My 9 wk old pekins are showing strong signs ...
3 males , huge, raspy, heavy, large legs and feet.
2 females, smaller, light on their feet, smaller legs and feet, loud QUACK when they want to.
Day 3 in their new outside home (storage shed converted to coop with attached outdoor run)....
My 9 week old Pekin ducks are not eating their duck food. They are eating the straw. :th
They have grit and water.
Is this going to kill them? Straw is a new thing. They are very happy, wagging...
They did great. I did decide on a heat lamp last night since the low was 35. I checked the temp in there before bed and this morning and it was 50 degrees. They had a ton of hay, too. They seemed very happy and alert. Waddled right on out. :)
I have plans to add 2 big windows, one on each side, with hinges and hooks to close them if needed, and wire to cover them. The main doors are gonna be open in the daytime. Today was 1st day out there and we aren't done. :)
Nine weeks old and they are out ! Its not completely done, still need to make a large run and put the pool in the run...but they are outside! !!!! I also want more ventilation installed. (Family illness and unusually cold temps prevented sooner completion).
It's like alcatraz. Wire floor...
His legs were going out to the sides and he couldn't hold them under himself to stand up. It started out with weakness and quickly progressed to him crawling around and not standing. I honestly thought he would have to be put down. He was very large and grew very fast. .... so I had to come up...
I'll prob keep the 2 females and Duckzilla, my male that had splay leg problems.
Fyi....I fixed his legs by hooking 2 small hair scrunchies (soft fabric) together and making him wear them like panties around his legs. Also did therapeutic swims, brewers yeast,and vitamins. He went from...
Sigh.
Thanks for the info.
The 3 males are huge and the 2 females are smallish.
The females do a loud QUACK QUACK, the males make a different sound.
Right now they are all sweet. Husband said get rid of 2 females or all 3 males he doesn't want babies.
I wanted eggs.
Kids gonna be upset...
Gahhhh
Out of the 5 baby pekins we got at TSC , 3 turned out to be male and 2 are female.
They are 8wk old.
Tell me how this will play out. What should I do? They are all attached to one another and distress call when they are apart.
I am pretty new to the duck thing, also. I have 5 pekin babies who are 4 weeks old. They are in a kiddy pool in my master bathroom. LOL.
Here is what me and my daughter do.
1. Talk baby talk, they seem to like the soothing tones. Talk to them often/visit with them often. Every morning I say...
Do you know of any shavings that don't have an odor? My husband couldn't stand the smell/said it made him sneeze. We had got some at TSC when we got the ducklings.