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Premium Feather Member. May 19, 35, Western MA. May 14, 4 1 7 Charleston AR. We keep our duck babies in a large black plastic deep tub for at least 10 days. When they leave that cage they go into another cage with a heat lamp on a timer for night only to let them acclamate.
It depends on the tempereature where you are. We don't put them near water they can get in until they are several weeks old but, we tend to be very careful with them. I have seen mother ducks take babies to water within a day or two of hatching. The wind is their biggest problem. If they are in a protected area, they can swim and be without lights quickly, again depending on outside or room temp.
Mar 15, 4, 38 Washington State. Quote: Generally two weeks minimum. But you want to start reducing the temperature daily by moving the heat lamp higher up. It also depends on the night temperature. If it's not dropping below 50 where you live, you can get them outside at two weeks Quote: Very shallow water is fine now.
But ducklings and goslings drown very easily when all covered in fluff. I would not let them in water, unsupervised until they're at least a month old. Feb 29, 1, 18 Barton City, MI. Ducks are really social animals — especially when they are young.
But if at all possible, I would recommend getting him a real duckling for a friend. I have 8 ducklings mallard that hatched in a nest.
They are with their mother Lola most of the time and they were swimming on day 2 in a baby pool in the backyard. There is no brewers yeast in this town, really. I like your article but feel overwhelmed as the ducklings are fed with 4 adult ducks and eat and poop in the adult pans and ignore their chick starter mixed with a green pea puree.. They have learned to forage and drill holes with the best of them. Am I doing enough? They eat like piranhas! They really do eat an insane amount!
They grow super fast so they need all that food! When I have chicks or ducklings in the flock, I switch everyone over to a starter mix. The added calcium in an adult layer mix is not good for babies of either species.
Maybe switch everyone over to the starter with the added pea puree the peas are a great idea! I know nursing mothers use it often to build up milk supply, so maybe in the infant section of a health store? I think you are doing a great job, keep it up! If they are around thier mom they should be fine. Ducklings get thier niacin and other essentials by eating the mamas poop. So my male just died.. And the female is crying.. She was 7 weeks on Wednesday..
Should I get her some babies?? Or would she kill them? Ducks are fast growers, I would get her some new friends and she will likely be fine with them. I have 2ducklings. We had three but lost one. They are three weeks and a couple of days old. The Welsh sits a lot more than the Cayauga.
I was mixing 1. I upped it to 2T per cup today in case she needed more. She seems fine otherwise, eats well. Runs in the yard but whenever they stop walking, she sits down Immediately unlike the other.
Any concerns? When she is walking does she seem to have a similar gait to the other one? It sounds like you are feeding them exactly what they need. She is just getting tired easily. I would keep bringing them outside, they grow so fast and I am sure they are starting to outgrow their brooder!
Outside will give her a chance to really stretch her legs and run, and outside is such an exciting place to explore. Do you let her swim? That is another excellent way for ducklings to build leg strength.
Bathtubs work great or little kiddie pools outside. You could also try offering her some dried meal worms as a treat, they are full of protein which is great for energy and building muscle. Thank you so much! Yes the do swim in a kiddie pool. They mostly dunk there heads and float around. I sprinkle pieces of grass and fresh herbs from the garden in the pool for them to eat.
I will try that with the mealworms too. They also have been eating rose chafer beetles that are everywhere right now. Yesterday morning I weeded in my garden for a couple of hours and they both followed me around eating bits of this and that. Maybe just because they are different breeds? She walks fine and runs fast if I walk across the yard, they follow. Thanks for your answer. I feel much better about it now. This is our first experience with chicks and ducklings.
I love it! We just bought ducklings identical to your pictures from TSC — do you know what kind you have? Great post! They are actually two different breeds, one a female Blue Swedish and the other a male Welsh Harliquin.
Identifying ducklings can be tricky because so many look the same. They should start to get their adult feathers around weeks and it will be much easier to tell breeds then! Thanks for all the ideas and info. Based on our 2 Blue, 2 Black Swedish, now 2. More like 2 days. Ours have been swimming and diving in deep water since Day 4, with no ill effects whatsoever.
Your mileage may vary, so supervise them closely at first, but ours are thriving on free access to the kiddie pool, and plenty of human attention. Lovely birds, more fun by the day. Is there anything else i can give him? Should i keep him away from swimming for now?
Awww poor baby! You will want to keep him in and away from the older ducks until he is totally healed. If he is really young, you will want to hold off introductions until he is feathered out about weeks depending on the duckling. He will be bigger and stronger then and hopefully the other ducks will be nicer to him! Yes we have kept him inside and away from the others. What kind of Vitamins and Electrolytes do you suggest?
Can i get them from a supermarket? Anything i can do to help him! What a wonderful page, many great tips! I am raising ducklings — 8 this year, will be put in coop with 4 adults in May — here in the high desert, cannot put them out in coop until May — so, many more indoor messes to clean!
Thanks for your page, the great tips, am signing up for any updates. Total newbie here lol.. We have been keeping them in totes in the garage with the heat lamp and from what Ive read from your posts I have completely done it wrong but we still have all 10!
