BurtaBird6
In the Brooder
I got 10 chicks and 3 ducklings on 7/19/2015. Some were 3 days old and others were more like 5 days old so they were in a plastic tub with a red light. Soon I found that the ducks were very warm and the chicks really liked the light. So I separated and moved the light so it wasn't directly on the ducklings. It was in the 90's so I decided the ducks could probably go outside in a trough with one side water other side shavings and food. When the chicks hit a week old i graduated them into the trough with the ducks and they were happy to be reunited. So when they all hit 2 weeks I finished the coop at with temperatures being warm and shade available I set them up outside. So I first put them all in a coop at night with a red light in case it gets below 60 at night (Southwest NY). The light was still up pretty high but the ducks still seemed uncomfortable. So after I noticed they were uncomfortable I set up an igloo coop with a ramp, food, water and ventilation. The ducks were happy and it seemed like the chicks were happy the first night. This morning I let everyone out fed changed water filled up the ducks pond and let them be for a few hours. I always check them periodically and I came back to one of my speckled chicks near the end of the ramp with blood on the back and front of his/her neck. I cant figure out what happened did they fight, did the ramp break its neck, or was it a predator that targeted a bigger one of my chicks.
