Eps32
Songster
New to ducks. Anyone know what kind they are. I always wanted a couple ducks. And they looked so sad at the tractor supply in taking them home to my ten acres.
Help on what kind of ducks I have.
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Eps32
Songster
Sorry here's pics.
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Eps32
Songster
Anyone?
Looks like you have a couple of very young cuties, two or three days old at the most. The black could be Cayuga or black runner, it's hard to tell from the picture. In the coming weeks, it will be easier to tell if she is runner or not; the runner shape is fairly distinctive. My best guess on the yellow is a mix of some sort. I had a duckling that looked almost exactly like that. I believe she is a Pekin/mallard mix, and she grew up to be lovely. However, I've seen another duckling on this site that looked like thst but it was a Cayuga mix. I dont know of any kind of any purebred ducks that look like that as ducklings.
Here is my mix as a baby
And as an adult
Here is my mix as a baby
And as an adult
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Eps32
Songster
Thank you so much. I have been wanting to add ducks to the farm for sometime now. But I haven't got around to ordering them. But I saw these guys at tractor supply and they looked so sad there. I just had to buy them. I have them in a much bigger brooder now and they have a small shallow plate of water that they play in and make a mess of. Any other newbie tips you could think to give me would be great. They love the chick feed that I give the chicks. I have close to 60 birds Guinea and chickens on the farm. I have a little pond but I also have a old kiddie pool I was gonna fill up for them when they get older.
Oh i have lots of tips, lol. Over the past year, I have brooded six batches of ducklings, so last year was my crash course in raising them. I've learned by trial and error, but I can share some of the things that worked for me.
Your ducks probably love to play in their water pan, but they will quickly make a mess of everything. At their age, any water play should really be supervised, they could easily chill or drown if they fell asleep in it. A really good waterer for ducklings is a simple cool whip container with holes in the lid big enough for them to dunk their heads but not big enough to fall in. They get this at about a week old. Before that, they have a simple chick waterer like this:
After a week, they start to make too much of a mess, so I switch them to the cool whip container. As they get bigger, I increase the size of the container, but always be sure it has a lid with holes.
Are you feeding them chick feed? Ducks can eat chick feed, but you want to be careful that the feed is unmedicated. Medicated feed works great for chicks but can be toxic to ducks. Chick feed often doesn't contain enough niacin for ducklings as well, but it can easily be supplemented. Some people use niacin tablets, but the best way I've found is to use brewers yeast (not baking yeast, not activated wine yeast). These can be found at many health stores. I get mine from GNC and add one tablespoon per cup of feed. Below is what I use:
The kiddie pool will work great for now as a brooder, but ducks can jump surprisingly well sometimes. They may soon be able to jump out. I've used everything from cardboard boxes to dog cages to feed troughs to brood mine. You'll just have to find what works best for you.
Handle your ducks often if you want them to be somewhat tame as adults. I let me fall asleep on my lap or snuggle into my neck whenever I watched TV or played Xbox (yes, I'm 25 and still play Xbox, lol. my Xbox friends had to deal with the peeping, lol). Just be sure to use a towel because they will mess all over you.
That's all I can think of for now, but don't hesitate to ask any questions
Your ducks probably love to play in their water pan, but they will quickly make a mess of everything. At their age, any water play should really be supervised, they could easily chill or drown if they fell asleep in it. A really good waterer for ducklings is a simple cool whip container with holes in the lid big enough for them to dunk their heads but not big enough to fall in. They get this at about a week old. Before that, they have a simple chick waterer like this:
After a week, they start to make too much of a mess, so I switch them to the cool whip container. As they get bigger, I increase the size of the container, but always be sure it has a lid with holes.
Are you feeding them chick feed? Ducks can eat chick feed, but you want to be careful that the feed is unmedicated. Medicated feed works great for chicks but can be toxic to ducks. Chick feed often doesn't contain enough niacin for ducklings as well, but it can easily be supplemented. Some people use niacin tablets, but the best way I've found is to use brewers yeast (not baking yeast, not activated wine yeast). These can be found at many health stores. I get mine from GNC and add one tablespoon per cup of feed. Below is what I use:
The kiddie pool will work great for now as a brooder, but ducks can jump surprisingly well sometimes. They may soon be able to jump out. I've used everything from cardboard boxes to dog cages to feed troughs to brood mine. You'll just have to find what works best for you.
Handle your ducks often if you want them to be somewhat tame as adults. I let me fall asleep on my lap or snuggle into my neck whenever I watched TV or played Xbox (yes, I'm 25 and still play Xbox, lol. my Xbox friends had to deal with the peeping, lol). Just be sure to use a towel because they will mess all over you.
That's all I can think of for now, but don't hesitate to ask any questions
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Eps32
Songster
Your awesome thanks. And I'm 30 and I play ps4 so no worries lol. Your tips are great and if I gave any problems or questions I'll be sure to ask. Thanks for the replies. And taking the time to give me some tips.
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