I wrote this for the brooder competition but thought I would cross-post it here. I have been hatching ducklings at least once a year for about 8 years now. I have always started my ducklings with water slowly. When they are a day old, I fill a pie pan with water, add some floating food and let them walk in the water for about 5 minutes. The next day, they get a 9 x 13 cake pan and I might let them visit it two times. Within a few days, my ducklings are swimming much more frequently. Water stimulates their oil glands. During the first week they are always supervised and never allowed to get to soaking wet. The room is warm and they have a heat lamp so they do not get a chill. They did not get to use the pool in the brooder until their second week of life. Anyway, here is the post:
I needed a brooder for Dutch Hookbill ducklings for my classroom, so, I built one with an in-ground pool. Everyone complains about ducklings making the brooder wet but I think if you give them water to swim in and the correct waterers it really helps. So, the one end was built to have a bus-boy tub sunken in it as a pool (I use a brick or rock as a step to get out).
The middle is half inch hardware cloth so spilled food, water, and waste goes through to trays lined with puppy pads. When the ducklings were small I covered the hardware cloth with puppy pads so it didn’t bother their feet.
The farthest end from the pool is sunken about an inch with a solid floor so it can hold shavings for sleeping in.
I cut a piece of corrugated plastic to cover the pool when the ducklings couldn’t be supervised or needed to rest (always start ducklings out slowly and increase swim time and frequency as they get older).
I also hatch chicks in my classroom and it worked great for them too with the pool covered.
I used scrap wood and plexiglass so my cost was around $100.
Here is a video of my old brooder which inspired the new one. That one had a side I made of screening which came down and made the pool ramp.
I needed a brooder for Dutch Hookbill ducklings for my classroom, so, I built one with an in-ground pool. Everyone complains about ducklings making the brooder wet but I think if you give them water to swim in and the correct waterers it really helps. So, the one end was built to have a bus-boy tub sunken in it as a pool (I use a brick or rock as a step to get out).
The middle is half inch hardware cloth so spilled food, water, and waste goes through to trays lined with puppy pads. When the ducklings were small I covered the hardware cloth with puppy pads so it didn’t bother their feet.
The farthest end from the pool is sunken about an inch with a solid floor so it can hold shavings for sleeping in.
I cut a piece of corrugated plastic to cover the pool when the ducklings couldn’t be supervised or needed to rest (always start ducklings out slowly and increase swim time and frequency as they get older).
I also hatch chicks in my classroom and it worked great for them too with the pool covered.
I used scrap wood and plexiglass so my cost was around $100.
Here is a video of my old brooder which inspired the new one. That one had a side I made of screening which came down and made the pool ramp.
