Some Pekin duckling questions

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Hi there!

I have four, two-three week old, Pekin ducklings. I am new to ducks, so I’m sorry if this questions is silly anyways, my Perkins seem to big for their britches! They have grown SO fast, and seem to have a little trouble getting around. They kinda clunk around a lot, and lay down a lot. Like I said, I’m new to ducks and especially Pekins, so I’m not sure what’s normal. They seem healthy otherwise, have a great appetite, LOVE to swim and are quite fast in the water, like to explore, etc.

To help, I thought I would explain my situation a bit and how I am raising them. They currently live in a big spacious outdoor brooder (a total of 120 square feet), have lots of things to explore and play with, have a nice shelter with a heating plate, enough water to dip their whole heads into, and have constant access to chick crumble with added nutritional yeast for Niacin (1 TBS for every cup) does my setup sound ok?

I know pekins are the meat bird of the duck world, but can they live a happy long life? Or are they like the CornishX or broiler, where the only humane thing to do is process them?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks so much for any help in advance!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have Pekins (flock in Sig, below), they are the Cx of the duck world in that they are the fastest growing (and probably the laziest), but they are a lot healthier than Cx. Half of mine below are going into their third year in good health. I use them to make more Pekins, and send some to freezer camp a couple times a year.

Your set up sounds good.

 

[awkwardkale]

Hi there!

I have four, two-three week old, Pekin ducklings. I am new to ducks, so I’m sorry if this questions is silly anyways, my Perkins seem to big for their britches! They have grown SO fast, and seem to have a little trouble getting around. They kinda clunk around a lot, and lay down a lot. Like I said, I’m new to ducks and especially Pekins, so I’m not sure what’s normal. They seem healthy otherwise, have a great appetite, LOVE to swim and are quite fast in the water, like to explore, etc.

To help, I thought I would explain my situation a bit and how I am raising them. They currently live in a big spacious outdoor brooder (a total of 120 square feet), have lots of things to explore and play with, have a nice shelter with a heating plate, enough water to dip their whole heads into, and have constant access to chick crumble with added nutritional yeast for Niacin (1 TBS for every cup) does my setup sound ok?

I know pekins are the meat bird of the duck world, but can they live a happy long life? Or are they like the CornishX or broiler, where the only humane thing to do is process them?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks so much for any help in advance!

Hi there! I’m new to ducks too. I have four Pekins who just moved outside full time a few weeks ago! They’re around seven weeks

They grow SO fast.

From my experience (which to be fair, is very little) they are very clumsy! Mine took a while to grow into their big feet. I think the biggest thing is just making sure they’re on a surface they won’t slip and they have room to practice walking. It sounds like they have that in their brooder.

That set up sounds amazing to me! Like duckling paradise haha. And that is the amount of niacin i used as well!

They grow so fast. Mine definitely would get bursts of energy, eat, drink and then crash! They would nap for like thirty minutes before waking up and doing it all over again. It’s also so much fun watching them swim.

Mine definitely liked to lay down a lot, especially after swimming, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Mine still have group naptime out in the yard!

I think the thing to look out for would be to make sure that they’re all developing at a similar rate, and you don’t have a duck that seems shaky/too weak to move. You’re already supplementing niacin, so that’s great. I’d just examine them and their behaviors when you can. I think what happens usually when ducklings have troubles walking is you’ll have it lay constantly by the food or water since its too weak to make trips. Again, I haven’t experienced that myself, but when I did some research (because I was also worried about their walking) that was listed as a symptom.

Pekins can definitely live a long and happy life I don’t know how their lifespan compares to other breeds, but I think 8-10 years? I think because they grow so fast, the biggest thing is just managing their nutrition and making sure they have the right balance of protein and niacin to prevent complications.

to be extra sure that they get the niacin, I make overnight oats for them and mix the nutritional yeast into it and give it to them in the morning, I started doing that around three weeks because one of my ducks was pigeon toed. My ducks are messy eaters and they kinda just drop the crumble everywhere when they mash it with their bills. so I’ve found the oats are a good way to give them their niacin and make sure that they get all of it

Congrats on the ducks! They’re so much fun. I’ve still got a lot to learn myself, but there’s a lot of really experienced people on this site! It’s an amazing resource

 

[ruthhope]

I have a pekin drake that is tightly bonded with a muscovy drake: he is very active and agile and easily jumps up onto the muscovy's raised roost. Actually, I think he thinks he is a muscovy. He is more agile coming down my back steps than my muscovy are.

My son has a pekin drake and females. They are active although not as active as my drake, energetic and happy. I am sure they will live long lives. He doesn't keep ducks for meat, but his girls are prolific layers.

