I have a duck cage now which I line with newspapers for my 2 Pekins. I put in clean paper every day. Have heard of many other cage covers but no paper. Is this a problem? Been doing so for 2 years. Will be building a new cage next year and thought about having a wire bottom so I could just hose the cage everyday. Would that hurt their feet? I am going to have the cage of wheels so I can move it so as to clean under the cage as well. Or, how would it work to have a wood bottom as I have in my present cage and just leave openings between the wood pieces so as to allow the debris to be washed out. Thanks, Jo

-- Jo A. Schwan (ceeojo@home.com), October 23, 2001

Answers

Hi there Jo. :)

I think that you'll find that the newspapers are both too slick for ducks, and also harbor too much moisture which could cause you to have a problem with coccidiosis down the road.

As far as the wood pieces, I've found that my ducklings sometimes find a way to break their delicate legs in things that aren't just too small for them to even slip their foot into. I have raised some on grass (which at this time of the year wouldn't work well, so scratch this), some on shavings (which DEFINITELY didn't work well because the ducklings put the shavings in their water), sand (PlaySand which works pretty well if you use a very deep layer of it, because it drains and won't hurt them or clog their waterer), and best of all - wire.

I've used wire on my babies starting as early as day 3, although I prefer to use it starting at week 2 and use that rubberized shelf liner as their flooring for the first week. It doesn't slip, doesn't absorb water, and can be boiled and reused.

You might consider making a wet-brooder cage when you make yours. I used 1/2 x 1 inch wire all the way around, top bottom sides, etc. I then made my cage 5 feet long by 18-24" wide, 18-24" tall (which ever wire was available). I put a strip of the wire along both ends of the top, about 8 inches, and the very middle of the top to hold the cage steady, then made two doors that covered the space between each end and the middle. That way when the fast little suckers are running, i can reach DOWN and grab them. They're SPEEDY!

Anyway, at one end I cut a rectangle out of the flooring just larger than a painting tray (the roller kind, metal). I broke the legs off the painting tray and stuck it in that floor hole. At the "shallow" end, I put a 1x2 strip of wood under it so no babies could get their feet or head caught underneath it, just in case. Then starting at day 3 of their lives, I keep just enough clean water in it AT ALL TIMES to only go to their chest height. Babies must have water all the time or they'll tank up when you replace it and kill themselves.

Then on the other end of the cage, I put some of that rubberized flooring (just a square foot) and put their heat lamp over it. That way they can swim, but move to the warm heat lamp to get dried off.

Toward the heat end, I put their dry crumbles. Toward the swimming pool end, I use a gallon plastic waterer. That keeps the water from evaporating in the heat, and the crumbles from getting wet.

The whole shee-bang goes on top of cinder blocks and usually on top of concrete so I can use the water hose to hose down the bottom of the cage, and the tops of the cinder blocks (one at each end). Also, when I clean the "baby pool". I just reach from underneath and tip it upwards to empty it, scrub it with a scrub brush, use the hose to rinse it, put it back down and fill it up again.

Since I've raised my babies in a wet brooder system (recommended in the Holderread book as well as a friend of mine who deals with exotics and show calls), I have had NO deaths due to babies gulping down their water. Contrary to popular belief, ducklings do have some oil in their down at day three - they don't get all of it from their mothers. However, they have to have either water for swimming ALL of the time, or none of the time. Their feathery down has to be clean in order for that oil to cover the whole feather. Also, they must have a good source of heat like the lamp to help them to dry up. I will place a towel or blanket over the heated end to help keep drafts away sometimes... it helps.

Hope that helps you to alleviate some of the BIG heartbreaks I experienced when I had my first set of ducklings.

Remember that they really do need plenty of water all the time. I wish I had someone to help me with this stuff when I needed it!

Nathalie R. in Houston TX

-- Nathalie Ross (threehorses@katworld.com), October 26, 2001.