I have a duckling....

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Vian

Vian

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 8, 2013
76
24
76
I went to get a couple pullets and ended up with a rouan duckling too. I have it in with the two pullets I got in a very large (4 feet x 4 feet) box and it's eating and drinking and seems to be getting along well with the chicks. What do I need to know about raising a duck? Can it be happy without another duck and just hang out with the chickens? What do they do in winter when there's a foot of snow on the ground and all the water is frozen? I thought wild ducks flew south for the winter. Thanks! It was just too cute and I thought it wouldn't be that different than chickens, so I bought it, but the more I think about it, the more I'm realizing there might be some differences I hadn't thought of.
 
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I did read through that post. It seems like raising a duckling is pretty much the same as raising chicks. The only thing is whether they should have other ducklings to be with, or if it will be ok with my pullets. My mom is really the one who wanted the duck, she wanted it to be a pet. The duckling is getting along very well with the pullets at least. They all stick together, snuggle together when they sleep; the pullets actually kind of snuggle on top of the duckling, which is pretty adorable. The pullets are about 3 weeks, the duckling is maybe 1.5 weeks, so the chicks are about twice the size of the duck.
 
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The duckling will catch up quickly in size - does the duckling have head washing water? They need that to avoid infections - at the same time, you don't want water so deep they can get in and drown.

Ducklings are very social, and mostly seem to like being with other ducks. At the same time, there are ducks raised solo, as pets. But they need company 24/7. That works for some people.
 
They have a bottle with a vertical nipple to actually drink out of, but I also put a shallow dish of water in the box with them (and change it twice a day because it seems to be a pine shaving magnet!). The duck likes to just stand in the dish - it's barely 1/2 inch deep and like 4" across, so very small. I was thinking of upgrading it to something like a pie plate.
 
You can get a cool whip container (or similar) and cut a hole in the lid. That will allow the duck to stick its head but not the whole body.

Also, ducklings need additional niacin so make sure you're adding that to the diet. There are a few options so a quick search should give you the info you need.
 
Yes
lomine said:
You can get a cool whip container (or similar) and cut a hole in the lid. That will allow the duck to stick its head but not the whole body.

Also, ducklings need additional niacin so make sure you're adding that to the diet. There are a few options so a quick search should give you the info you need.
Click to expand...
Agreed on both points, ducklings do need to stick their heads in the water to clean out their eyes and the corners of their beak where some food can sit there.
 

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