I need brooder ideas!

[RitaK]

I've decided (thanks to all your expert advice!) to get welsh harlequins. 1drake and 2 ducks. They arrive at the end of the month. I bought the biggest Rubbermaid I could find. But now I need to figure out how to make a raised floor. My plan is to use puppy pads thanks to a post on here!
Here's what I have:

I have a bathroom with a heated floor (shown a little in the picture.) and a big walk I shower in there. Should I just put the brooder in the shower and drill holes for the mess to drain? Or should I create a raised floor in the brooder? Picture of shower to follow. I can still plug in their heat lamp...

Thank you all for your help! I am so grateful for this site!! I'm a nervous soon to be duck mama.

 

[RitaK]

Here's a picture of the shower. And my 1.5 year old!

 

[ChicagoDucks]

I've decided (thanks to all your expert advice!) to get welsh harlequins. 1drake and 2 ducks. They arrive at the end of the month. I bought the biggest Rubbermaid I could find. But now I need to figure out how to make a raised floor. My plan is to use puppy pads thanks to a post on here!
Here's what I have:

I have a bathroom with a heated floor (shown a little in the picture.) and a big walk I shower in there. Should I just put the brooder in the shower and drill holes for the mess to drain? Or should I create a raised floor in the brooder? Picture of shower to follow. I can still plug in their heat lamp...

Thank you all for your help! I am so grateful for this site!! I'm a nervous soon to be duck mama.

Congrats on your new ducklings! WH's are very handsome. You'll do fine with them, I'm sure. I also use rubbermaid tubs for brooding small numbers of ducklings. They work well. I'd advise not to drill holes, or worry about a false bottom. I use recycled paper litter (either cat litter, or small animal bedding) for the bottom of the brooder. They can walk well on it, and it is easy to clean up. A raised floor, or drilling holes, will just make it harder to clean. If the brooder will be indoors with a heat lamp, you won't need to put it on a heated floor.

 

[RitaK]

Great advice! I didn't think of kitty litter! I will look for paper litter at the pet store. Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Great advice! I didn't think of kitty litter! I will look for paper litter at the pet store. Thank you!

What ever you decide to use as bedding you want to make sure it won't be something they can eat. Ducklings will eat small bedding, have you seen this?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

 

[ChicagoDucks]

Here are some photos of my spring hatch. They're in a big plastic rubbermaid tub, with paper hamster bedding. The waterer is resting on a sauce pan (no handle) filled with grit, which gives the splashed water someplace to accumulate, and provides grit for the ducklings.


This one shows the warm side with the heat lamp:

From the outside:


Hey guys, let me back in!!


Now, your ducklings are going to grow very fast. The plastic tub brooder will only work for you for a couple of weeks before they outgrow it. Don't put off thinking about their coop!! Depending on how quickly they outgrow the tub, and how cold it gets at night, you may need some supplementary heat in their coop. They should be good for cool weather once they grow in all of their feathers at 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[RitaK]

Wow! Those are great pictures! Thank you very much!

Dumb questions cont'd.....

when they out grow the brooder, can I keep them inside (the laundry room and bathroom) at night and let them roam around during the day?

Do you keep food in front of them all the time?

When do you let them swim and where?

Thank you all very much!

 

[Amiga]

My ducks spend their nights in our walkout basement. I put shavings on the floor, and have their water in the bottom half of a large plastic dog crate, to catch the splash and it works well.

During the day if I am with them, they can be out in the yard and garden but if I cannot be with them I built a Day Pen covered with fence top, sides and bottom. We have many many domestic and wild predators.