Moving the Ducklings outside...

[DuckMama9]

I have two five-week-old, two four-week-old, and two three-week-old ducklings and this is my first time raising ducks. I have been brooding them in a 3ftx8ft covered brooder box. During the day they have free range of the backyard and if I have to go someplace I pen them in a 4ftx4ft covered dog kennel for safety. At night they go back into their brooder box.

I am almost finished with their duck house though I still need some finishing touches and I want to landscape the duck pen area which is just covered with cedar much right now.

My questions are, at what point can I move the ducklings outside permanently? Will they need food and water inside the duckhouse available through the night, just water only, or neither at nighttime? Up to this point I have been providing fresh water and food 24-7 so I don't know if there is some point at which you can just provide them food on a set schedule like at dawn and dusk or whatever, and how much to feed them every day?

The night brooder on the back porch...

The daytime duck kennel, just for when I have to leave home and I'm not nearby to protect them from predators.

The duckhouse/duckpen awaiting...

 

[DuckyDonna]

your duck house is so stinking cute! where are you? Need to know so we can answer your questions

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good grief! You have a beast of a brooder!! That thing looks awesome and BIIIG! Did you built that yourself?

 

[DuckMama9]

your duck house is so stinking cute! where are you? Need to know so we can answer your questions

I live in Lubbock, Texas. It's 90-100F during the day and drops to about 75F at night right now. It will cool a little bit as we head into fall but doesn't really get cold until late october.

 

[DuckMama9]

Good grief! You have a beast of a brooder!! That thing looks awesome and BIIIG! Did you built that yourself?

My brother designed and built the brooder for his 25 or so chicks a few years back. It's been a pretty comfortable size for my six ducklings.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I live in Lubbock, Texas. It's 90-100F during the day and drops to about 75F at night right now. It will cool a little bit as we head into fall but doesn't really get cold until late october.

I would be more concerned about the 'lings having a heat-stroke than being to cold! Imagine you would have to wear a down jacket that you cannot take off. Are they panting during the day? If yes, offer them cold water so that they can cool down. I have a White Layer here who is standing in the water bowl for ½ hour to cool off. No splashing, just standing calm in the water, letiing the blood circulation doing the rest…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My brother designed and built the brooder for his 25 or so chicks a few years back. It's been a pretty comfortable size for my six ducklings.

Pretty impressing work! You should post an article about it here, showing some more detailed pictures so that others can copy it.

 

[Mama_Owl_3]

I have two five-week-old, two four-week-old, and two three-week-old ducklings and this is my first time raising ducks. I have been brooding them in a 3ftx8ft covered brooder box. During the day they have free range of the backyard and if I have to go someplace I pen them in a 4ftx4ft covered dog kennel for safety. At night they go back into their brooder box.

I am almost finished with their duck house though I still need some finishing touches and I want to landscape the duck pen area which is just covered with cedar much right now.

My questions are, at what point can I move the ducklings outside permanently? Will they need food and water inside the duckhouse available through the night, just water only, or neither at nighttime? Up to this point I have been providing fresh water and food 24-7 so I don't know if there is some point at which you can just provide them food on a set schedule like at dawn and dusk or whatever, and how much to feed them every day?
View attachment 1879093 The night brooder on the back porch...
View attachment 1879091 The daytime duck kennel, just for when I have to leave home and I'm not nearby to protect them from predators.
View attachment 1879090 The duckhouse/duckpen awaiting...

Love the set up! It's beautiful.

 

[DuckMama9]

I would be more concerned about the 'lings having a heat-stroke than being to cold! Imagine you would have to wear a down jacket that you cannot take off. Are they panting during the day? If yes, offer them cold water so that they can cool down. I have a White Layer here who is standing in the water bowl for ½ hour to cool off. No splashing, just standing calm in the water, letiing the blood circulation doing the rest…

Yeah, I know! I started out with the brooder in the garage but was worried they would roast in there and without any ventilation the ammonia smell got strong fast with wet shavings that never seemed to dry out! The panting quit once I moved them out onto the back patio with cross-breezes and a ceiling fan to help move air and dry up the wet shavings too. I keep a couple of rubbermaid tupperware food storage tubs of water in the brooder that they can drink from and bathe in to cool off. During the day they are free-ranging the yard with water tubs everywhere and their pool to cool off. While they are out during the day, I turn the wood shavings in the brooder a few times throughout the day and they are mostly dry by the time they are ready to go back in, but I add some fresh shavings to the top every other day or as needed.

 

[DuckMama9]

Pretty impressing work! You should post an article about it here, showing some more detailed pictures so that others can copy it.

That's an excellent idea! Though, I must say that I think this style of brooder is much better suited for chickens (as that is what my brother originally designed it for) than for ducks. For ducks I would have made the walls much higher so that they don't have to duck down their heads so much when the lids are closed. Also, I think it would work much better for ducks if it were much lower to the ground. Though a raised brooder is more convenient for the humans who change the food and water and come to check on birds, without having to bend over or crouch down, but the way I am brooding my ducklings is much different than I do for chicks who pretty much stay in the brooder all the time until ready to move outside to a pen. But for my ducks, I am letting them free range the yard during the day, and it is a bit challenging and stressful to ducks having to pick them each up in order to move them in and out twice a day. I think that a box that sits on the ground and has a door that could be opened to let them out and then corral them back through again later would be tons less stress for everyone!