How do you set up a brooder for 2 ducklings?

[Ilovemychicks08]

So i have a 50 gallon plastic tote, i will be using for at least the first 2 weeks. I was wondering how everyone sets it up, i will be using a milk jug with a hole big enough for them to drink out of and to dip their heads in. I have heard and seen people using a cake pan or baking sheet with a cooling rack or a paint tray with a metal paint grid. Then what do you use for the feeder? Will a regular chick feeder work? I will also be using puppy pads for the first week and then switch to pine shavings. Im trying to keep the brooder the cleanest i can. But i know ducklings are messy. TIA

 

[Plague]

We usually start them out with one of the small metal chick feeders in our brooder. And cut a hole in the top of an empty 16oz sour cream container so they can dip their bills, but not swim in it. Once they get bigger we upgrade to the milk jug for water like you said since they will simply get to the point 2 of the others get emptied too fast. We got some heavier glass bowels of a couple sizes and as they grow and eat more we replace the chick feeders with those to the point they won't eat it up before we make it back to check on them. This is the process we have now used on around 20 with excellent success. My wife decided we needed some more so we right now have another little khaki Campbell and a couple Pekin or white layers, not sure which those two are. Got them 5 days ago, they are in the holding bucket while their brooder is being cleaned as I type this.

 

[CoriM]

I like using a heat table to keep them warm - safer than a lamp. If you don't already have a flock you're going to incorporate them into, I suggest getting at least three. That way if something ever happens to one (as often does) you don't have to deal with a sad only duck.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

We usually start them out with one of the small metal chick feeders in our brooder. And cut a hole in the top of an empty 16oz sour cream container so they can dip their bills, but not swim in it. Once they get bigger we upgrade to the milk jug for water like you said since they will simply get to the point 2 of the others get emptied too fast. We got some heavier glass bowels of a couple sizes and as they grow and eat more we replace the chick feeders with those to the point they won't eat it up before we make it back to check on them. This is the process we have now used on around 20 with excellent success. My wife decided we needed some more so we right now have another little khaki Campbell and a couple Pekin or white layers, not sure which those two are. Got them 5 days ago, they are in the holding bucket while their brooder is being cleaned as I type this.

Thank you for the info!

 

[Plague]

Thank you for the info!

No problem, we also started out using the lamps, but we now have a couple plate warmers, as we thought that having a backup was nice if we are not running two separate brooders at once. We also when doing the milk jugs start out with holes just big enough they can comfortably get their heads in at at a level they easily can walk up and stick their heads in, so they can't get in them to swim. As they grow I will typically make them another with a hole higher up and bigger to accommodate their heads, usually just the two is fine but have miss calculated and ended up needing to make another especially if weather is not right to get them moved out when we would like. Only reason we got the glass bowls to use once they need more food is we first tried some plastic and some like stainless bowls and they would end up knocking those over and spill their bowl all in our brooder . The glass bowl is significantly heavier than the other options we looked into. They are very messy, we have a couple chicks right now also and we have had to clean the duck brooder twice as much as the chick one hahaha

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

No problem, we also started out using the lamps, but we now have a couple plate warmers, as we thought that having a backup was nice if we are not running two separate brooders at once. We also when doing the milk jugs start out at holes just big enough they can comfortably get their heads in as you said so they can only dunk their heads but not climb in. As they grow I will typically make them another with a hole higher up and bigger to accommodate their heads, usually just the two is fine but have miss calculated and ended up needing to make another especially if weather is not right to get them moved out when we would like. Only reason we got the glass bowls to use once they need more food is we first tried some plastic and some like stainless bowls and they would end up knocking those over and spill their bowl all in our brooder .

I dont like heat lamps, especially having young children and dogs arounf they are easy to be knocked over. So i bought a heating plate last year.

 

[Plague]

I dont like heat lamps, especially having young children and dogs arounf they are easy to be knocked over. So i bought a heating plate last year.

Yeah that was a big worry I had. We have some cats inside, and I was so worried they would try to play with the power cord and knock it down. So we raised our first 5 with a lamp and we moved to the plate. I would highly recommend anyone starting out to just get them a plate if they can afford it. It is good piece of mind for the extra cost, not to mention the energy savings between them.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Yeah that was a big worry I had. We have some cats inside, and I was so worried they would try to play with the power cord and knock it down. So we raised our first 5 with a lamp and we moved to the plate. I would highly recommend anyone starting out to just get them a plate if they can afford it. It is good piece of mind for the extra cost, not to mention the energy savings between them.

Yea our energy bill is always high, for no reason so we bought a system that told us what uses our energy. When i used the heat lamp our bill went up almost $100 with the plate it went up maybe $20

 

[Plague]

Yea our energy bill is always high, for no reason so we bought a system that told us what uses our energy. When i used the heat lamp our bill went up almost $100 with the plate it went up maybe $20

Ours isn't so bad, as I am real strict with our usage. I try to make sure we get the most efficient appliances when we get any. So I know what you mean, when we did use the lamp it increased our bill 1/3-1/2 lol. So in the long run the plate is cheaper, just a couple months use and it ends up cheaper than the cheaper up front cost of the lamp system and it's electric usage.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Ours isn't so bad, as I am real strict with our usage. I try to make sure we get the most efficient appliances when we get any. So I know what you mean, when we did use the lamp it increased our bill 1/3-1/2 lol. So in the long run the plate is cheaper, just a couple months use and it ends up cheaper than the cheaper up front cost of the lamp system and it's electric usage.

We are strict but we rent from a family member. Until we can find land to move to. And the furnace isnt big enough for the house and it runs almost all day the rest of the appliances are ours snd we made sure they were energy efficient.