Ducklings and sunlight

[sarahconnor]

A friend wants his youngster to raise two ducklings till they are 30 days old then have me take them. I have a Toulouse goose who adores and mothers my two Pekin ducks that I rescued when they were just a couple months old(wasn’t sure if the age) miss Lydia gave me some good pointers and they are thriving. My Daisy lays great eggs and the drake whom I named Drake, is very good with the hens. He’s gentle and doesn’t try to mount anyone. He’s close to Daisy. My friend received them in the mail about a week ago and they are thriving. They are in a nice Bruder coop with a light in their lower level of their house. They asked me if they should take them outside to expose them to sunlight and I wasn’t sure but I did recommend that they start giving them baths and letting them take little swims at the end of the week. Is it necessary for them to have outdoor time?
When they come to me I will introduce them to the flock. I’m sure Dani will be happy to have two nice females to look after. What should I advise them about being outdoors? He said he could create a brooder for outside to get fresh air and oxygen.Thanks.
‘Attached is my two ducks, Drake and Daisy. (They sure love digging in the dirt and puddles)

 

[Jenbirdee]

beautiful ducks . who is Dani that you said will be happy to have 1 month old ducklings to look after? Do you mean Daisy? If so I doubt she will be happy about it. In my experience the old ducks hate it when new ducks come around.

 

[Jenbirdee]

sorry i didnt answer about the sunlight , its not really necessary but if its a nice day out and the temperature is not too hot or cold then sure they will enjoy it for a little while ! just watch carefully for predators.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

sorry i didnt answer about the sunlight , its not really necessary but if its a nice day out and the temperature is not too hot or cold then sure they will enjoy it for a little while ! just watch carefully for predators.

I assumed from the post that Dani is the goose...?

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I think the sunlight and fresh air are both important to growing ducklings. Plus it helps keep the indoor brooder cleaner for longer. I use a portable puppy playpen from Amazon to bring them outside--it has mesh on top and a removable zip-off bottom...we put it in the sun and let the ducklings eat the grass/weeds (we don't use the bottom of the playpen) and dig up little bugs. They LOVE their outdoor time. We never leave them unsupervised because we have cats and raccoons around that could easily get under the playpen.

 

[Jenbirdee]

They do love the grass . I bring mine out on nice days too and i build a make-shift playpen with anything I can find around here lol . Just saying its not absolutely necessary, but it sure is nice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If Dani is like my goose Missy she will take to the 2 ducklings and be a mother to them, My goose took over being a mother goose to 2 Runner drakes when my Muscovy gave up when they were 5 weeks old she still being Mother goose to those 2 boys and they will be 8 months old on the 14th of this month. They love her so much and her them.

 

[sarahconnor]

beautiful ducks . who is Dani that you said will be happy to have 1 month old ducklings to look after? Do you mean Daisy? If so I doubt she will be happy about it. In my experience the old ducks hate it when new ducks come around.

Hi. Thanks for the response. Dani is my Toulouse goose who watches my two ducks.
They are almost one year old. If they don’t like the newbies there is a good rescue that will take them. My concern now is outdoor time for them.

 

[sarahconnor]

They do love the grass . I bring mine out on nice days too and i build a make-shift playpen with anything I can find around here lol . Just saying its not absolutely necessary, but it sure is nice.

I range my hens roosters goose and ducks at least 4 times a week.
My concern is my friends ducklings that are a week old. Do they need outdoor time? Thanks!! Glad your ducks are happy!

 

[Miss Lydia]

If the weather is warm and not windy even young ducklings can be outside for short periods I wouldn't put them into water since they can chill easily. You'll be able to tell if they are cold they will lie down together and not be moving around much.