Just got some baby ducks and I have some questions

[dandydoodle]

We just got some baby ducks. They are about 2 to 2 and half weeks old. I have only had chickens before. I didn't realize just how messy they are. I don't mind but, being in the brooder with a heat lamp I am worried the wet mess they make is gonna cause germs and make them sick. Anytime I give them water they spill it out everywhere and cause, the bottom of their brooder to be like mud. Anyway any suggestions. Is there any kind of bedding I can use that won't get so nasty. How do you handle this? I have to give them water and I don't have time to clean the brooder out multiple times a day.

One more thing when will ducks start getting in their grown up feathers?

 

[Amiga]

Water management is a big challenge for most new duck people.

Welcome, by the way, to Duckdom!

Please take a look at what tweetysvoice came up with. I love it!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

Once you get a system in place, it will be much easier.

Good on you for realizing that if you don't deal with the splashing, there could be health concerns.

They are waterfowl, bless them, and they simply cannot help it.

There is so much about them that is wonderful, I hope you enjoy every day with them!

 

[Lovely Emily]

The second Q has the shorter answer, so I'll do that first.

It depends on the breed. It varies, but it's based on how fast the ducks graow. For Pekins, you can expect feathers in a month. For Appleyards, you wont see feathers for 4 months, so what breed do you have?

Now onto the long one...

A good bedding that retracts water is Pine Needles. I've used them before. They are coated in a thin sheen of resin and so water just slips through. be sure to use red ones, not green ones picked from the tree.
As for the water, you should try a fount waterer instead of a bowl. It will make much less of a mess. Remember, about half of the mess is....pee, so you'll always have something to not look forward to. I hope this has helped.

Emily

 

[dandydoodle]

Water management is a big challenge for most new duck people.

Welcome, by the way, to Duckdom!

Please take a look at what tweetysvoice came up with. I love it!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

Once you get a system in place, it will be much easier.

Good on you for realizing that if you don't deal with the splashing, there could be health concerns.

They are waterfowl, bless them, and they simply cannot help it.

There is so much about them that is wonderful, I hope you enjoy every day with them!

Thanks for welcoming me to duckdom.

We do enjoy them. I don't even mind filling the water for them as much as they like. I am just getting concerned with the heat and all the messy water it has to be breeding something. I don't want them getting sick and I know they aren't old enough to come out from under the light yet. That is if they are like chickens as far as that goes.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

 

[dandydoodle]

The second Q has the shorter answer, so I'll do that first.

It depends on the breed. It varies, but it's based on how fast the ducks graow. For Pekins, you can expect feathers in a month. For Appleyards, you wont see feathers for 4 months, so what breed do you have?

Now onto the long one...

A good bedding that retracts water is Pine Needles. I've used them before. They are coated in a thin sheen of resin and so water just slips through. be sure to use red ones, not green ones picked from the tree.
As for the water, you should try a fount waterer instead of a bowl. It will make much less of a mess. Remember, about half of the mess is....pee, so you'll always have something to not look forward to. I hope this has helped.

Emily

Unfortunately I don't know what they are. I got them from a local feed store and they got them from a hatchery. I think it was ideal poultry and they were the mixed bundle of ducks that you can order. I am excited about having different kind unfortunately I don't know what they are. Does anyone have pics of their baby ducks maybe it could help me figure out what the babies are.

I know a lot of the mess is water because, I give them their waterers and they immediately slurp it up and spit it everywhere to make mud puddles.

 

[dandydoodle]

Water management is a big challenge for most new duck people.

Welcome, by the way, to Duckdom!

Please take a look at what tweetysvoice came up with. I love it!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

Once you get a system in place, it will be much easier.

Good on you for realizing that if you don't deal with the splashing, there could be health concerns.

They are waterfowl, bless them, and they simply cannot help it.

There is so much about them that is wonderful, I hope you enjoy every day with them!

Wow I just looked at that and it is pretty cool I might just have to do that. Would it be okay to put sand in the bottom of the brooder under the chips. They have made such a mess I really need to re do the whole flooring in there.

 

[Lovely Emily]

Well, Ideal has a really low variety, so...

Chipmunky pattern (tan/yellow and blakc/brown stripety)
- Mallard (if they're really tiny)
- Rouen (if they're normal size)

Yellow with black on the head and tail
- Snowy mallard

Black
- Cayuge 9normal)
- E.I. (tiny)

Gray with yellow spots
- Swedish

 

[Amiga]

I don't think sand will help, though I haven't tried that. I did have just sand in their outdoor night porch, and it started getting whiffy pretty quick, I reckon with all the nitrogen in their droppings.

I used towels. High maintenance, but a good surface for little ones, and I am allergic to pine shavings, and my ducklings would eat them. I know, I know, ducklings "don't eat shavings." Mine don't listen to good advice, always.

Some people put puppy pads underneath (guess what. Yup. Ate 'em).

I think 70%cocoa is the one who uses a rabbit hutch with hardware cloth bottom and a towel over that, with a drip pan underneath. If I ever brood again, I may try that.

Keeping the water contained can really help. And frequent bedding changes work until you all get your system worked out.

 

[dandydoodle]

Think I might try what the person did in the link you sent me. I am still gonna have to clean the brooder and put in all new bedding. After scrapping out all the mess they have made, I think I might put a layer of sand in the bottom and then put pine shavings on that. Then I think I will put one of those drawer things in there to keep messes from happening in the future.

 

[Amiga]

Hang in there, it can be quite an adjustment. I was changing the brooder three to five times daily for a while. Eleven runners. First time. Wow.