duckling brooder question

[mamanaturale]

i really want to have the ducklings brooder out in our living room. they want to be around us so bad and right now they are in my sewing room because of our cats. i have one of those small animal cages (like for rabbits), the kind that has the solid plastic on the bottom and up about 7 inches and then wire cage for the rest. i thought it was a great idea since the cats could only see them and not get to them, but when i put the ducklings in there, they started jumping up at the sides. they can jump up high enough to grab the wire and stick their little heads out! this is not ok, right? is there any way i can alter it so they can't do that? i have been wracking my brain, but i have no good ideas so far.

right now they are in a huge tupperware type tub. am i wanting to spoil them too much? i just feel like they are bored in there with nothing to see/do. i get them out about twice a day to play, but i feel sad for them, they cry when i put them back in their tub.

any ideas?

 

[feathersgalore]

Ducklings grow so fast they won't be in a tub brooder for long. Remember it is better to be safe than have your head stuck through the wire.

 

[mamanaturale]

yeah i know... i just want them out! lol dh says they wouldn't be any happier in the living room, cause they would just cry at me to get out ALL the time!

 

[Giddyup]

Sounds like they're getting you trained well

See if you can stick it out for a bit longer...they will grow very quickly!

 

[mamanaturale]

good golly, they sure are! they come out to play at least once, more like 2-3 times per day. and they to swim in the big tub every evening!

 

[hikerchick]

I found ducklings to be a tad too..er, fragrant, to grace my living room. I couldn't even stand having them in the basement and put them out in the pen.

 

[mamanaturale]

i don't think mine are to the stinky point yet, they are not even a week old yet, so i am still enjoying their fragrance...

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Little duckling fragrance is nice, isn't it? I mean day to 3 day old. Is it weird that I said that? LOL I guess it is that little baby smell. I hear that about human infants, anyway, and it seems to apply to the ducklings too. Once they start eating a lot though, they don't smell quite so sweet. Ha ha ha

 

[froggie71]

oh yeah, I can't wait to get the ducklings outside now (as cute as the are)! The fragrance is well .....

You won't want to have them in your LR for long!

 

[Wifezilla]

I have noticed the stinkiness varies from duck to duck. My first two ducks didn't stink at all. My next hatchling was VERY stinky as a baby though she is fine now. My 3 Welsh Harlequins were less stinky than Uno, my buff, but stinkier than my first khaki and my rouen (though there was one more duck so that could be a factor). Though raised at different times, it was the same brooder, same bedding, same food, same room, different odor level. It is so weird.