Show off your house ducks!

[Julie Birb]

They are officially no longer waiting for me to free them..
I left them in their plastic tub and went to the kitchen to grab a snack only to turn around and have them all staring up at me from the floor.  They were too quiet....  Probably because they had freed themselves and were on their way out to see me...

OK, the staring faces. You all are too much for me. To steal Amykins' expression, Squeeeeeeeeee...and how flapping fripping cute were their faces?

 

[Julie Birb]

Their waterer is up on top of a small plastic storage bin with a screen top to catch most of the water they send flying. It's apparently just tall enough that they can vault over thr edge of their container!

I have been kicked off my computer now..

so they help themselves to the computer constantly. Just run over to best buy and get a new one that you don't care if it gets pooped on and let them lounge on it.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

so they help themselves to the computer constantly. Just run over to best buy and get a new one that you don't care if it gets pooped on and let them lounge on it.

I was thinking one of those rubberized keyboard overlays... Lol! Usually I just put a housebreaking pad on it, but they decided they wanted to play on it just then, and would not be denied! Eventually they all rolled off in their sleep and are now in a fluffy yellow mound of down and legs on the side....

 

[SilkieSensation]

I used to do the daily shavings changes, but with the quantities of birds I hatch at a time it's just much easier to brood the ducks in the outdoor brooder. It was made just for them.

I'm going to have to consider that for the spring Pekin and moulard runs! Unlike the rare and specialty breeds, we are going to have to do production run sized hatches to meet the demand for them. Too many for the kiddie pool!!!

I can't load pix from my phone, but I can give you basics of how mine is made.

6-8 ft long, 2-3 ft wide (depends on how long your arms are)
Legs 1-2 feet underneath
Baby area about 2-2 1/2 feet high (depends on how fast your ducklings grow, you want room to hang heatlamps without hitting their heads)
Floor of entire brooder is 1/4 inch rabbit wire. Walls of about 2/3 of brooder are also wire except where access doors are. Walls & access door of other 1/3 of brooder are wood & heatlamps hang in this section. Leave an opening just big enough for a duck ready for your growout pen to get through between the 2 sides.
Put roof over top.
You can put small pans of water in the open section or make a frame in the floor of the open section to sit the pans down in.
Everything drops through to the ground to be hosed or shoveled away.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Th

I can't load pix from my phone, but I can give you basics of how mine is made.

6-8 ft long, 2-3 ft wide (depends on how long your arms are)
Legs 1-2 feet underneath
Baby area about 2-2 1/2 feet high (depends on how fast your ducklings grow, you want room to hang heatlamps without hitting their heads)
Floor of entire brooder is 1/4 inch rabbit wire. Walls of about 2/3 of brooder are also wire except where access doors are. Walls & access door of other 1/3 of brooder are wood & heatlamps hang in this section. Leave an opening just big enough for a duck ready for your growout pen to get through between the 2 sides.
Put roof over top.
You can put small pans of water in the open section or make a frame in the floor of the open section to sit the pans down in.
Everything drops through to the ground to be hosed or shoveled away.

That sounds heavenly!!!! My daughter already has people preordering her pekins, so to meet demand, I have to rethink my brooding strategy! These heavy duck breeds grow so fast it's hard to keep up!!! By next week I'm going to have to move my 4 to a kiddie pool because they won't fit in the tub anymore. Fortunately, if the weather stays this lovely, I can put mom and dad and their half of the brood outside this week!! Woo Hoo!!!!!'nnn

 

[Julie Birb]

I was thinking one of those rubberized keyboard overlays... Lol! Usually I just put a housebreaking pad on it, but they decided they wanted to play on it just then, and would not be denied! Eventually they all rolled off in their sleep and are now in a fluffy yellow mound of down and legs on the side....

they are kids! And want things their way that facilitates their play. The image of a bundle of fluff, legs and webs is horribly cute.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

they are kids! And want things their way that facilitates their play. The image of a bundle of fluff, legs and webs is horribly cute.

They are totally little kids! I haven't said "no, don't put that in your mouth!" so much since my daughter was small!!

 

[Amykins]

They are totally little kids! I haven't said "no, don't put that in your mouth!" so much since my daughter was small!!

No kidding. My husband and I don't want kids, yet here we are with a feathered infant and another on the way.

 

[Julie Birb]

No kidding. My husband and I don't want kids, yet here we are with a feathered infant and another on the way. 

and even though I am a child less middle aged not ever broody hen I am coming to realize how raising web footed birds is a big life changing endeavor thru you guys except the stories are hilarious.

 

[kukupecpec]

ChaCha spends breakfast outside. It's her biggest meal and messiest poop time. In her playtime she digs in the dirt and roots around for goodies so I haven't noticed any issues with her bill. I try to let her be as natural as she wants, but when she's done with her breakfast she SQUEALS at the top of her lungs to be let in for bath time lol.

So those baby ducklings! Oh my gosh! There is just waaaay too much cuteness on this thread! I need baby birds again! This Easter Hatch a Long just can't come fast enough!

I agree with you guys about the never ending toddler life that is a house duck. I don't have kids, but I've been a sitter and a nanny most of my life and the similarities are crazy! Now if we could just get past the "throwing food everywhere" I think I'd be set lol