Hey all! I've been reading a lot this past month in preparation for getting ducklings in spring. My 4 duckling brooder will be set up like this:
In a very secure large shed in my back yard I will have the brooder. The shed will be enclosed in electrical fencing. Inside I will be using a kiddie pool filled with hay (that's ok right?) surrounded by something, probably some small wire fencing I have left over from potato cages. There will also be extra hay bales stacked around, and the whole shed will become their hutch so it will be set up safely for them if they get out.
My question is about the heat lamp. What would you recommend for the $20-30 range? What type of bulb? Does it really not bother them being exposed to light 24/7? Sounds horrible! And do you really just use a thermometer and move the light up or down accordingly to adjust to temperature? If so, then do you recommend weekly?
Pretty basic stuff for all you experts, I feel kind of silly asking
@FaerieGlynne
Please don't feel silly. There are many different ways of doing it right, and some mistakes along the way. The learning curve is steep, and I have found the experience intense.
I raised eleven Runners from day-olds. Two that reached adulthood died of internal problems. One we know was egg yolk peritonitis, the other, we don't know, but I suspect hardware disease. The other nine are now nearly six years old - still laying in the warmer weather, and just as amazing, precocious, fabulous as the day they hatched.
So - about the heat lamp. I had raised reptiles before the ducklings came along. Minerva made it to 29 years old, in fact. But I had ceramic heat lamps from keeping Minerva warm without keeping her exposed to light all the time. Those are pricey, but as far as I know, within your budget. You may even be able to pick some up from a former reptile keeper, yourself.
Your setup sounds good. We have no outbuildings, so our brooder was in the guest room. What I learned was that ducklings grow unimaginably fast. The first brooder was a 2ft by 5 ft Rubbermaid tub with a metal hardware cloth lid (I made the lid) to keep ducklings in, cats out, and to hold the heat lamps. Among other things, I learned that wet bedding brings the brooder temperature down about ten degrees F.
They outgrew that in two weeks. Actually, in about ten days. Then I bought puppy playpen, that is eight two-foot wide coated wire panels. Two weeks later, I bought another puppy playpen (happily, they are expandable that way). And that was finally big enough to hold them comfortably till we were able to get them in to their own shelter.
Please keep in touch! We all love reading about duckies!
I just candled all of them, and they look good, but one looks very under-developed... I'll know for sure in the next few days.. Last turn is tonight at midnight!!
