to do this already but I really want to get these ducklings outside. The smell is terrible in the house. But I’m open to constructive criticism. The chickens will get locked in the coop. The ducklings in the enclosed dog kennel inside the run. I’m going to remove the water, cover the kennel with a tarp, put a cardboard box inside with lots of bedding. It will get down to about 60 degrees tonight. The ducks will stay separated in the dog kennel for a couple weeks until they are bigger and the chickens have gotten used to them. Thoughts?

After looking at this again, I can't really see how many ducklings you have but regardless, it does seem like a very small space to keep them in! In 2 weeks they will be really big! I swear mine have grown so fast overnight that my husband and I even noticed it today! This picture is from this morning and they won't be 3 weeks old until tomorrow!

Also, you can't remove their water because they won't be able to eat without it. They need water deep enough to put their little heads in to clean out their nares too. I think if you are going to do this you need a much bigger kennel! Or there is another idea.

So what if you got a little swimming pool like the pink one in the picture and made a brooder out of that, put pine shavings in it, food, water in it and got a dog pen fence like the one above (Walmart $34 and got it in 2 days)? Maybe you could put some tarps or boards on top for a roof and secure the sides if it gets cold or rainy?

 

[quackiemama]

After looking at this again, I can't really see how many ducklings you have but regardless, it does seem like a very small space to keep them in! In 2 weeks they will be really big! I swear mine have grown so fast overnight that my husband and I even noticed it today! This picture is from this morning and they won't be 3 weeks old until tomorrow! View attachment 1817236 Also, you can't remove their water because they won't be able to eat without it. They need water deep enough to put their little heads in to clean out their nares too. I think if you are going to do this you need a much bigger kennel! Or there is another idea.

So what if you got a little swimming pool like the pink one in the picture and made a brooder out of that, put pine shavings in it, food, water in it and got a dog pen fence like the one above (Walmart $34 and got it in 2 days)? Maybe you could put some tarps or boards on top for a roof and secure the sides if it gets cold or rainy?

 

[HeatherMo]

After looking at this again, I can't really see how many ducklings you have but regardless, it does seem like a very small space to keep them in! In 2 weeks they will be really big! I swear mine have grown so fast overnight that my husband and I even noticed it today! This picture is from this morning and they won't be 3 weeks old until tomorrow! View attachment 1817236 Also, you can't remove their water because they won't be able to eat without it. They need water deep enough to put their little heads in to clean out their nares too. I think if you are going to do this you need a much bigger kennel! Or there is another idea.

So what if you got a little swimming pool like the pink one in the picture and made a brooder out of that, put pine shavings in it, food, water in it and got a dog pen fence like the one above (Walmart $34 and got it in 2 days)? Maybe you could put some tarps or boards on top for a roof and secure the sides if it gets cold or rainy?

There are only 2! I give them a paint rolling pan fill with water so they can easy get in and out during the day. I take that out at night but leave a dish of water they can get their nostrils in as well as food. I really like your ideas! I think the kennel I have them in currently should be plenty of space for just the 2 of them but will adjust as needed if it gets too small. I had them in a spare tub in the house but the smell and constant gross clean up just got to be horrible. I’ll use a heat lamp for my little guys if the temps get too low. When I checked on them this morning they seemed quite good. My chickens are very interested in them. They surround the kennel and I can’t figure out if it’s in an aggressive way or just purely checking it out. I have 3 golden laced Wyandotte’s that are dominant over the rest of the chickens. They like to do a charge and stare down with each other and the other chickens. I don’t trust them with the ducks without a barrier but I’m hoping that will change.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Ok, I'm glad for what you are doing but I kinda wish that kennel was more secure. You want them to feel like they are safe. Maybe you've got some plywood or board laying around that you could put up against it and on top of the kennel? You know, to make a house type thing using the kennel as a base? Even if you've got a blue tarp to put around it temporarily until they get bigger it would proably keep them warmer and give them the feeling that they are safe from predators.