Chicks and Ducklings together

[and202]

We currently have week old chicks and week old ducklings. 16 chicks and 10 ducklings. We decided to raise them in the same brooder because we don't have a whole lot of inside space. Now the ducks seem to be making a mess with the water and the chicks are getting wet and chilled. We have newspaper and wood shavings down for the bedding and it's constantly soaked. Just wondering if anyone else has any experience raising ducklings and chicks together and if anyone has any advice?

 

[AlleysChicks]

I got ducklings and chicks a few weeks before Easter. But I did have them in separate brooders. Which I was thankful for when I went out one morning to see the ducks brooder flooded. And it happened 3 more times within the week. I'll warn you ducks get big fast and they get messier.(my ducklings are 5x as big as the chicks now) You may have to find a place to brood them elsewhere or you may lose chicks.

You may be better off with a shallow pan of water in the corner. That's what I ended up doing in the duck brooder and they hadn't flooded the brooder since. With chicks you may want to add rocks to the bottom so they don't drown.

 

[and202]

I got ducklings and chicks a few weeks before Easter. But I did have them in separate brooders. Which I was thankful for when I went out one morning to see the ducks brooder flooded. And it happened 3 more times within the week. I'll warn you ducks get big fast and they get messier.(my ducklings are 5x as big as the chicks now) You may have to find a place to brood them elsewhere or you may lose chicks.

You may be better off with a shallow pan of water in the corner. That's what I ended up doing in the duck brooder and they hadn't flooded the brooder since. With chicks you may want to add rocks to the bottom so they don't drown.

Thank you. I think we will end up separating them. The poor chicks are getting too wet and cold in there.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can you put a tray with a lip on it in the brooder and a wire grate on that with the water dish on top of that for now? A round cake pan should work and support the wire under the water dish with a rock or such. If you are using a gallon waterer perhaps a cookie sheet and cooling rack?

Get creative here. Your chicks lives depend on it.

 

[Stephine]

I think your life will be much easier and your chicks safer if you set up separate brooders. It won't take a lot more space because each brooder can be a bit smaller. But - as you have noticed - ducklings makebtoo much of a wet mess for chicks and you'll end up cleaning them up all the time and the conditions will still be bad for chicks, inviting more trouble.

 

[21hens-incharge]

So very true Stephine.

Ducks grow way to fast to fully brood with chicks too.

 

[Shawluvsbirds]

I couldn't imagine even trying to keep them together after experiencing the mess ducklings make! But until you can do something else try making the drip pan for water and what I done that helped a lot was to use puppy pads under my shavings. Still had to clean it out every day but at least it helped until I could get to it.

 

[and202]

Thanks everyone! So we have have cleaned out the brooder and have warmed up the chicks and elevated the waterer, but obviously they are still making a mess. We have now learned the hard way that we need to separate them. My question now is how long until ducks don't need a heat lamp anymore? We currently only have 1 heat lamp so if we want to move them ASAP we couldn't really, unless we get creative, which might have to happen as well. I appreciate everyone's help and ideas, it really has been super helpful to us as a first time poster on this site and first time duck owners!

 

[Stephine]

You can set up the brooders right next to each other and hang the lamp at one end right in the middle so you have a half circle of light in each.If you have a 250 W lamp and the brooder sides aren't too high that should work in a pinch - definitely better than wet chicks or chicks in wet bedding. An additional heat lamp shouldn't be too hard to get, any feed store or larger hardware store should have one.

 

[and202]

You can set up the brooders right next to each other and hang the lamp at one end right in the middle so you have a half circle of light in each.If you have a 250 W lamp and the brooder sides aren't too high that should work in a pinch - definitely better than wet chicks or chicks in wet bedding. An additional heat lamp shouldn't be too hard to get, any feed store or larger hardware store should have one.

That's what we are doing now. We just couldn't make it to a store tonight to get another lamp so we had to do something for now. Thank you!