brooding chickens and ducks... question

[ohsocutechicken]

I've read the other threads on here about how you should seperate, while looking for a solution to my messy ducks when it comes to the waterer in my brooder, so I thought to myself I would seperate them... Not so happy, I have 2 ducklings and 5 chicks at the moment, they do.everything together my only issue is the water mess, and it becoming a pain to clean everyday trying to keep my chicks dry, anyhow I go to seperate and both of the ducklings are throwing a fit... Squeaking like crazy, panicking, trying to climb/fly out of the brooder ... So for now I put them back in so I can get some sleep ... But for now any suggestions on splitting them?? Or should I just wait until the ducklings size becomes an issue??

here is everyone snuggled up sleeping...

 

[my sunwolf]

You can brood them together for as long as you like. They can grow up together, live together, drink out of the same waterers. That being said, you're right that ducks are messy. A lot of people brood together and solve the wet bedding problem by creating a pan with a 1/4in mesh wire screen over it that you can place the waterer on top of. This way any water splashed out gets splashed into the pan instead of onto the litter. I'll try to find a photo demonstrating it.

 

[my sunwolf]

Here's a good one:




And here's another:

 

[jdywntr]

The advice on having a container with mesh on top of it is good but when they are very young, you need to make sure that they can get on to it. Puppy peepee pads can help with some of the splashing. You can also take any type of food storage container with the lid and cut a hole or two in the lid big enough for the ducklings to put their heads in. The container should be about the height of their backs, you can show the chicks where to drink out of them. These will need to be switched periodically as the ducklings grow, you can usually find lots of sizes at the $ store. Chick waterers for ducks are great low "puddles" that they will quickly empty by dabbling in it. They do have a ball doing it though.

Ducklings need water that is deep enough that they can wash their eyes and nares. They also always need water if there is feed available.

The ducklings, I hope they are both sexed females, are bonded with the chickens and that is why they became upset when you tried to move them. If you really want to seperate them, you will have to deal with the cries for a bit, just make sure they have each other and maybe a small stuffed animal to cuddle with. If they are going to be housed together as adults, it will probably be best if you keep them together now so you don't need to reintroduce them later.

Check out the duck forum for any further info you need on your babies.

 

[Chic_girl]

I have successfully brooded ducks and chicks together, with a few problems that were easily overcome.
The ducks are extremely messing, and when they drink, they dribble half of the water they take in, and end up causing puddles. I made a large version of the wire-and-pan contraption- large enough that It covered almost a third of the brooding trough. Then, I would constantly refill the waterer placed on top- I didn't use a chick waterer, I used a large gallon waterer. It was deeper, and held more water, though the chicks had trouble with it at first.
Also, you can't give ducks medicated chick feed, but we found non-medicated starter feed at our feed store, and that solved the problem.
My last issue was that my three Khaki Campbells's grew much more quickly than the Barred Rocks and bantams I brooded with them- by about 5-6 weeks, I had to take the ducks out side the whole day, just to give the chicks a break from being trampled. But the ducks and chicks were all healthy, and for a while, the Khakis would try and get into the chicken coop to see their 'siblings'! The Barred Rocks and Khaki's bonded, and even today, they like foraging togeather!

Good luck with your chicks!