Not so much right now, but in springtime, I feel like we are always posting pictures of our setups/waterer's/feeders to new members, explaining what a "good/healthy setup" should look like. So, I thought it may be a good idea for everyone to post their own duckling brooder set up here, and we'll have a nice picture-filled thread of brooders for new members to look at, and get a few ideas, and maybe get to see a few ducklings too. 
A quick overcap of what a healthy duckling brooder setup should look like,
* Plenty of space for each duckling. Overcrowing can contribute to bullying, overheating, and overaccumulation of feces which may or may not lead to respiratory problems, hygiene-related problems such as wet feathers, sticky eyes, bumblefoot, etc, and increase the chance of coming down with certain disease's like Coccidiosis. A spacious brooder is a healthy brooder.
* Correct bedding material. Everyone has there own preference but definitely avoid the use of any slippery material like hardwood flooring, newspaper, metal, and paper towels which can sometimes be slippery, the use of these materials may lead to problems like splayed legs. Avoid, very hard material like flooring, concrete, or wire, these can all contribute to leg problems in ducklings. Good material choices would be straw, puppy pee pads, towels, wood shaving, hemp bedding, or hay. Use common sense when cleaning, if it starts to stink clean it, once a day is often not enough for most setup's. There is a reason they are called waterfowl, it's not fun, but cleaning is an essential part of maintaining healthy ducklings.
* One problem we see most often is lack of deep water in the brooder. This can cause sticky eye/s, wet feather, clogged nostrils, and any other problem related to lack of hygiene. I personally prefer to use a chick waterer for the first week, then add a deep waterer source that they can play in or just clean their nostrils/eye's out with. Make sure the water source is easily accessible for them, and they can get out with ease to avoid drowning.
Brooder location, a brooder should always be located in a draft-free, warm, predator-free place. I like to keep my brooder near a window to let natural sunlight in for the ducklings.
Use common sense and make sure to secure whatever heat source you're using is secure, the reasons are self-explanatory what's going to happen with an unsecure heat lamp standing over tons of flammable material. Don't burn your house down. If you think its secure, double it.
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" Bad Brooder Setups"
"This may look like a good setup at first glance, but note the lack of deep water source for the ducks.
This brooder has a decent amount of space for the ducks, but not it lacks sufficient deep water, also pay attention to the overaccumulation of feces on the floor, and the heat lamp that looks like it's about to fall at any moment.
The use of newspaper can contribute to splayed legs in ducklings.
These ducklings are being kept in a very small space, the waterers are also not good for their size, they're much too shallow, and don't hold enough water so they have to be changed quite often. Looks like it was empty when this photo was taken.
This brooder is too small. And the owner is keeping chicks and ducklings together which is really not recommended due to the increased risk of coccidiosis in the chicks because ducks tend to keep a brooder moist which promotes Coccia growth.
Prolonged time spent on hard surfaces such as wire can contribute to leg problems, such as arthritis, Bumblefoot, and can also contribute to poor hygiene-related problems like wet feather, sticky eye, or ectoparasites.
Post away!
A quick overcap of what a healthy duckling brooder setup should look like,
* Plenty of space for each duckling. Overcrowing can contribute to bullying, overheating, and overaccumulation of feces which may or may not lead to respiratory problems, hygiene-related problems such as wet feathers, sticky eyes, bumblefoot, etc, and increase the chance of coming down with certain disease's like Coccidiosis. A spacious brooder is a healthy brooder.
* Correct bedding material. Everyone has there own preference but definitely avoid the use of any slippery material like hardwood flooring, newspaper, metal, and paper towels which can sometimes be slippery, the use of these materials may lead to problems like splayed legs. Avoid, very hard material like flooring, concrete, or wire, these can all contribute to leg problems in ducklings. Good material choices would be straw, puppy pee pads, towels, wood shaving, hemp bedding, or hay. Use common sense when cleaning, if it starts to stink clean it, once a day is often not enough for most setup's. There is a reason they are called waterfowl, it's not fun, but cleaning is an essential part of maintaining healthy ducklings.
* One problem we see most often is lack of deep water in the brooder. This can cause sticky eye/s, wet feather, clogged nostrils, and any other problem related to lack of hygiene. I personally prefer to use a chick waterer for the first week, then add a deep waterer source that they can play in or just clean their nostrils/eye's out with. Make sure the water source is easily accessible for them, and they can get out with ease to avoid drowning.
Brooder location, a brooder should always be located in a draft-free, warm, predator-free place. I like to keep my brooder near a window to let natural sunlight in for the ducklings.
Use common sense and make sure to secure whatever heat source you're using is secure, the reasons are self-explanatory what's going to happen with an unsecure heat lamp standing over tons of flammable material. Don't burn your house down. If you think its secure, double it.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
" Bad Brooder Setups"
"This may look like a good setup at first glance, but note the lack of deep water source for the ducks.
This brooder has a decent amount of space for the ducks, but not it lacks sufficient deep water, also pay attention to the overaccumulation of feces on the floor, and the heat lamp that looks like it's about to fall at any moment.
The use of newspaper can contribute to splayed legs in ducklings.
These ducklings are being kept in a very small space, the waterers are also not good for their size, they're much too shallow, and don't hold enough water so they have to be changed quite often. Looks like it was empty when this photo was taken.
This brooder is too small. And the owner is keeping chicks and ducklings together which is really not recommended due to the increased risk of coccidiosis in the chicks because ducks tend to keep a brooder moist which promotes Coccia growth.
Prolonged time spent on hard surfaces such as wire can contribute to leg problems, such as arthritis, Bumblefoot, and can also contribute to poor hygiene-related problems like wet feather, sticky eye, or ectoparasites.
Post away!
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