Duck eggs soon to hatch?

[Laurenfinn6]

Yes heatlamp haha

So some simple brooder ideas View attachment 2035300View attachment 2035299View attachment 2035298View attachment 2035297View attachment 2035295

My favorite heat bulbs are the ceramic ones that dont make lightView attachment 2035291


But red ones are good, Just make sure they are NOT teflon coated they are toxicView attachment 2035292

And a great little hack is an inline dimmer switch, you can turn the heat up or down with them instead lf trying to raise and lower the whole bulb!View attachment 2035293


And one important thing is using a heatlamp safely, They get extremely hot and fires have been caused by heat lamps before

What good ideas! Thank you!! That gives me a better idea on how big they should be as well. Much appreciated

 

[Jpat]

What good ideas! Thank you!! That gives me a better idea on how big they should be as well. Much appreciated

No problem

i use a big container myself so i can spray it right out

 

[Laurenfinn6]

They might eat the pine shavings, it's easy to monitor poop on the cloths or pads, and when they're ready to eat you can sprinkle some food on the towels and then they'll learn that's they're food. After about 5 days you can take up the towels and leave the shavings. They soil the brooder FAST! You'll have to clean it several times a day in a week or two.

Great thanks I will get some pads then. So are ducks pretty stinky? Lol just wondering really. Do they soil the brooder in one spot or is it everywhere?

 

[Laurenfinn6]

No problem

i use a big container myself so i can spray it right out

Good thinking. I got cardboard but considering all the changing I’ll be doing, I’ll probably get a big plastic container

 

[Jpat]

They will mess everywhere, and they kind of spill and splash feed all over, But they are soo sweet and cute its soo worth it

The smell isnt bad, i dont find. My brooder is in my kitchen and i clean it everyday

 

[Laurenfinn6]

They will mess everywhere, and they kind of spill and splash feed all over, But they are soo sweet and cute its soo worth it

The smell isnt bad, i dont find. My brooder is in my kitchen and i clean it everyday

Oh I know it will be worth it. I used to have a family of Guinea pigs that I loved very much (even though they could be on the smelly side). Haha.

 

[Jpat]

Oh I know it will be worth it. I used to have a family of Guinea pigs that I loved very much (even though they could be on the smelly side). Haha.

ooh nice, i used to have piggies too, They dont smell as bad as piggies but are messier

Do you have an outside home for the ducklings when they get older?

 

[Laurenfinn6]

ooh nice, i used to have piggies too, They dont smell as bad as piggies but are messier

Do you have an outside home for the ducklings when they get older?

Well we live on a small lake. Ideally I would like to raise them up to 8 weeks and release them. I know there some things to consider when raising them if planning to release them into the wild. Any experience with releasing them? Or do you keep them?

 

[MGG]

You should keep them. They will have imprinted on you and probably won't make it in the wild. You'll become very attached do them. If you have too many drakes I'm sure you could see them, give them away, etc. I would keep a nice little flock personally. A good idea for less of a mess with the water is to put a cookie sheet with a cooling rack in it in the brooder and put the water on top of it. Or you can take a sour cream type of container and cut little holes, easily big enough for heads but not the whole body in the lid. Both of these things lessen the mess. I brooded mine in an outdoor portable pen. I left a big waterer in there and just moved the pen the the grass got matted down and yucky. No smell

 

[MGG]

Great thanks I will get some pads then. So are ducks pretty stinky? Lol just wondering really. Do they soil the brooder in one spot or is it everywhere?

Yep! They soil everywhere. Sometimes they back way up to poop, its hilarious. They are the most comical things to watch! I used to watch mine for hours