Duckling brooders

[SundownWaterfowl]

What do you use to brood your ducklings in?

The first 2 or 3 weeks, I use a large cardboard box. I do have a large wire pen Im thinking of putting them in when they are 3 weeks old. It has 1/4" hardwire cloth over all the sides.

Here are my new ducklings that hatched yesterday night. 9 out of 12 hatched. What was strange was that out of my mixed color call ducks, I got gray and white ducklings.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We use a small size "kiddie" pool, the ones about 3 feet in diameter with about 3 inches of sand in the bottom. All the water they slosh out will sink into the sand and keep it much drier.

Steve in NC

 

[Brickman House]

I use my upstairs bathtub. It has a non-slip floor, so no need for bedding. I hose it down twice a day with a shower sprayer (with the ducklings inside the tub), then fill it with a few inches of water and let them swim a bit.

Then drain the water, put the food dish and waterers back in, and voila! Clean brooder and clean ducklings.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

Quote:
someone we use to know kept her pet mice in the tub....lol

 

[SGM]

I'm using a long plastic tub as a brooder. We always use those for chicks with paper towels laid down until they get too bad about tearing up the paper towels. Then we change them over to wire cages. Well the ducks were making a sopping mess so I put a wire base in the bottom of their tub to keep them off the wet paper towels and newspaper. They're going through a lot more water this way and making more mess in the bottom but they at least have somewhere warm and dry to lay.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

this is what our call ducklings start out in. We put down a towel or the rubber shelf liners so they don't get straddle legs.

after about 5 days in there we move them to here

or here.....just a plastic tub fromwalmart with an elevated hardware cloth bottom so they stay dry. We hang a light over the top.

then after about 2-3 weeks they get really stinky and nasty so they go here......If it is early in the year they get a 60 watt bulb in the box. We made the box tall just for ducklings to get a light. They don't need as much heat as chickens do.

and finally, the breeders and show birds go here......we do keep some on the ground, but they are breeders only, not show birds.
Most everyone goes on the ground in the winter into the community pens.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Wonderful pictures!

 

[Picklestix7866]

I use a plastic tub in the laundry room til they get too big and smelly. Then they move on up to an old horse water tank in the garage.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

Quote:
thanks Sundown, we are always looking for better ways of doing things if anyone else has pictures.......