NEED HELP ASAP!!!!

[ElizabethAnne03]

I have been keeping my ducklings inside due to clod weather ( I live in nc) but there starting to stink up the whole house! I put them in the garage tongiht with a heat lamp and a heater beside of there container. Went to check on them and there shivinging in the corner cuddled up. They were in a small storage room the heater heated up the whole room. There 2 or 3 weeks. I use a plastic storage container with puppy pads and a towel and clean it every day. Not sure what to do here. Most people keep them outside so why can they stand it?

 

[Amiga]

Most people may not keep them outside, not ducklings.

Problems with smell come from wetness, most of the time from what I see here.

How old are they, what is the temperature?

Bring them back in, they can get pneumonia.

Here are some ways to manage water.


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

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679433/water-water-everywhere/10

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/858161/feed-water-solution-for-brooder#post_12901321

http://frankiemakes.blogspot.ca/2012/06/watering-solution-for-ducks.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/259876/do-your-ducks-have-water-at-night/10#post_13568197

 

[ElizabethAnne03]

There inside now, I wouldn't mind keeping them inside but there so stinky haha. I have 5 and it's almost as if there cage needs cleaning every few hours to keep the smell away. I clean it once a day because of my work schedule. I like the first idea you sent! Do you know about how many weeks I should wait tell they can go in the storage room again?

 

[Amiga]

I brooded eleven and we had no odor problems. Not that I am brilliant - I did not get the water management handled very early on, though I did okay - three times a day I had to change bedding.

However, I did eventually figure it out and it was better by the time they went outside, at three months. They were hatched a month ahead of schedule and it was a late spring.

Anyway, ducklings need 90F the first week, dropping 5 degrees F a week till you get to the temperatures of their environment. So if they are two weeks old, they need to be close to 80F. And they need to be watched - if they are huddled together near the lamp they are probably too cool. If they are away from the lamp, perhaps panting, too hot.

They need water 24/7 so setting something up to prevent swamp brooder is so important for you and for them!

So back to moving them. What is the temperature of the storage room? A thermometer really really helps when they are little, that way you don't have to guess.

There is a Sticky on Raising Ducklings - please take a look at the first post in that.

 

[ElizabethAnne03]

Lord I don't know how you did that! Haha. They have water 24/7 think I might try to set somthing up tomorow so it won't get every where. But they pop ALOT. I mean I know they all do but I Dident realize it tell I got them. What kind of bedding did you use? Keeping them dry is becoming a struggle for me. Just because I can't be here all day. But a thermometer sounds great! Can't believe I Dident think of that. And is a plastic storage container okay to use? It's 75 gallon but was not sure. Love them to death but I swear there driving me crazy haha. But thank you! I will try these tips out in the house!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Ducklings & chicks do get stinky, I raise chicks in a plastic bin lined with potty pads & a trouble light for heat (40w bulb) with shavings, placed on a piece of carpet in the house. I put a lid on with a few vent holes along the top rim of the bin, summer time I didn't use a lid. There's no getting away from the sticky but using shavings & cleaning daily (picking out the poop) helped a lot. Once my chicks started feathering they went into my chick coop in the patio but still with the "heat" lamp. They had room enough to cuddle at the light or move away. Have fun, they are cute.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, I lost my mind the day they arrived, but in a good way.

The storage container sounds fine - I would give it a sniff test make sure it's not one of those stinky ones. Yes, they poop quite a bit. That is good, actually, for their health, but it leaves us with something to deal with.

Make a watering station. Use some of those ideas I posted. Limit the splash so that is most of what you need to deal with. Something I would do if I ever brooded again (which I may be doing later this year) is old sheet over shavings or sawdust pellets. That way I could lift the sheet, which would have the poop and a good bit of the water, out, shake it out over the garden (plants love that stuff) and lay down another sheet quickly. The watering station may need to be changed two or three times, but keeping the rest of the brooder from becoming soaked would reduce the needed effort there.

 

[ElizabethAnne03]

Thanks so much you guys! Tomorrow morning will consist of finding a way to keep the water down. And I'll have to try the sheet idea! So blessed to have these babies! Thanks so much again! Here's daisy today during there bath time. Hope it puts a smile on y'all's face!

 

[Amiga]

 

[Orca5094]

Looks like you got some great advice already! But yeah, the key to keeping ducklings in the house is to clean them often to keep the smell away. When I have ducklings they get their brooder cleaned 3 times a day to get rid of all the poops.

You said that you work alot, but maybe you can give them a quick clean before you head to work, right after you get home, and then again just before bedtime? I know it can be a pain, but they're so worth it aren't they? Little cuties!