Bunch of brooder questions

[Shayrae4]

So my ducklings are about a week old. I seriously can’t believe how fast they’ve grown!

Attached is my set up. I have a bunch of kind of small questions that probably don’t matter much, but I’m curious what other people do.

1. should I be removing all the wet pine shavings or just putting dry stuff on top?

2. How often should I completely dump their food and replace with new stuff? Cuz the bottom of their food is always wet and soggy. I feel like bacteria will grow if I don’t replace it, but I also feel like I’m throwing away a lot of food when I’m throwing away all that wet stuff.

3. When do I remove their heat? I have a heat plate instead of a lamp (that black thing that looks like an TV). I’ve noticed they hardly spend any time near it anymore. They’re only a week old but usually they’re sleeping away from it. Does that mean they don’t need it anymore?

4. is that kind of water feeder deep enough for them? By the end of the day there’s a good amount of food piled up in the bottom of their water feeder and I feel like it makes the water not very deep. (I know they need it deep enough to clean out their nostrils). I’ve been dumping it and giving them new water every day. Is this what you guys do? How often do you dump it? Or do they like the soggy food in there?

5. I was planning on having them inside for 6 weeks for so, but at this rate they’re going to outgrow that pool long before then! Any suggestions for an inside set up bigger than this? Or a way to move them outside earlier? I’m in central California where the weather is pretty mild. Lows are at about 40• F right now. Hopefully 50 in a month from now.

 

[indianaducks]

I've only had ducklings for 2.5 weeks but I learned quickly to not have the food immediately next to the water. It's amazing how much and how far they can spread water. I suspect your food will stay dryer and cleaner if its not in the same metal cookie sheet as the waterer. Take my advice with a grain of salt though as I've not had them much longer than you. They are adorable!

 

[SolarDuck]

Yeah move the food away from the water if you don't want wet food. I would say dump out the wet shavings every time and replace with fresh dry ones. I would keep the heat plate as an option for them for a few weeks. For the water feeder, if they can completely dunk their heads in it it is deep enough, if not upgrade to something deeper.

 

[CoriM]

Cute babies!! So is that a vertical heat plate? I had a horizontal one which my ducks still went under went under until they couldn't fit anymore! But I didn't even always have it plugged in. If your nights are cold you might want to leave it as an option for a little while longer - maybe they're sleeping by it.

Regards to the shavings - yes, keep it as clean and dry as possible. It's always a huge mess pretty much no matter what you do. I had a pool like yours - except the bigger one - and I changed towels a couple times a day. Also give them fresh water a few times a day. I tried to keep it as clean as possible. After they were about a couple weeks old I switched to putting water in a ceramic pie plate. When they grew bigger I added in elevated stainless dog dishes and filled them both with water.

I think you could set up a brooder in the bigger size wading pool and keep them in that until they're fully grown. My 6 ducks lived in my kitchen for two months while we were waiting for my husband to finish their house. At the time weather was nice enough that they also spent several hours outside in a little pen.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there. I’ve only brooded ducks a couple of times. I keep the food and water separate, at least six or eight steps for them between one and the other, and it helped keep the feed dry and the water was a bit cleaner. Mostly the feed didn’t get wet but their water is always dirty I’ll be honest. As for the heat, it depends on where you’re keeping them. If you’re brooding inside they likely don’t need it. If you’re brooding outside it’ll depend on temps out there. Our overnight lows are in the 40s and I have the heat plate on for my ducklings, but I don’t know if they use it or not. Either way, the swimming pool won’t work much longer because yes, they definitely grow quickly. If you give them anything with water in it deep enough to dunk their bills and wash their little faces then they’ll get in it if they can. A gallon milk jug that you can cut holes in so they can dunk their heads would work great because you can keep a lid on it. You’d need to make new ones with the holes further up the sides and bigger as they grow. The downside is the amount of water may not be enough to last the day.
I brood my babies outside. It’s easier to deal with the mess. I stir the litter and put a little dry stuff on top. You can do that as well in the pool but will have to remove and replace more often. Also, be careful the floor doesn’t get high enough that they can get out. My ducklings were able to go up onto a six inch high block at less than two weeks old. Have fun!

 

[CoriM]

Same, my ducklings were real jumpers. They spent as much time on top of the heat plate as under it, that's why I had to put the fencing around the pool!

 

[Shayrae4]

Cute babies!! So is that a vertical heat plate? I had a horizontal one which my ducks still went under went under until they couldn't fit anymore! But I didn't even always have it plugged in. If your nights are cold you might want to leave it as an option for a little while longer - maybe they're sleeping by it.

Regards to the shavings - yes, keep it as clean and dry as possible. It's always a huge mess pretty much no matter what you do. I had a pool like yours - except the bigger one - and I changed towels a couple times a day. Also give them fresh water a few times a day. I tried to keep it as clean as possible. After they were about a couple weeks old I switched to putting water in a ceramic pie plate. When they grew bigger I added in elevated stainless dog dishes and filled them both with water.

I think you could set up a brooder in the bigger size wading pool and keep them in that until they're fully grown. My 6 ducks lived in my kitchen for two months while we were waiting for my husband to finish their house. At the time weather was nice enough that they also spent several hours outside in a little pen. View attachment 2533944View attachment 2533945

Maybe i will need to upgrade to the bigger wading pool. Since it’s not really spring time, I had a hard time even finding a wading pool at all! I felt really lucky to find this one, and it’s the only size they had so I didn’t have an option.
But hopefully in a week or two the stores will start getting them in stock again.

and yeah, it’s a vertical heat plate. I looked into getting the same one as you. This one was just a bit cheaper. And then I cut a tomato cage in half and put it next to it, and laid fabric over it to make it feel more like a mother duck. They seem to really like it. They like getting on top of it more than going underneath it now!

 

[MissMonty]

Ducks are SO MESSY. Move the food away from the water. I'd also only give a dish versus a big feeder like that. You don't want wet food so this way if they get it wet you can just toss that bit. I actually just used the bottom to the feeder without putting the jar on top.

As for bedding, I wouldn't put dry on top. Ducks aren't like chickens in the fact that chickens scratch around and even when they poop it doesn't really cause an issue and you can just add more. Ducks throw water, cake poop down, and it'll smell really bad. I'd try to scoop the really wet stuff out each day and add fresh. You're going to go through more bedding but it'll smell much more pleasant.

 

[CoriM]

Maybe i will need to upgrade to the bigger wading pool. Since it’s not really spring time, I had a hard time even finding a wading pool at all! I felt really lucky to find this one, and it’s the only size they had so I didn’t have an option.
But hopefully in a week or two the stores will start getting them in stock again.

and yeah, it’s a vertical heat plate. I looked into getting the same one as you. This one was just a bit cheaper. And then I cut a tomato cage in half and put it next to it, and laid fabric over it to make it feel more like a mother duck. They seem to really like it. They like getting on top of it more than going underneath it now!

That was a clever solution with the heat plate!