Okay, I am officially crazy, now.
My two Cayuga ducklings have let me know they have outgrown their brooder. They get out of it all the time. I open the bathroom door and there are these two black ducks standing there, looking at me as if to say, "What?"
I would put them in a dishpan full of warm water, in the shower stall (don't have a bathtub, only have the one bathroom, as a matter of fact, where I'm brooding 4 chicks and two ducklings in separate brooders) whilst I cleaned out their brooder. By the time I was done, and everything was all fresh in their brooder, they were ready to get out of the dishpan for a dry off and a quick snack back in the brooder. They'd rest, all tuckered out.
But the next time I'd come into the bathroom, they'd be out of the brooder. And they can't get back INTO it.
Soooooo..... last night I started their swim practice and just pulled the brooder out of the bathroom. The chicks are still okay in theirs, although they do roost on the edges of it. (One intrepid girl flapped her way to the toilet seat to fall asleep there.) I put towels down on the entire floor, set up a new feed station, and set up a new watering station I made out of a plastic Alhambra water bottle. Very clever, if I say so myself. I cut two holes out of the sides, on opposite sides of the bottle, about five inches above the bottom of the bottle. Good sized holes, so the ducklings - now pretty good sized ducks - could put their heads in and fiddle with the water, but not tip the thing over or get too much water flung about the bathroom. They liked it a lot, after they figured out where the actual holes were. (For a while, they kept bumping the bottle with their bills, "looking" for a way to get into the water. But then they finally found the holes.)
They can get into and out of their swimming (now just wading!) dishpan in the shower all by themselves. They still snuggle together under the sink where half of their brooder fit, originally. I can wash the towels and don't have to deal with sopping pine shavings any more.
This weekend, I guess I'll put 'em outdoors - which means I HAVE to complete their duck house pronto!
My two Cayuga ducklings have let me know they have outgrown their brooder. They get out of it all the time. I open the bathroom door and there are these two black ducks standing there, looking at me as if to say, "What?"
I would put them in a dishpan full of warm water, in the shower stall (don't have a bathtub, only have the one bathroom, as a matter of fact, where I'm brooding 4 chicks and two ducklings in separate brooders) whilst I cleaned out their brooder. By the time I was done, and everything was all fresh in their brooder, they were ready to get out of the dishpan for a dry off and a quick snack back in the brooder. They'd rest, all tuckered out.
But the next time I'd come into the bathroom, they'd be out of the brooder. And they can't get back INTO it.
Soooooo..... last night I started their swim practice and just pulled the brooder out of the bathroom. The chicks are still okay in theirs, although they do roost on the edges of it. (One intrepid girl flapped her way to the toilet seat to fall asleep there.) I put towels down on the entire floor, set up a new feed station, and set up a new watering station I made out of a plastic Alhambra water bottle. Very clever, if I say so myself. I cut two holes out of the sides, on opposite sides of the bottle, about five inches above the bottom of the bottle. Good sized holes, so the ducklings - now pretty good sized ducks - could put their heads in and fiddle with the water, but not tip the thing over or get too much water flung about the bathroom. They liked it a lot, after they figured out where the actual holes were. (For a while, they kept bumping the bottle with their bills, "looking" for a way to get into the water. But then they finally found the holes.)
They can get into and out of their swimming (now just wading!) dishpan in the shower all by themselves. They still snuggle together under the sink where half of their brooder fit, originally. I can wash the towels and don't have to deal with sopping pine shavings any more.
This weekend, I guess I'll put 'em outdoors - which means I HAVE to complete their duck house pronto!
Last edited:
