Help. Ducklings webbing is inflamed

[shoblitz]

Hi. My ducklings webbing is bright red! I believe its from the muck in their brooder. Is there anything I can do to help their feet?
Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi. My ducklings webbing is bright red! I believe its from the muck in their brooder. Is there anything I can do to help their feet?
Thanks

Clean their brooder as best you can, don't let it get to where they are walking in poo use pine shaving it helps to absorb the moisture, let them swim in warm water [with supervision only] then spread some kind of antibiotic salve [triple antibiotic is a good one and in expensive]

 

[Amiga]

Ditto Miss Lydia.

70%cocoa uses a rabbit hutch elevated above a pan, with a towel over the wire. Wetness spills through into the pan, what's on the towel evaporates and it's easy to clean.

tweetysvoice fitted an under-the-bed plastic storage bin with wire screen across the top. She reinforced it, I think, then sat the waterer on top of that. It catches water, keeps it out of the bedding.

 

[shoblitz]

Thanks!!! How often do you clean your brooder? I dump mine every week and put in fresh shaving and add shavings periodically in between but it seems to be a slimy hot mess within 12 hours of changing?? Any suggestions on brooding setups for ducklings? I've lost over half of them Also how long until they start getting their feathers? My chicks are only about 2 weeks older than the ducklings and fully feathered.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks!!! How often do you clean your brooder? I dump mine every week and put in fresh shaving and add shavings periodically in between but it seems to be a slimy hot mess within 12 hours of changing?? Any suggestions on brooding setups for ducklings? I've lost over half of them Also how long until they start getting their feathers? My chicks are only about 2 weeks older than the ducklings and fully feathered.

How many ducklings and what are you using for your brooder, sounds like maybe too many in too small a space, they grow so fast it's hard to keep up but the bigger always the better when it comes to water fowl. Heres a link about duckling care and also tips on keeping the brooder drier. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/duckling-care-brooder-ideas

 

[Amiga]

Are you sitting down? With fifteen, then eleven ducklings (I was fostering four for a friend for two weeks), it was brooder clean out three times a day.

We used old towels for bedding, since the ducklings ate shavings and the first bag we got had so much resin in it, it gave us headaches to have it in the house.

If your schedule makes it difficult, please, please, please, please, do what 70%cocoa, tweetysvoice, or others have done to catch the splash and keep it out of the bedding. Nevermind the schedule. Get a water management system that works. The bedding will get moist, if only from poop. It needs to be changed out frequently, and you may need a much bigger brooder.

There is a whole library's worth of knowledge and skill on the Duck Forum, so please take what you need from our input and design something that works for all of you.