Ducklings + Goslings

[DuckGirl77]

Wow very nice brooder. Does it stay dry, apart from the water area?

 

[Wild Hair]

It has for the most part. I wish I knew who to give the credit to for the watering station. It is a huge mess in there though

Unfortunately I made the sides 12" and I'm afraid it's not gonna hold in these hoppers for long!

 

[ChampionAlex]

My ducks and chickens did fine with my gooslings :]

 

[Pyxis]

It has for the most part. I wish I knew who to give the credit to for the watering station. It is a huge mess in there though

Unfortunately I made the sides 12" and I'm afraid it's not gonna hold in these hoppers for long!

It's a really nice brooder! Might steal the watering station idea for my goslings once they outgrow their tub and need to go in the pool brooder. If you wrap chicken wire around the outside that keeps them in

 

[Wild Hair]

Here it is before ducklings. I just built a frame and wrapped the inside in plastic to contain the fluids. I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 days out of these pine chips with the help of the watering box. Its been a day with 13 ducklings and it's not quite to the stinky stage. Still just smells like the feed store.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Here it is before ducklings. I just built a frame and wrapped the inside in plastic to contain the fluids. I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 days out of these pine chips with the help of the watering box. Its been a day with 13 ducklings and it's not quite to the stinky stage. Still just smells like the feed store.

Good idea! I never thought of doing anything like that!

A foot high should work for a little while, but they do grow fast! If that were me, I would probably keep it a little too long, thinking that they probably won't come out, and one day find ducklings all over the place! All I can think of is when I had chicks in my room and they knocked the screen-lid off their box and I came home to twelve chicks- almost chickens- running around and making a huge mess! I imagine it would be much worse with ducks!

 

[jake and pippa]

I recently had my first hatchlings, three muscovy ducklings and seven Ebden goslings. Because they were born the same day they were brooded together and they got along just fine. Then I got in some ducks from mail order and I put some of them with the goslings and the muscovy and some of them were in a separate brooder. Actually I had three brooders because I have a lot of ducks so I had ducks only in two brooders and ducks geese and muscovy in the third. There were about 20-30 birds in each container. I know I'm crazy.

In any case I noticed that the ducklings in the ducks only brooders were very shy and afraid of me when I put my hands in or over the brood. Of course that's not unusual. However the brooder with the geese was completely different. All the ducks would run over and say hello when I put my hands. Now goslings are incredibly calm and friendly and I thought maybe because they are larger and they're very calm the ducklings are looking to them like parents. So I did an experiment. I took two goslings from their brooder and put them in each of the other brooder which had had only ducks, leaving three goslings in the first brooder.

Within a day the ducks in those other brothers were much calmer and more friendly. Not only that, but on a few occasions I have seen or heard the geese alerting the ducks to food being put in the brooder, just like a rooster calls to his hens. I find this pretty cool. And yes goslings are the most adorable birds.

 

[Wild Hair]

Well I've got a jumper. I was awoke around 4 this morning to a frantic ducklings calls. He had hopped over my dividing wall and joined the goslings. He must not have thought it through because he was so intent on returning to the ducklings that his cries woke me up (first time the little birds woke me up in two weeks).

 

[Wild Hair]

Another update...one of my goslings has already started somewhat honking. It's too much! She (I think) only seems to do it when she's been laying comfortably for a minute or so. Regardless, the honks came so much sooner than expected. I was really taken off guard!

 

[DuckGirl77]

Another update...one of my goslings has already started somewhat honking. It's too much! She (I think) only seems to do it when she's been laying comfortably for a minute or so. Regardless, the honks came so much sooner than expected. I was really taken off guard!

Already!!! Is it loud?