I have no idea what kind they are.. They are pretty resilient little critters, I am sure you are doing fine! Totally normal for them to start losing fluff at this age. They are going to start growing in their big duck feathers. The in between stage can make them look a little gangly lol. I am so excited I found this post! I had a duck when I was very young. My parents did all of the work of course so I know very little about their care.
I have been researching all day because my sweet husband told me we were going to get me a duck as soon as we moved to a place with a pond. That happened Friday the 28th!! He took me today and allowed me to purchase two adorable baby ducks. Thank you so much for sharing your cleaning routine!! We are going to go play in the tub right now!!!
Thanks for sharing your insight. This was a helpful article. We have a pair of 1 wk old mallards. Just yesterday morning, one of the ducklings started limping. After my initial research, I thought niacin? Do ducklings recover from these types of setbacks? They are pretty resilient animals. If it is a niacin deficiency the sooner you can act the better.
Hi Liz, I am a first time duckling owner. I have 3 pekin and 1 khaki Campbell. I take them for a swim in the kiddie pool each day. I wanted them to eventually play in the yard. Once outside in their coop, if I let them out to play, will they eventually warm up to me and should I worry about them running away from our yard? I wanted them for pets and they are so afraid of me Instead, try interacting with the on the ground.
Sit on the ground with them and have some treats they love. Encourage them to eat from your hands, and to climb on your legs. Is there a way they can get in the pool themselves? Maybe a ramp that you only put up when you are there? Then they associate you with the fun of swimming instead of the scariness of being picked up. They will warm up to you — you just have to interact with them at their level!
Hey Liz!! I absolutely love your post as it covers pretty much everything you need to know about raising ducklings!! The only thing that bothers me is the smell!
I have a couple of Aylesbury ducks over 11 year old now and between two of them they still lay over 10 eggs a week! That really depends on your temperatures and the time of year. I live in New England so keeping them outside would be way too cold for much of the year. I have 7 Pekin Ducklings — they are 5 weeks old and so big and messy!!
I have had them in our garage last week or so. Live in Ohio so nights get a bit chilly — I am ready to put them in their coop finally complete! It is completely enclosed coop…with lots of straw! They really are super messy, especially with that many!! But by 5 weeks they should be mostly feathered at this point and with lots of straw you could probably push it to 45 at night. Hopefully it will warm up soon!! I found an abandoned duckling. It was half dead. It was so small I could put it in my hand and cup the other hand over and it fit nicely.
Thanks to you it has made it now for three weeks! Your instructions were brilliant! I have some questions. How long do I continue with the niacin? Should I buy it a friend? Will they get along? How do you tell the sex? Heating : A cheaper modern alternative is the small tubular heaters designed fro spare rooms, posher ones for greenhouses etc running at low wattage.
I have used these for a few years they need the 'feet' on the tube and will be climbed over and pooped on remove when dry!
Lamps 1. Some means will be needed to suspend the lamp over the brooder. If using the Torne Valley lamp kit, the reflector should be suspended using the chain provided and not dangled by the flex to prevent electrical fires. The red infra red bulb is for loads of babies so often best changed for an ordinary 60 watt NOT an eco bulb which is cold they need warmth rather than illumination.
An alternative, possibly cheaper, source of heat is to use an 'anglepoise' lamp. This is not designed to be used with higher wattage bulbs, so it is necessary to remove the lampshade or cover and insertat least a 60 W bulb. Check that this produces a sufficiently high temperature in the brooder, and if necessary use more than one lamp. A thermometer to check the temperature in the brooder will berequired; a simple room thermometer can be used for this.
Experiment with the height of the lamp above the brooder to obtainthe correct temperature before adding the ducklings. The lamp should not normally be lowered so that it is within the walls of the brooder as cooking may occur.
When the ducklings are installed, watch their behaviour and adjust the height of the lamp if necessary. It is normal for the ducklings to avoid the central spot immediately below the lamp but, if they move to the periphery of the enclosure and possibly alsoshow some distress with open beaks and panting, it is evidently too hot.
Huddling together tightly is a sign that ducklings are too cold. The wet bulb if you haven't one is a thermometer with wick or other cloth strapped around it with one end ina water supply to keep the end damp Most Waterfowl hatch at around 48 relative humidity but this also takes into account where the incubator is kept and your area i.
If indoors in a dry room thetop etc. Brooding For a few weeks after hatching, all young birds require tobe kept warm. Normally this is done by the mother but, when rearing artificially, we need a source of warmth.
Fortunately young waterfowlcan walk and feed themselves within a few hours of breaking out of the egg, so their care is very simple. Once your ducklings have hatched,leave them in the incubator for a couple of hours to dry off and then transfer them to a brooding pen or hutch. The simplest arrangement is asmall rectangle with wooden walls laid over newspaper on the floor of a garage or shed.
The walls need only be twelve inches high and a wire mesh top will prevent the little birds jumping out very neccessary for Muscovy or wildfowl As mentioned previously, a source of heat must be provided.
For most ducklings, an ordinary old style 60 or watt light bulb will be perfectly adequate for up to 40 ducklings or a tube heater as sold on eBay for greenhouses.. Use additional bulbs for extra units of 20 birds.
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