Questions about newly hatched ducklings

[emjay]

Fingers crossed I will have some ducklings hatching on the 24th of April. The eggs are under a chicken, I plan to take them away, as soon as fluffy and put into a brooder.

questions are:

currently I have a red heat lamp, are ducklings on the same type of heat schedule as chicks? or is a white heat lamp better ??

brooder box suggestions, I have a a rubbermaid tote that I am using now for chicks.

pictures would be helpful or descriptions of feed and water dishes, floor cover, etc, as I've read ducklings are messy little cuties.

I've never had ducklings before, so would like to be fully prepared before they hatch.

oh, and what feed they go on, do they go on unmedicated chick feed ?

thanks in advance.

 

[debilorrah]

Red light is fine - my ducklings are chicks are together. They are going to outgrow that rubbermaid thing in about a week. Here is a pic of our setup:

Ducklings are very messy - it gets better when they get older and are outside. Be prepared to clean the brooder daily at a minimum. We use pine shavings in ours so all we have to do is scoop it up with a dustpan and then replace it. If you can, use an old sheet, torn in half to put the shavings on. You can then remove the whole thing, shake into the trash and toss it in the washer, and lay the other half down.

I have a million ways to handle messy ducklings.

ETA - the divider can be removed and it is used for bad, injured, broody birds too. The divider comes in handy when you hatch often.

 

[rhs7111]

Yes, ONLY unmedicated feed...medicated feed can kill duckings. I've used unmedicated game bird crumbles on heavy breed duckings with good results. The protein in game bird feed can be a bit high, though, so check the label.

 

[lady feathers]

My ducklings started out in a rubbermaid container but it doesn't take long for them to outgrow it (maybe 2-3 weeks in a medium sized container for 3 of them depending on type of duck) .... a red heat bulb is fine that's what mine are using now. They start out at about same temps as chicks do, just make sure they can get away from the heat source if necessary, seems like my pekins like to get away from the heat more than my runners do (just preferences I guess),. Just like chicks decrease by approximately 5 degrees each week (may go faster- just have to see what they like). I have them right now on a non-medicated general poultry feed that I bought locally at our farm store (similar to TSC) specifically says on there chicks & ducks made it super easy for me as I also have some chicks in their own brooder right now. I've heard you can put them together, the only reason I didn't was my chicks were already a few weeks old...... but my runners are already way biger than them WOW do the grow fast and they are much, much messier!

For feeders and waterers for the first few weeks I used the same type that I use for chicks, however I am going to have to probably switch to a shallow bowl or hanging feeder like for rabbits as their bills are getting larger and soon they may have some trouble getting into it, a bowl works to but I don't fill much at a time (just frequently) as they like to step in it getting it wet and all over the place. I started out on pine shaings while they were tiny and as they got to be a few weeks and bigger/more coordinated I placed straw on top of shavings so the shavings could soak up most of the spills, but the straw kept them out of and on top of most of the mess so they stay fairly dry and warm..... you do have to change it out frequently though, doesn't take but one day for three little runner ducks with some water to play in to make an awful stinky mess

!

Good Luck and have fun they have such personality!