space in brooder

[sayyadina]

I'm going to be getting 10 runners & 5 welsh harlequins next spring.

How big of a brooder do I need for them? How many heat lamps will I need? Its still going to be cool to cold here.

I'm planning on having the brooder in the quarantine barn which has a stonedust floor.

Also contemplating geese.

Should I wait until the ducklings are older or done with the brooder to get the geese, since I'm guessing the goslings will be much bigger.

 

[FenDruadin]

For 15 ducks, a child's wading pool (the kind they sell at Dollar General or other discount stores) with one or two heat lamps should be just fine (although I've never brooded in a non-temperature-controlled setting, so you may need more heat depending on insulation and surrounding temps...). As the ducklings grow, you'll have to surround it with a higher barrier (cardboard from boxes cut & shaped to surround the pool worked for me) to prevint the ducks from simply climbing out and going where they want.

As for the geese, I think it depends on your needs and your set-up. Do you want the geese & ducks to bond and act like a single flock? Are the geese intended to provide some protection to the ducks? If either of those is the case, you will want to raise them together.

However, if you want to conserve space, brooding them separately would make more sense, as you'll need a larger space for the goslings.

I raised ducks & geese together, and they still hang out together. But the geese do need more space than ducks.