Your pekin ducks will live long happy lives if they are not over fed meat birds, get a healthy diet, and have plenty of space to explire and forage

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

I have Pekins (flock in Sig, below), they are the Cx of the duck world in that they are the fastest growing (and probably the laziest), but they are a lot healthier than Cx. Half of mine below are going into their third year in good health. I use them to make more Pekins, and send some to freezer camp a couple times a year.

Your set up sounds good.

Thank you very much for your reply!

Hi there! I’m new to ducks too. I have four Pekins who just moved outside full time a few weeks ago! They’re around seven weeks

They grow SO fast.

From my experience (which to be fair, is very little) they are very clumsy! Mine took a while to grow into their big feet. I think the biggest thing is just making sure they’re on a surface they won’t slip and they have room to practice walking. It sounds like they have that in their brooder.

That set up sounds amazing to me! Like duckling paradise haha. And that is the amount of niacin i used as well!

They grow so fast. Mine definitely would get bursts of energy, eat, drink and then crash! They would nap for like thirty minutes before waking up and doing it all over again. It’s also so much fun watching them swim.

Mine definitely liked to lay down a lot, especially after swimming, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Mine still have group naptime out in the yard!

I think the thing to look out for would be to make sure that they’re all developing at a similar rate, and you don’t have a duck that seems shaky/too weak to move. You’re already supplementing niacin, so that’s great. I’d just examine them and their behaviors when you can. I think what happens usually when ducklings have troubles walking is you’ll have it lay constantly by the food or water since its too weak to make trips. Again, I haven’t experienced that myself, but when I did some research (because I was also worried about their walking) that was listed as a symptom.

Pekins can definitely live a long and happy life I don’t know how their lifespan compares to other breeds, but I think 8-10 years? I think because they grow so fast, the biggest thing is just managing their nutrition and making sure they have the right balance of protein and niacin to prevent complications.

to be extra sure that they get the niacin, I make overnight oats for them and mix the nutritional yeast into it and give it to them in the morning, I started doing that around three weeks because one of my ducks was pigeon toed. My ducks are messy eaters and they kinda just drop the crumble everywhere when they mash it with their bills. so I’ve found the oats are a good way to give them their niacin and make sure that they get all of it

Congrats on the ducks! They’re so much fun. I’ve still got a lot to learn myself, but there’s a lot of really experienced people on this site! It’s an amazing resource

thank you SO much for taking the time to reply to me!

Your reply was quite comforting, as I was starting to get worried I am very glad my setup sounds good, and it seems to be that I’m doing most things right!

That’s a great idea about the oats- I will be trying that for sure.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

I have a pekin drake that is tightly bonded with a muscovy drake: he is very active and agile and easily jumps up onto the mudcovy's raised roost. Actually I think he thinks he is a muscovy. He is more agile coming down my back steps than my muscovy are.

My son has a pekin drake and females. They are active although not as active as my drake, energetic and happy. I am sure they will live long lives. He doesn't keep ducks for meat, but his girls are prolific layers.

Your pekin ducks will live long happy lives if they are not over fed meat birds, get a healthy diet, and have plenty of space to explire and forage

Thank you very much!

 

[awkwardkale]

Thank you very much for your reply!

thank you SO much for taking the time to reply to me!

Your reply was quite comforting, as I was starting to get worried I am very glad my setup sounds good, and it seems to be that I’m doing most things right!

That’s a great idea about the oats- I will be trying that for sure.

Of course! I’m glad I can provide some comfort. When one of mine was pigeon toed, he was stepping over his own feet so I was in a bit of a panic! I think his flippers were just too big for his little body, because he’s waddling (and running) just fine. I think it’s just an awkward growth stage. Im still keeping an eye on him, since his legs seem a bit turned in still. It’s definitely improved a lot, so that’s the good news.

I totally understand the worry! Honestly I’m constantly thinking about my ducks not always worrying about them, but I just want them to be happy and healthy. It’s awesome that you are thinking about their long term wellness!

Yes! Your set up sounds wonderful! Surely a recipe for happy and healthy duckies!

I’m sorry I can’t provide more specific advice — I’m brand new to caring for them myself!

And they LOVE the oats. They run so fast when I come out with the bowl haha! They’re still messy, but they seem to not drop as much of the oats, maybe because they’re softer than the crumble?

I just soak them overnight, a cup of water to each cup of oats. Then I stir in the niacin (tablespoon to a cup) and put a damp paper towel over the bowl. I use a plastic flower pot tray or a round cake tray to feed it to them.