Some reference books recommend brooding ducklings on wire mesh caging to prevent a buildup of spilled water and poop, I don’t recommend it. While I have brooded ducklings in a wire rabbit hutch in the past, the wire is very hard on their feet. Duck feet are far more sensitive than chicken feet or rabbit feet. Also, that open wire bottom makes the brooder extremely drafty, which can lead to chilled ducks. If you do use a wire cage, I would suggest leaving only one-third of the floor uncovered, and covering the rest with a solid material such as a piece of wood or rubber yoga mat, etc.
I’ve found that a bathtub – if you have one to spare – makes a perfect brooder. It’s easy to clean and large enough to brood a handful of ducklings until they are ready to be outside. And it’s easy to block off the bathroom for the safety of your ducklings.
Or, you could section off space in your garage with a circle of cardboard or chicken wire; cover the floor with a plastic tarp and then a thick layer of chopped straw. It’s simple to enlarge as more space is needed. A puppy playpen also makes a wonderful duckling brooder in the garage or a spare room; you can also remove the bottom and move it outside on nice warm days once the ducklings are a few weeks old to give them fresh air and some sunlight.
Whatever you choose to use, you’ll need to provide a brooding area for your ducklings that is heated and well ventilated but draft-free. The brooder should be covered or behind closed doors. (If you are brooding outdoors, ensure the brooder is safe from rats, snakes, weasels and other predators.)
A puppy playpen makes a terrific duckling brooder.
Space to grow. Since ducklings grow fast, be prepared to provide adequate accommodations. Plan on a minimum of one square foot for every three ducklings at hatch, then for every two ducklings until they are two weeks old, then increase to at least one square foot apiece until they are three weeks old. Of course, more space is always better. After that, they should be able to spend warm, sunny days outside in a safe, enclosed pen, depending on the time of year and your climate, returning to the brooder only to sleep.
A non-slip floor. Ducklings do make a mess. They play in their water and splash it all over the brooder. Since a wet floor can be slippery, it helps to put down rubber shelf liner. The liner provides an easily grippable surface for little duckling feet. If they are brooded on a slippery surface, such as plastic, newspaper or cardboard, your ducklings can end up with foot and leg injuries as they race around, or develop spraddle leg (see page 102).
Rubber shelf liner makes an ideal non-slip floor for ducklings.
Adding litter. After the first few days, once the ducklings have figured out where their food dish is, you can add some litter over the shelf liner.
Good choices include:
• chopped straw
• large pine chips or shavings
• old cotton tee shirts
• even clumps of dirt and grass
Bad choices include:
• newspaper (too slippery, which can lead to spraddle leg)
• sawdust (too dusty, which can lead to respiratory issues) cedar shavings (which can be toxic)
• sand (which, if eaten, can lead to ingested sand-covered poop and impacted crops. Sand, heated by a heat lamp, also can be extremely uncomfortable for small, tender feet.)
Ducklings love to nap amongst dirt and grass clumps.
I like to fill my brooder with dirt clumps. The ducklings love rummaging through the dirt looking for bugs and worms – and the dirt doubles as the grit they need to help them digest the grass that they will inevitably end up eating. If they are eating anything other than chick feed, they do need grit in some form, either small stones/coarse dirt or commercial chick grit. Clumps of grass, dirt and all, give the ducklings something to play with, hide behind and nap on. The clumps of dirt also help build strong immune systems by slowly, and in small amounts, introducing them to the various pathogens and bacteria in the environment in which they will eventually live.
Changing litter. Wet litter should be changed regularly. The moist air in the brooder, warmed by the heat lamp, can quickly lead to mildew and bacteria which can cause aspergillosis in your ducklings, a potentially fatal fungal infection caused by breathing mold spores. If you are using a bathtub brooder, you can greatly reduce the potential for wet litter if you place the water at the drain end – since the water will automatically drain away. After removing the dirty litter, I scrub my brooder down with a white vinegar/water solution (roughly 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water) and let it dry before adding new litter and putting the ducklings back in.
Once they are able to spend days outside, I like to clean the brooder in the morning (after I put them outside) and leave it in the sun to dry all day (if I’m using a tote or crate versus the bathtub, of course!) while the ducks are enjoying play time in their outdoor pen.
Heat
A heat lamp is necessary to keep your ducklings warm for the first few weeks. Be sure to position the heat lamp at one end of the brooder so the ducklings can move away if they get too warm. Watch them for cues. If they are huddled under the lamp and peeping loudly, they are cold; if they are panting or clustered at the far side of their brooder area away from the light, then they are too warm.
An EcoGlow brooder is a good, safe choice for brooder heat for the first week or so, but since ducklings grow so fast, they will quickly be too large to fit underneath.
The brooder temperature should be started at 90 degrees F the first day, then lowered by 7 degrees per week (one degree per day) until they are fully feathered and ready to go outside full time – at about 6 weeks old, weather dependent.
An EcoGlo brooder provides heat for young ducklings.
Brooder Temperature Chart
Reduce the temperature one degree per day (shown in Fahrenheit):
1st week 90-84°
2nd week 83-77°
3rd week 76-70°
4th week 69-63°
5th week 62-56°
6th week 55°
At 2-3 weeks old, your ducklings should be able to spend some time outside on warm, sunny days. It’s very important that ducklings get fresh air, sunlight and plenty of exercise, as well as exposure to fresh grass, for healthy development and growth. Of course, this is dependent on your climate – and they need to be protected from predators at all times, including wild birds, crows and snakes.
