New chicks on the way! but we got a "practice" flock first!

[CoffeeCow]

Hello,
I am new to these forums, and to chickens. I am making this to get any feedback or helpful tips you may have.

We recently ordered 10 chicks from an online site (not this one, don't know if i should post the site), and they are due here on May 24! I am so excited

We are getting:

5 Easter Egger (Araucanas) Hens
2 Delaware Hens
2 Orpington Hens
1 Easter Egger Rooster
I know its an odd assortment, but the family all got their picks. From what I have read, all of these breeds are pretty friendly and should get along nicely.

My wife is a Veterinarian, and yesterday she had a client bring in 8 ducklings whose mother got hit by a car. They couldn't really stay at the clinic, so we have them now. I guess this will be some good practice for our upcoming chicks

the ducklings have been here for 3 days now (if i could figure out how to post pictures, I would show them off to you) We weren't prepared the first night and just had them in a box with no heat lamp. We lost 3 that night

. Now we have a proper heat lamp in the new "brooder?" and the remaining 5 are doing well. They are wild ducks, and should fly off when they are grown.

Here is what I have for my Brooder, It will house my chicks when they arrive also.

45 gallon storage tub from wal-mart. It was the biggest one they had, It even has wheels on the bottom of it hehe
For now the ducklings just have a 75w light bulb in a clamp on heat lamp. We are getting a 250w red light this weekend.
The substrate is pine shavings (the ducklings are very messy and I have had to change it daily)
We have a chick feeder and waterer in there, the feeder is doing an excellent job.
The waterer is not doing such a great job. the ducklings empty it in a about an hour by trying to "swim" in it.. so I have replaced it with a shallow dish of water (filled about 2" or so) that they can get in. I don't think this would be a good idea with the chicks, but it seems to be working with the ducks.

I have been hard at work making my Chicken coop it is almost finished. We have a 20'x20' barn type building with covered shelters on each side. I am using 1 side of it for the run. on the inside (Wish i could figure out how to post pictures

) I have built a wall and covered it in chicken wire to give the chickens a 6' x 20' area. I have cut a chicken door in the side leading out to the run.
My neighbor had some scrap linoleum flooring so I installed it in the coop, hopefully this will make for an easier cleanup. Before I put the flooring in, I painted the sub-floor with killz to help seal it a little better.

I think thats all the big points that I have to make, any advise or helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
CoffeeCow ~moo!~

 

[AHappychick]

oh welcome and wow a test run that is new

Ducks are so much messier than chickens. There have been some good setups with cinderblocks and harware cloth to help keep them from making a mess but I dont know where that post is but if you do a search of water for ducks something might come up.

I learned a while ago that with ducks a metal mesh floor and waterer with a nipple work best otherwise it is too hard to clean up. There is a waterer called the Avaian Mister but you can make one yourself and there are a few posts on it. I will try to add some links to the posts in a few minutes. This is also something you can use for the chickens when they arrive

What I do is I use a rabbit hutch that has nice welded wire floor that is coated with rubber. The droppings fall through where I can then clean out daily and the waterer hangs on the wall of the hutch with the nipple at the height they need. They figure out using the nipple right away and have not problems getting the hyration they need. Maybe your wife can ask around and borrow a rabbit hutch from someone if you dont have them and since the ducks will not be permenant. Also in a few weeks the ducks can go outside probably at around 3 weeks or even 2 if the weather is warm.

here check out this thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=189137

 

[CoffeeCow]

Thanks for the advice.
I think they have a rabbit cage at the vet clinic. if it is not in use, I will ask the owner if I can borrow it for a week or 2.

 

[Brahmamama4]

I raised 2 wild ducklings that I found once and was unable to ever find their mother. They were very sweet and did fly away after a couple months. They were beautiful birds and very easy to raise. Good luck with them!

 

[CoffeeCow]

figured out how to get pictures up here i think...

 

[biddyboo]

Awwww! Adorable. I covet some ducks for our pond, but our GSP runs off anything winged and feathered that lands here, so I fear for the safety of any ducks or geese I'd bring in. I'll have to enjoy the fly-bys and picture posts like yours. Btw, you and your wife have good hearts. Thanks for the rescue and sharing the story ~G

 

[CoffeeCow]

You think the setup i have them in will do for 10 chicks?

I am getting a 250W red heat lamp this weekend to replace the one in the picture.
I am a bit worried about space in there for the chicks though...

 

[AHappychick]

it will e fine for now, depending on how fast they grow and the weather they may be able to stay in it until they go outside or not. you will have to see as they grow, but for now its great!

 

[newchicksnducks]

Hi! Welcome to BYC
If you can manage the ducklings, your chicks will be a breeze! The ducks are much messier than the chicks will be, so don't panic. You'll want to keep them in the brooder for a couple weeks, but you'll definitely need to use a cage soon. We had 2 ducks that we got at about 5 weeks in a large dog cage, but that didn't last long. We had them out in the coop by the time they were 7 weeks old. Hopefully by the time your chicks are ready to go out to the coop, the ducks may be ready to go on their own...don't know at what age that would be. Putting them together is a bit difficult, especially with your age differences. The ducks are a bit aggressive and will be so much bigger than your chickens. Go to the duck section on BYC for more info on that

Your brooder setup is similar to mine. I never really used the 250 watt inside. I did have two smaller red reptile lights we used (someone mentioned that if one goes out, your sunk if it is your sole heat source), each bulb was about 75 watts or so. Adjusting the height for your chicks is the key to keeping the area warm enough. I had 7 chicks (and a batch of 3, and batch of 5) in the brooder at different times. It was great for the first few weeks. By 4 weeks or so, your going to find those accomodations cramped. I used a deck box (usually used to store chair cushions) as a larger brooder for another couple weeks, then put the girls out in the coop with a heat lamp for a while.

Good luck with all your babies!!

 

[pdsavage]

Quote:
Im getting ducks and im going to have to keep em pened right next to my LGDs so they get use to em....