Duckling brooder upgrade

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Hi! I currently have 3 five day old ducklings living in a 3.3’x 1.7’ in an old guinea pig/rabbit cage(the small type that they sale at big pet stores). I was thinking of upgrading to a baby pool in a few days. I currently have them on bath towels as they were on shavings first and one tried to swallow one. She’s good now but that was quite worrying so I moved them over to towels with the guidance of some on this forum. I was thinking of staying on towels for at least a while longer, could I do this in the pool? I like that the brooder that they are in now has a thick wire top to it as I have a old cat who, isn’t allowed in the room with the ducklings but I do like the extra precaution. I have seen some wrap mesh/chicken wire around the pool. What type of mesh would I use to do this and how would I secure it(zipties??)Thanks!

 

[Callender Girl]

Congrats on your babies! When I brood ducklings indoors, I use a tall, clear plastic tote. That way I can see what's going on and I think they get a decent view of the world around them. I have seen photos where someone has cut the center out of the tote top and secured hardware cloth with zip ties (I have repaired livestock fencing with industrial zip ties, I love them) after punching through the plastic and lacing the ties into the hardware cloth.

With chicken wire, I would worry that someone might get his or her head stuck in the openings. Since I have the (mostly) flightless runner ducks, I wouldn't be concerned that anyone would try serious liftoff and get stuck. I use old refrigerator shelving on top of my totes and close the door to keep an old cat and a young dog out of the room.

On occasion, my runner babies have eaten a pine shaving or two without harm. They seem to learn pretty quickly that it's not food. And they always want food!

Good luck with your ducklings!

 

[CoriM]

I started my ducklings in a rubbermade tub then moved them to a kiddie pool. I put wire mesh around the edge that was a couple feet tall so they couldn't jump out but I could still climb in to clean. I. used towels and it worked fine, though it was a lot of towel-changing and washing. I thought this set-up worked well and would do it again if I had ducklings! Have fun

 

[YodaBat]

Hi! I currently have 3 five day old ducklings living in a 3.3’x 1.7’ in an old guinea pig/rabbit cage(the small type that they sale at big pet stores). I was thinking of upgrading to a baby pool in a few days. I currently have them on bath towels as they were on shavings first and one tried to swallow one. She’s good now but that was quite worrying so I moved them over to towels with the guidance of some on this forum. I was thinking of staying on towels for at least a while longer, could I do this in the pool? I like that the brooder that they are in now has a thick wire top to it as I have a old cat who, isn’t allowed in the room with the ducklings but I do like the extra precaution. I have seen some wrap mesh/chicken wire around the pool. What type of mesh would I use to do this and how would I secure it(zipties??)Thanks!

Hope this video might help. It is my brood set up.

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Congrats on your babies! When I brood ducklings indoors, I use a tall, clear plastic tote. That way I can see what's going on and I think they get a decent view of the world around them. I have seen photos where someone has cut the center out of the tote top and secured hardware cloth with zip ties (I have repaired livestock fencing with industrial zip ties, I love them) after punching through the plastic and lacing the ties into the hardware cloth.

With chicken wire, I would worry that someone might get his or her head stuck in the openings. Since I have the (mostly) flightless runner ducks, I wouldn't be concerned that anyone would try serious liftoff and get stuck. I use old refrigerator shelving on top of my totes and close the door to keep an old cat and a young dog out of the room.

On occasion, my runner babies have eaten a pine shaving or two without harm. They seem to learn pretty quickly that it's not food. And they always want food!

Good luck with your ducklings!

Thank you for your response! How big of a plastic tote did you use, and where would I find something like that? I have Swedish, Cayuga, and Welsh Harlequin if that makes a difference. Thanks!

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

I started my ducklings in a rubbermade tub then moved them to a kiddie pool. I put wire mesh around the edge that was a couple feet tall so they couldn't jump out but I could still climb in to clean. I. used towels and it worked fine, though it was a lot of towel-changing and washing. I thought this set-up worked well and would do it again if I had ducklings! Have fun

Thanks for the info! Did you get a standard sized one? How did you secure the mesh on to the sides and what type of mesh did you use? Thanks!

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Hope this video might help. It is my brood set up.

Thanks for video, you have beautiful birds! Have you had any issues with straw/hay as brooder bedding? I was looking into it for a possible option, thanks!

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Looking at it again, they may be pine needles, are they?

 

[CoriM]

Thanks for the info! Did you get a standard sized one? How did you secure the mesh on to the sides and what type of mesh did you use? Thanks!

I had the bigger hard plastic pool. When I first put them in there I blocked part of it off because it was just too big for them. Yes, zip ties to hold the wire mesh together.

 

[YodaBat]

Thanks for video, you have beautiful birds! Have you had any issues with straw/hay as brooder bedding? I was looking into it for a possible option, thanks!

Hay should be more than fine, I also use pine chips.