I brought home 6 ducklings yesterday to add to 6 chicks I brought home a couple days ago. I filled a lasagna pan with water and added some crumbles. Ducks seem to love the idea. Is there any reason why I should not do this? Will they get too cold? They seem to wade around for a few minutes and then run under the light.
Are the ducklings in with the chickens? If they are, IMO you need to separate them. Ducklings can handle being wet a lot better then chicks and your chicks could get chilled due to the water the ducklings bring back on them. I also prefer to keep the ducklings food dry, bacteria can grow fast in the warm air of a brooder, but I also make sure that my ducklings have lots of clean water every day. I first I was worried about my ducklings being wet & cold too. So I gave them lots of water in a container that they could not swim in. Then once a day I would give them a warm bath in our tub. My hubby and son would watch over them, while I cleaned out their brooder box, then would slowly carry each one back in a towel to get off excess water. Of course I only have 2 ducklings so it wasn't that hard for me to do. I have my 2 ducklings and 4 chicks that are in a fenced off "playground" outside and they are doing great, but at night they sleep separately because of the dampness of the ducks.
I fixed up a seperate "water park" box for the ducks with yet another light to warm up after swims. At night, I'll put them back in the bigger brooder with the chicks. Hopefully, this will make everyone happy.
I thought ducklings weren't suppose to swim unsupervised for the first few weeks, at least that is what I've read.
