Where do you keep your ducklings?

[sowellj]

We only have two ducklings and I keep them inside but they are really starting to smell. I built a bigger brooder but the smell is still bad. Is this normal for 2 ducklings? They are only a little over a week old. Can they go on a screened in patio as long as I have a heat lamp or two? I live in northern Florida. Where do most people keep their ducklings? Anyone here live in Jacksonville or nearby?

 

[ChickenToes]

Oh yes, ducklings are incredibly stinky. I keep mine in a small, fully insulated coop from day one. I love ducklings, but not enough to keep the stinky little buggers in my house. I think I have a pic of the coop on my BYC page. Anyway, you can put them pretty much anywhere, as long as there are no drafts and they have lamps to keep them warm.

 

[rainplace]

yes, ducklings smell. a lot. at this age you can cut down on the smell significantly if you change out their brooder a couple of times a day. if you want to put them in your screened porch i don't think that would be a problem as long as you can keep the temp up and protect them from predators. a screen will not keep anything wanting to get them. maybe if you have a pet carrier or something?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I'm in western West Palm Beach and usually keep my chicks & ducklings outdoors during the daytime hours, but bring them into the porch or indoors after dark. It's better to let as much poop as possible go into the grass. But there are so many nighttime predators that I bring them in to safety after dark until they're about 2-3 months old.

Often I'll keep the ducklings in big plastic bins that can be easily hosed out every day & left to dry & air out while the ducklings are in their daytime pen.

Now you know why Donald Duck doesn't wear pants...

 

[sowellj]

Do you think the brooder that I have them in now would work outside with a couple of heat lamps? Or should I transfer them at night into the plastic bin with a lamp. It has already gotten down a couple of times to the high 40's at night.

 

[sowellj]

Sunny side up, how do you let them out during the day? Do you have an enclosed area?

 

[Soccer Mom]

Quote:
This made me spit my beverage all over the keyboard.

 

[Goat_Walker]

I have sixteen in the house right now,. the thing that really stinks is the wet feed more thanthe poo itself. I have to change the water 3- 4 times a day and the bedding 2-3 times a day. Its not too bad. And while im home i put them in teh grass ina corral out in the backyard.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I have a collection of things I can use for chick/duckling corrals, depending on how many I have at once to keep. But they're all open at the bottom so the babies can get their toesies right in the dirt & grass. The sides are wire mesh, and I put something over the top to keep them from flying out or things from flying in. And something to cover them, to keep rain & sun off. It's not 100% predator proof, a determined dog or persistent hawk could cause trouble. But it's fairly safe in my yard. I collect old rabbit & bird cages I find in people's discard piles and use them whole or take them apart & use the pieces. You can also make a handy corral using lengths of ventilated wire shelving for sides and a piece of plywood on the top.