2019 Spring Ducklings are here!

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Duckling update: Today the ducklings got something really healthy: One Iceberg salad, cut into duckling bill size pieces. Gone in just five minutes:

Regarding their weight gain, it seems the switch from the duckling starter to the meatbird-crumbles (22% -> 18% Protein) and feeding more greens has finally slowed down their growth somewhat:

But Magpie Blue still concerns me, today she has lost some weight compared to yesterday. I think tomorrow we two will have an excessive meal-worm session.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Meal worms is your protein it isn't going to put on weight. Have you noticed her being pushed out of the feed or is she just not interested? If you have the liquid B complex you could add some to her meal worms to help stimulate appetite.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Meal worms is your protein it isn't going to put on weight. Have you noticed her being pushed out of the feed or is she just not interested? If you have the liquid B complex you could add some to her meal worms to help stimulate appetite.

They have Niacin and Vitamin C in their drinking water all the time. I see signs of what i call »dreaming duckling syndrome« when i observe "Maggie Blue" and "Buffy Violet", the same thing i lost that duckling last year to: They walk up to the food, get a bill full, walk to the water and half way they stop and think about a Quantum-Gravity-problem, then after a while they walk to the water, drink, walk back to the food, but on the way back they remember there was that unsolved problem with nuclear-fusion and they must think about that first. - In the time when the others make ten rounds between food an water these two make three at best. And when the others are done feeding and lay down, the gladly join them. So they just don't gulp down the same amount of food as the others.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Maybe separate those two in their own brooder for a week so they don't have to compete for food and can work on their calculations.

 

[mandtc]

Thanks for the idea @WannaBeHillBilly. Attached is another one of my awful pictures.View attachment 1668483

Excuse the ridiculously late response to this... but here is what I use for a brooder... it’s sold as a guinea pig cage on eBay... has roof and side access and as the guys get big enough they can hop in and out, if I choose to let them.
Which as you can see by the state of my living room floor... I choose to do when ever

I can!
But they can’t get out when closed up! Works out to a similar surface area as the round kiddy pools, perhaps a little less. But very useful for adult ducks/chickens/guinea pigs/cats as hospital cages and temporary houses for emergencies.
As a bonus they are stackable too!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Excuse the ridiculously late response to this... but here is what I use for a brooder... it’s sold as a guinea pig cage on eBay... has roof and side access and as the guys get big enough they can hop in and out, if I choose to let them.
Which as you can see by the state of my living room floor... I choose to do when ever View attachment 1676076 I can!
But they can’t get out when closed up! Works out to a similar surface area as the round kiddy pools, perhaps a little less. But very useful for adult ducks/chickens/guinea pigs/cats as hospital cages and temporary houses for emergencies.
As a bonus they are stackable too!

That’s some spoiled duckies

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

My guys are going to have to go in the coop. No room in the brooder. When I was cleaning yesterday and they were screaming murder murder, they rolled poor Boris on his back and of course he couldn't get up. At least they rolled him in the clean litter. I've never put them out before three weeks but they look uncomfortable.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What are you temps can you provide heat for a few weeks? How old now?

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

What are you temps can you provide heat for a few weeks? How old now?

They will be three weeks on Tuesday. The low tonight is 44F. I have two brood lamps I can put out for them but they will be fairly high. The coop is a horse stall that has been predator secured and should be protected from draft as long as it's not windy. The problem is snakes. I put the last batch out at about 3 1/2 weeks and I caught a snake constricting one in the night. Talk about screaming murder murder. All of her sisters were just watching.

 

[Raenh]

They will be three weeks on Tuesday. The low tonight is 44F. I have two brood lamps I can put out for them but they will be fairly high. The coop is a horse stall that has been predator secured and should be protected from draft as long as it's not windy. The problem is snakes. I put the last batch out at about 3 1/2 weeks and I caught a snake constricting one in the night. Talk about screaming murder murder. All of her sisters were just watching.

I have a rabbit hutch converted to a broader you could use temporarily or an old rabbit cage top that I used until they got to big. I wont need it back till I get more ducklings