A newbie question....

[ladybug99]

We have just added 5 adorable ducklings to our brood. They are growing quickly with no issues except for one of the pekins had leg problems, we treated that and she is well on her way to recovery! My issue is that we currently have them in the laundry room in a very large dog cage, well needless to say at three weeks old, they are very quickly out growing that cage. And unfortunately they stink to high heavens despite that we clean them twice a day.

I have taken away thier heat lamp the past few days and they seem to be doing fine, my question can I put them out in the coop?? They would be in a totally enclosed brooder we have that is 4 times the size of the dogs cage, it has a heat lamp and they will have access to the out side on warmer days. Thier encloseure is due to be finished in the next few weekends.

Our temps here in NJ have been in the low 40's at night but the temps in the coops are at about 60 degrees with out the heat lamp so I assume it would be a bit warmer when we put them on.

I have two swedish and three pekings very healthy and active.

I would like to hear a few opinions... I love these little guys and want to do the best for them!

 

[Miss Lydia]

We have just added 5 adorable ducklings to our brood. They are growing quickly with no issues except for one of the pekins had leg problems, we treated that and she is well on her way to recovery! My issue is that we currently have them in the laundry room in a very large dog cage, well needless to say at three weeks old, they are very quickly out growing that cage. And unfortunately they stink to high heavens despite that we clean them twice a day.

I have taken away thier heat lamp the past few days and they seem to be doing fine, my question can I put them out in the coop?? They would be in a totally enclosed brooder we have that is 4 times the size of the dogs cage, it has a heat lamp and they will have access to the out side on warmer days. Thier encloseure is due to be finished in the next few weekends.

Our temps here in NJ have been in the low 40's at night but the temps in the coops are at about 60 degrees with out the heat lamp so I assume it would be a bit warmer when we put them on.

I have two swedish and three pekings very healthy and active.

I would like to hear a few opinions... I love these little guys and want to do the best for them!

all things ducky....if this coop sounds as good as you say and they would be out of wind and rain etc. I say go ahead and move them out. As long as they have heat they should be fine. Just no swimming with temps that cool since they aren't feathered in yet they would chill quickly and that would be deadly for them. They sure are cuties. Forgot to mention leg issues can happen in ducklings fed chick starter because it doesn't have the niacin some ducklings need you may want to add some plain old niacin to their water till around 10weeks old just as percaution but maybe you already have since you fixed the leg issue

 

[Amiga]

Sweetie peaches!

What's the watering situation? That can contribute to aromas. It may be that if you can rework that, you can keep them where they are a little longer while you finish their outdoor shelter.

Oh, and it rips me to shreds every time I hear about a predator attack. Please, please, please research the archives here and make their shelter safe for them. An inch is all some predators need to get in and kill all of them. Many predators don't even eat them, just kill them.

Ducklings need water 24/7 until they are (some debate here) 8 to 10 weeks old. I went with the 10 weeks. But I was a newbie and let the whole water management thing start to get ahead of me. I still had splash catchers, but my design was not refined enough to catch all the splash.

 

[ladybug99]

We are using a chicken waterer on a plate... that seems to keep the wetness at a minimum. They have access to water 24 hours a day, in the picture they were swimming a bit before I cleaned out the cage. I put in a tray full of water and let them go to town for about 20 minutes. Yes I have been adding niasin daily to thier feed and water daily and she almost has no limp at all now. we caught it very early on so I don't think we will have any more leg issues. As for thier tempoary enclosure... its a brooder which is located inside one of our chicken coops, the coop is locked up safe at night ( it is a metal storage bin so when we close the door no one gets in) I intend on training the ducks to go in like the chickens in the evening. They won't be free ranging, the brooder is attached to an enclosed outside pen, they would only be outside while I was there for the first few weeks. Thier coop and enclosure has a very large deep pond so they will have to stay in the brooder for a long while till they get thier feathers.... but it is a very nice big brooder so I think they will be ok. I guess I will move them down with the big girls tomorrow

 

[Miss Lydia]

We are using a chicken waterer on a plate... that seems to keep the wetness at a minimum. They have access to water 24 hours a day, in the picture they were swimming a bit before I cleaned out the cage. I put in a tray full of water and let them go to town for about 20 minutes. Yes I have been adding niasin daily to thier feed and water daily and she almost has no limp at all now. we caught it very early on so I don't think we will have any more leg issues. As for thier tempoary enclosure... its a brooder which is located inside one of our chicken coops, the coop is locked up safe at night ( it is a metal storage bin so when we close the door no one gets in) I intend on training the ducks to go in like the chickens in the evening. They won't be free ranging, the brooder is attached to an enclosed outside pen, they would only be outside while I was there for the first few weeks. Thier coop and enclosure has a very large deep pond so they will have to stay in the brooder for a long while till they get thier feathers.... but it is a very nice big brooder so I think they will be ok. I guess I will move them down with the big girls tomorrow

Most of us err on the side of caution when it comes to our ducks/ducklings we've been here long enough to have read just about every disaster story there is. You sound like you know what you are doing and your brooder sounds very nice and secure I think as long as they have a heat lamp they can get under if they need to they will be fine. Please let us know how they are and of course pics too. Thery will need a different type of waterer though because duckling/ducks need to be able to wash their eyes and nares out, often ducklings can get feed stuck inside their nares and it can be an unpleasant experience, plus head washing is just something they like to do. They are messy thats their middle name. I'll see if I can find the thread showing how to make a waterer for ducklings very cheap and easy. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/325365/waterer-for-ducklings post 4

 

[ladybug99]

We do have a bigger water bowl for when they move into the brooder... big enough for them to get thier little noses clean but not big enough for them to take a swim... right now I am cleaning them twice a day and I give them a big pan of shallow water to play in... they are so happy to splash around! I'll try to get a picture of the brooder tomorrow! I appreciate everyone's help

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I like to raise my ducklings on wire. Not all wire, as it can hurt their feet if it's the only thing they're standing on. I like to have half their pen wood/bedding and half wire, where I keep their water. It works good for me, and also keeps their area a lot cleaner as all the water goes onto the ground. Good luck on your babies

~ Aspen

 

[polskituft]

So cute