Hi I’m new here and hoping someone could help me identify the sex of my ducklings! They are Golden 300 ducklings

[swampfox440]

Hi, welcome to BYC! good luck with your ducklings. If they get soaking wet when they are covered in down, they can get cold shock be careful with the water.

 

[sourland]

Good morning, and welcome to BYC. Good luck with your ducklings.

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[amjenkins444]

Welcome to BYC @amjenkins444

Glad you could join us all here! Cute duckings there! Nice article here on brooding duckings ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/duckling-care-brooder-ideas.64854/

Also I am sure if you post in the duck section the keepers there will be able to help you ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/

Enjoy BYC

Thank you very much!

 

[amjenkins444]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens. Your Ducklings are Beautiful! And a Big Hello from Eastern Nebraska.

Thank you! Yellow from Grand Junction Colorado

 

[Boppo]

Glad to meet you, and welcome to BYC. It's so cool that you got really helpful, breed specific advice right here on the welcome board. Best wishes with those ducklings - they are just so adorable! I love the photo with the cat cuddling them.

Here is an article on duck care that might help you feel more prepared.
To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

 

[amjenkins444]

Hi and welcome to byc. I had a couple golden 300's they are fantastic ducks. I have one now who is the top duck in the flock.
You wont be able to tell their sex yet, Im never sure until they are at least 8 - 10 weeks old. They can drown yes if they are not fully feathered yet, which is usually around 7 weeks old. how many weeks old are they now? at 80 degrees they can go outside during the day, but they need a small enclosure not pond access yet and some protection and cover from predators. Also NEVER use heat lamps in outside coops, fire hazard

I believe they’re only a couple of weeks old.
Would a chicken coop with a small run be ideal for them?
I live in Colorado so hot summers but cold cold winters. Will they need me to provide additional heat during winter? If not a heat lamp then what?
Thank you for the advice I greatly appreciate it

 

[Jenbirdee]

I believe they’re only a couple of weeks old.
Would a chicken coop with a small run be ideal for them?
I live in Colorado so hot summers but cold cold winters. Will they need me to provide additional heat during winter? If not a heat lamp then what?
Thank you for the advice I greatly appreciate it

Adult Ducks don’t need additional heat. They need proper ventilation. 1sqft of windows up high with hardware cloth for each bird ( I have 13 ducks and 13 sq feet of window. But no drafts, protection from wind is important. I once converted a chicken coop to a duck coop by making the ramp much wider . Only chickens can do the narrow ramps. How small a run are you thinking? I’m not sure what the minimum required is for run space per duck but we can look that up… my ducks have about 3000 sq feet of fenced in yard with dozens of things to hide under ( hawks) but at night they get locked into their house.

 

[Jenbirdee]

By the way, where did you get your golden 300 ducklings from? When I got ducklings this year from Metzler, I had ordered golden 300 in the mix, but they told me they didn’t have enough of them to send me any. That they weren’t breeding well this year or some thing. I’m glad to hear that you got some. It’s such a great breed it needs to continue.