Seeking advice on housing ducklings as they grow

[njc1037]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker, first time question asker!

I got my first ducklings this year (four Pekin’s) and currently they are about 1 week old-1.5 weeks old and growing FAST. Their enclosure is a 50 gal Rubbermaid and is plenty big enough for now. I’m a little concerned about how to house them as they get older and bigger.

I’ve done a lot of research about raising ducklings and the specifics for Pekins. I know they need a heat source (I’m using a heat plate) until fully feathered - about 7 weeks old. How should I set up an enclosure for them once they outgrow their current set up? At the rate their growing I feel like they will outgrow it in about 2 weeks or less! I live in the northeast and it won’t be warm until probably May. Thanks for any insight anyone may have!

 

[NatJ]

Do you already have the place they will live as adults?
If yes, maybe you can move them and their heat source there.

Moving them straight to the adult housing is easier than making one brooder after another, each bigger than the previous, and each outgrown quickly, and then the adult housing at the end.

(I haven't raised ducks, but that strategy works really well with chickens, and I think it should work equally well for most of the other common kinds of poultry.)

 

[njc1037]

Do you already have the place they will live as adults?
If yes, maybe you can move them and their heat source there.

Moving them straight to the adult housing is easier than making one brooder after another, each bigger than the previous, and each outgrown quickly, and then the adult housing at the end.

(I haven't raised ducks, but that strategy works really well with chickens, and I think it should work equally well for most of the other common kinds of poultry.)

Thank you for replying!! I have not built their permanent housing yet as I am waiting for snow to melt - but I’m planning to build it in the next 2 weeks or so. Will the ducks be ok if the temp gets below 50 degrees at night? Even with the heat source I am so paranoid about them being too cold before they get their adult plumage.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for replying!! I have not built their permanent housing yet as I am waiting for snow to melt - but I’m planning to build it in the next 2 weeks or so. Will the ducks be ok if the temp gets below 50 degrees at night? Even with the heat source I am so paranoid about them being too cold before they get their adult plumage.

Baby chickens do not care how cold the outdoors is. They only care if they are warm enough, inside their coop, under their heat plate. And as they grow more and more feathers, they need less and less heat from that heat plate.

I would expect ducklings to be the same as chicks in those respects.

Check the label or instruction manual for your heat plate. Many of them list what temperature they need to work right. It might need a temperature over 50 degrees, or over 40, or over 60, or something like that.

Once you have the housing built, you can use a thermometer inside it to see how cold it gets. It is common for a building to stay just a little warmer than the coldest outside temperature, because it holds a bit of the heat it gathered during the previous day. So it might stay above the temperature the heat plate needs. And the heat plate might even be enough in slightly-cooler temperatures if the ducklings are several weeks old and partly feathered, instead of newly-hatched fluffballs.

 

[njc1037]

Baby chickens do not care how cold the outdoors is. They only care if they are warm enough, inside their coop, under their heat plate. And as they grow more and more feathers, they need less and less heat from that heat plate.

I would expect ducklings to be the same as chicks in those respects.

Check the label or instruction manual for your heat plate. Many of them list what temperature they need to work right. It might need a temperature over 50 degrees, or over 40, or over 60, or something like that.

Once you have the housing built, you can use a thermometer inside it to see how cold it gets. It is common for a building to stay just a little warmer than the coldest outside temperature, because it holds a bit of the heat it gathered during the previous day. So it might stay above the temperature the heat plate needs. And the heat plate might even be enough in slightly-cooler temperatures if the ducklings are several weeks old and partly feathered, instead of newly-hatched fluffballs.

Ok that sounds great, I will do that! Thank you so much for the advice

 

[NatJ]

Ok that sounds great, I will do that! Thank you so much for the advice

You're welcome.

Hope it all goes smoothly!