MHP for ducks

[Librarychick5]

I am researching whether I want to get 3 ducks this spring. We already have chickens. Last time we got chicks I used a mhp and it was awesome. I've read a few posts about using a mhp with ducks but still have questions.

I saw a post about a mama heating cave instead. The post said the cave is better because ducks want to pile on top of each other. So they don't need to be able to touch their backs against the heating pad like chicks? Any other differences or things to consider when using a mhp with ducks?

I'm also a little confused about duck sleeping habits. I read they don't sleep through the night like chickens. Some people mention night lights? In the wild they don't have night lights so what's the purpose of that? Also posts about ducks not wanting to sleep outside after being used to sleeping on the house and quaking for attention? Are they that different from chickens? (besides the water mess which I've read a lot about).

 

[casportpony]

@WannaBeHillBilly worote this great article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/building-a-momma-heat-cave-for-ducklings.74714/

 

[Librarychick5]

That's the info I found about a cave version instead of the regular mhp for ducks! Good info!... I did want to verify that the ducks don't need their backs touching the pad? For chicks it seemed that was important.

Reading it a second time I noticed the comment about the mhc helping the ducks with day/night pattern. So maybe those who use a heat lamp are the ones with problems getting their ducks to settle at night/outside?

I really loved the mhp for chicks, and if I get ducks want to go that route again. Seems way more natural than the lamps.

Any other tips?

 

[Ratchnick]

I like the idea of the mhp, but all the heating pads i could find have an auto shutoff function. I ended up using a ceramic bulb that does not emit light.

 

[Librarychick5]

They are hard to find. I found one on Amazon last year. Couldn't find locally.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Sigh, ducks don't sleep much. But you'll enjoy them.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

First, i have no experience with other chicks than ducklings, so i can only compare what i have heart here and seen in farm-stores with what i have experienced with ducklings.

It seems to me that ducklings are way more tolerant to colder temperatures than other chicks. My ducklings never had a problem with low temperatures, on the contrary they would complain when they felt too hot. Ducklings grow fast, really FAST, which means they have a very fast metabolism, eat, digest, poop within less than two hours, that's why they won't sleep through a night. That is the reason why ducklings need food and water 24x7!
Ducklings generate a lot of heat and add to this that they love to huddle and pile up, they need a heat source only for the first couple of days - an environment with comfortable temperatures assumed. Watch ducklings in nature: They stay under their mom for maybe 2-3 days, after that they sleep huddled against mom or each other or on mom's back.
We had a sudden shower here last fall, while the fall ducklings were in their duckling box out on the pasture, so i rushed out and "rescued" thirteen two week old ducklings, they were wet and pretty upset - not because they were feeling cold, but because i took them away from their bore-holes! They refused to stay in their hot-box (see the pictures in my thread) and were loudly complaining, even tried to jump out of the brooder. After the rain was over i sat them back into the wet grass, where they happily picked up the drops, devoured the wet insects and drilled holes.

Night lights are not necessary, on the contrary! They might not be able to see very well at night, but they have an excellent memory of the position of the waterer and the feeder, so they make the round from sleeping-pile to food to water and back to the sleeping pile even in almost total darkness. Ambient light (Moon, Stars, Street-light) is more than sufficient, a night light is counter-productive! I got my first ducks from a feed store, when they were ~2 weeks old and they had spent their nights in that store under full light. Till today they don't like darkness and during the time between power-outage and generator-start they can barely contain themselves.

My conclusion is that the most critical moment in a ducklings life is during hatching: I have seen and heart many stories about shrink-wrapped or mis-positioned ducklings that died in their shells, call-ducks seem to be especially vulnerable, but i have not heart a single case of hypothermic ducklings.

Food, water, a place to stay warm and protection against predators and you will have a great time with the ducklings! - Unfortunately it will be a very short time because they grow faster than weeds. Enjoy every day!
And please flood us with pictures and videos here, because we're all addicts!
We're all infected with duckling-fever.

​

 

[Librarychick5]

Really good info..thanks! That helps clear up some of my confusion about the mhc and night lights. There just is not the same amount of info out there about ducks as there is about chicks.