A brooder is a specially designed and equipped device that is used for keeping young poultry - chicks, ducklings, goslings - and for heating them. The device can replace a hen, since it has all the conditions for their growth and development. Let's look at the requirements for a brooder for ducklings and how to make one with your own hands for use at home.
Product types
The simplest device is made from cardboard sheets or boxes. This is a light and comfortable material, but fragile and short-lived.
The cardboard gets wet from the water that gets on it, the ducks will spill it, as they love to swim. However, a brooder is needed only in the first month of a young bird’s life, then it is transferred to a room with the rest of the birds. The cardboard will withstand a month of use, but it cannot be used in the future. Another disadvantage of the cardboard device is that it cannot be washed and disinfected.
If you need a more durable brooder, for several seasons, it should be made of thick plywood or thin boards. In such a device, you can also use other materials - glass, metal mesh, which can be washed and disinfected.
Brooder requirements
It should be spacious enough for all the ducklings to fit in and feel comfortable. There should be a place for a feeder and water bowl, and they should be placed so that the young animals can freely approach food and water. For 1 sq. m of area there should be no more than 20 ducklings.
The device must have a source of heat and lighting. Usually this is a red lamp, which is hung from above the chicks at a certain distance.
There are also requirements for the floor of the device - it needs to be cleaned often, so it must be made of moisture-resistant material.
If it is not removable, then you need to find a material that can be used to cover it. This could be film, pieces of newspaper, paper or shavings.
An example of a homemade brooder is shown in the video:
Sawdust should not be used, as ducklings may peck at it. It is much more convenient to use removable trays, which are much easier to clean. This design makes it possible to build a brooder in several tiers, into which a large number of young animals can be placed.
If a device that is closed on all sides is used, then it must be equipped with a ventilation system so that air contaminated by evaporation is removed from the brooder.
Drawings and dimensions
The dimensions of the structure depend on the number of ducklings raised in it. For 40 chicks, you can make a brooder with dimensions of 1 m by 0.6 m and a height of 0.5 m.
If there are more ducklings, you need to make several of these brooders.
As for the design features, you can find options for devices of different shapes - rectangular, polygonal, square.
One of the options is shown in the video:
The shape does not affect functionality in any way; you only need to pay attention to the dimensions.
The finished device could look like this:
Required tools and materials
For the manufacture of house for ducklings you will need:
- thin boards (up to 25 mm) or plywood sheets;
- metal corners;
- a mesh with cells 2 by 1.2 cm (for ducklings this is the most optimal cell size, on such a floor their legs stand stable and do not fall through);
- wooden slats;
- door hinges;
- self-tapping screws;
- red lamp (60-250 W), socket for it;
- cable and plug;
- plastic vacuum drinker and groove feeder.
What tools do you need to prepare:
- jigsaw and small saw;
- drill;
- screwdriver;
- hammer;
- wire cutters and pliers;
- tape measure and marker.
Assembling a brooder is not difficult; you do not need any special knowledge or skills for this.
How to make a brooder for ducklings with your own hands
Sequence of work:
- Cut the timber into 4 pieces of 0.5 m each.
- Cut out 2 side parts from plywood - the back and top of the box.
- Make guides for the tray and parts from which the doors will be assembled from timber.
- Attach the guides to the back and side walls.
- Install stiffeners on the side walls.
- Connect all parts with self-tapping screws.
- Attach the walls, floor and top to the frame. Leave a gap for the tray to be removed.
- Reinforce the mesh floor with self-tapping screws.
- Hang the doors on the front using hinges.
Install a lamp, thermostat, and thermometer in the finished brooder. Place a feeder and water bowl on the floor.
Available with mesh lid:
Or this:
Wall mount device:
Brooder setup
On the floor, if it is not mesh, you need to lay a film and pour a thin layer of shavings, put paper or pieces of wallpaper. Good results are shown by coarse paper, which dries quickly under the lamp, does not get wet, and ducks’ feet do not slide on it. The bedding needs to be changed every day; ducklings not only soil it with their feces, but also spill water when trying to bathe.
The lamp is placed at such a distance that the temperature inside is 32-35 ˚C. Then it is gradually reduced by 2 °C every week. Determine comfortable temperature for ducklings easy: if they are cold, they sit under the lamp, if it is hot, they concentrate under the walls.
As for the area of the brooder, you need to make sure that there is enough space for all the chicks. If they experience discomfort from cramped living conditions, they need to be transplanted to another place.
It is not necessary to buy a commercially produced brooder for ducklings; you can make it yourself. To do this, you will need the simplest materials and basic knowledge of carpentry. Ducklings are raised in a brooder for a month, then transferred to cage housing or to a duckling house with an adult bird.
After each brood, the finished brooder is cleaned and its parts are disinfected, dried and stored until next use. Made according to the rules, it will last for several years in a row.
