So our Cayuga hatched out her ducklings about a week ago. We decided to use a kiddie pool, lined with puppy pads and shavings and placed inside the main coop (with the other birds), as the brooder.
Now we're wondering if we should have put Mom & young'uns somewhere separate from the rest of the birds, including the other ducks. Mom seems to go out free ranging with the other ducks during the day, and we've not seen her preening the babies for days now, while one of the books we have says the mother should be doing that. I suppose it's possible that she's doing it at some point when we're not there to see, but.....how do you all keep your ducklings that have been hatched out by the mother? Would you remove them (with or without the mother?) from the "general populace", as it were?
Now we're wondering if we should have put Mom & young'uns somewhere separate from the rest of the birds, including the other ducks. Mom seems to go out free ranging with the other ducks during the day, and we've not seen her preening the babies for days now, while one of the books we have says the mother should be doing that. I suppose it's possible that she's doing it at some point when we're not there to see, but.....how do you all keep your ducklings that have been hatched out by the mother? Would you remove them (with or without the mother?) from the "general populace", as it were?