When can these ducks go outside? - Page 2

I would at least suggest something to pen them up at night.  I went from 9 ducks down to 2 in just a couple weeks.  My new group is getting penned up at night and left out during the day to use the pond.

Tomorrow I am building call duck pens.  We bought 2 chocolates, and a snowy mama and her three babies.  They are so cute!  They can't free range, as the hawks will get them.

Edited by sara - 6/6/08 at 6:02pm

A good friend of mine just brought me four young mallards this afternoon. Three hens and a drake.  It has been raining here for what seems like forever and these ducks stunk so bad the smell stained onto my hands.  I think they were swimming in a sewage lagoon.

I think mine were 4 or 5 weeks and the temps were about like yours when I moved them out. They are in a pen with an old dog house for shelter at night. I lock them in. I swear, when I finally put them out they all but said to me, "It's about time!" They are perfectly happy on the wettest cool spring days. Not like chickens at all!

I have a 2 week old runner and 4 chicks that are currently in the brooder together, but the chicks seem to be fledging out much faster than the duck. They have almost all wing feathers and more are popping up on their shoulders every morning. The duck is getting quite big, but is still all down. Her tail feathers seem to have grown since I got her though. Also her wings are quite small still, is that normal too? I'm new at ducks and chickens.

Anyone? Anyone?

Yes this sounds normal to me

Okay so 3 months later, the duck turned out to be male AND not a Runner, a Pekin, so I had to rehome him. Whole other story though....So now I have ordered 2 female Runner ducklings from Metzers that will be here on Tuesday. The daytime temps have been in the upper 90's here in Boise and 60-70F at night. The last time I raised the babies it was duck and chicks together and the temps were much cooler. SO, with temps as high as they are, how long do they need to stay in the brooder? I do have a doghouse ready for them, and they will live in the run with my hens.

 

On a somewhat related note, how do I go about introducing the new babies to the hens, since they are to share a run together? I just integrated a 5 year old hen in with my 4 month old pullets and they are getting along okay now, it's been almost 2 weeks. I was thinking just taking them out and letting the hens come up to them and get aquainted as much as possible before I put them outside, but do I need to be cautious of passing diseases with my new babies?

Anyone?

With those night temperatures you could put the ducklings outside in a pen with heat at 2 weeks old or without heat at 3-4 weeks old, as long as they were well protected from the wind and rain and have nice deep litter to snuggle into.

I put 2 week old ducklings outside in their own pen with heat when it's about 50 at night. I gradually raise the heat lamp so they get a bit less heat each week and are off heat in those temps by about 5 weeks (when adult feathers are coming through).

There is hardly any disease risk from the chickens towards your ducklings. I would not see that as a concern at all. But there is a risk of injury from the hens. I would not house ducklings with adult chickens or adult ducks until they are adult sized and fully feathered. So, about 9 weeks old (though some breeds will be slower).
Edited by 70%cocoa - 7/7/12 at 2:45pm