Ducking Brooder Plan (input/suggestions wanted)

[CityChicker]

The peel and stick tile held up really well for us. We used it with wood chips directly over it for the first part of the year and then later in the season when we had different aged ducklings, we started splitting them into the largest rubbermaid containers on top of the tile. Obviously, that preserved the tile. When we did have them directly on it though, it held up surprisingly well (of course, we did a relatively thick layer of wood chips on top too that we changed daily and that helped with the moisture). You might also try melamine coated plywood for the walls of the brooder. I may try some of that as well.

 

[Bleenie]

I plan on using Plywood with linoleum over the top of it and a few inches up the walls, to keep the wood from getting wet, stinky & rotten.

I will be keeping the brooder in an uninsulated, cemnt floor 'garden shed'. it's an old shed and it does get cold sometimes, plus the top of the brooder would be open wire, that's why i had planned on using the red bulb, or even just a reglar heat light. do you think it would still be too hot? i have used a 100w bulb before when i had them on the back porch and it just didnt seem warm enough for them.

Quote:

 

[katharinad]

They sell a switch at the pet store for reptiles. It has a sensor you can mount at the wall. It also has a temperature regulator on the unit. Obviously the temp depends on how far the sensor is away from the center below the light and what kind of heat bulb you use. This means you cannot go by what they wrote on the adjusting part. You calibrate it to the temp you want in the brooder and it will cycle the light on and off to keep the temperature in range. Lay a thermometer below the lamp onto the floor to see where the temp is, and then adjust the controller until it is right. BTW the sensor it duck/bird proof. Oh here it is, it's called Zilla Temperature Controller . I've used it with my 250 watt red heat lamp in the room I keep my baby quails roaming around in.
Katharina

 

[Amiga]

Looks really good! Some random thoughts about fumes - some caulks are nasty stinky, and I don't know if they would gas off at 90 degrees. If you finish the caulking well ahead of occupancy, and perhaps run the heat lamps to get anything that will volatilize out of there, it might be just fine.

In the duck house I have almost finished, I put vinyl (a.k.a. linoleum) flooring down, and had some seams to seal. I asked the flooring professional down the street, and she said "don't laugh, but what you want to use for that duckhouse is duck tape. It won't make fumes." The duck tape seals the flooring seams. The flooring goes up the walls about five or six inches. At the top, to keep uck from getting behind the flooring, I will use a 1"x3" board to snug it to the wall.

And in my house, cats are a concern so I had a wire top to Brooder I, when they were really little. Brooder II and III are three feet tall, and the ducks themselves are now taller than the cats, who seem to be happy to stay away from them.

 

[katharinad]

Just wanted to post 3 pictures of my box. As told before it was only 1 foot high shipping crate, so I've raised it another foot.
First picture shows the top with the two dog crate doors. Easy access from both sides. Keeps the cat out and the light sits on top.

Picture two shows the feeding/water setup on a cookies sheet with a paper towel below. The two ducks are only 3 days old and prefer a food mash (feed in water). I've also put the dry feed next to it and they are starting to eat it too. The mash is only temporary. The water feeder is in another plastic bowl to catch water. I've just cleaned it and there it is poo!!!! LOL You also see the dog training pads below it. It makes it a breeze to clean and they cannot slip on them either. The box is lined with heavy duty plastic and you can see the tape on the edges.

Picture three shows the other end of it with 100 watt lamp and cotton towel in the corner to sleep on it. 100 watts give them 90 degrees on the floor level. Just a regular light bulb, which I can reduce each week.

Happy ducks shown are optional.

Enjoy,
Katharina