Provide a safe heat source starting at 90°F

Use a brooder heat plate or heat lamp to maintain the brooder temperature at 90°F (32°C) for the first week, reducing by 5°F (3°C) each week until ducklings are fully feathered at 7–9 weeks. Brooder heat plates ($40–70) are strongly recommended over heat lamps because they eliminate fire risk — heat lamp fires in brooders cause hundreds of barn and house fires annually.

Why It Works

Ducklings cannot regulate their body temperature for the first several weeks of life. In the wild, the mother duck provides warmth by brooding them under her body. A heat plate mimics this by radiating warmth downward while the duckling stands or sleeps beneath it. The correct temperature allows ducklings to eat, drink, and grow efficiently. Too cold causes huddling, piling, and potentially fatal chilling; too hot causes panting and dehydration.

Tips

• Read duckling behavior, not just the thermometer: spread out and active = correct temperature; huddled under heat = too cold; pressed against walls away from heat = too hot
• Ducklings need less heat than chicks (90°F vs 95°F) and feather out faster, typically ready for no heat by 5–7 weeks
• If using a heat lamp, secure it with a chain (not a clamp) and use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a glass bulb to reduce fire risk
• Place the heat source at one end of the brooder so ducklings can choose their comfort zone