A few duck 101 questions....

[dpenning]

I have 4 pekins from Ideal. I currently have them on paper towels and am feeding dumor chick starter designed for chickens, ducks, geese, quail, turkey...etc. I'm sprinkling a little niacin powder on the feed bowl and am currently using a standard chick waterer. They are already trying to climb into the waterer.

The questions I have so far are:

1. When do you start putting them on a pine shaving bedding?
2. When do you start with shallow supervised swims like maybe a paint roller pan?
3. I got Pekins because of their size. Are pekins the Cornish cross of the duck world with fast growth issues and short life expectancy?

I'm sure I'll have more duck 101 questions as I go down this path. I have six pekin eggs in the bator scheduled to hatch on the 22nd of this month!

Thanks for any input you can provide.

dawn

 

[Pyxis]

I usually just do paper towels for the first few days, then move them to pine shavings. You'll want to make a duckling waterer though or they're going to make a big mess.

I start letting mine swim at a week old, making sure they dry out and get warm after.

They aren't, thank goodness They're big, but they're not like cornish crosses. I have one girl, I'm not sure how old she is because my drake recruited her from somewhere, but she's at least three at this point and still doing just fine.

 

[6sablehens]

I have 4 pekins from Ideal. I currently have them on paper towels and am feeding dumor chick starter designed for chickens, ducks, geese, quail, turkey...etc. I'm sprinkling a little niacin powder on the feed bowl and am currently using a standard chick waterer. They are already trying to climb into the waterer.

The questions I have so far are:

1. When do you start putting them on a pine shaving bedding?
2. When do you start with shallow supervised swims like maybe a paint roller pan?
3. I got Pekins because of their size. Are pekins the Cornish cross of the duck world with fast growth issues and short life expectancy?

I'm sure I'll have more duck 101 questions as I go down this path. I have six pekin eggs in the bator scheduled to hatch on the 22nd of this month!

Thanks for any input you can provide.

dawn

Ducklings are so much fun!

- It would be best to feed them a duckling starter crumble, however, what your feeding - poultry mix should still be good, especially since your giving them the niacin.

-I put them on pine shaving straight away as long as they haven’t been treated with anything that could make them allergic and/or be harmful for them to breathe in.

-After day 2-3, I let mine swim in a paint tray... this is ok as long as they are short supervised swims, the water is shallow and the ducklings are dried off afterwards and don’t get cold, since their down takes a while for them to waterproof their down.

- There are 2 main types of pekins... the jumbo pekin, which is used for meat and eggs, and the smaller, egg laying pekin, which is used primarily for egg production. I used to own both, but I’m not sure about health and lifespan differences.

 

[dpenning]

Thank you both for your replies. I was a little concerned the more I read about the possible leg issues with these guys and the requirement for supplements I wondered if I had chosen the wrong breed. I wanted something large as we have wild geese that show up here every year and breed and I want to have these guys be grown and settled before the geese come back.

 

[CayugaJana]

I have 4 pekins from Ideal. I currently have them on paper towels and am feeding dumor chick starter designed for chickens, ducks, geese, quail, turkey...etc. I'm sprinkling a little niacin powder on the feed bowl and am currently using a standard chick waterer. They are already trying to climb into the waterer.

The questions I have so far are:

1. When do you start putting them on a pine shaving bedding? I started the day they hatched.
2. When do you start with shallow supervised swims like maybe a paint roller pan?I let mine play in the water from day 1. Only when I’m watching.
3. I got Pekins because of their size. Are pekins the Cornish cross of the duck world with fast growth issues and short life expectancy? You can certainly have healthy Pekins. They grow fast but can live normal lives. They do eat more though! Oinkers. My Pekins are more friendly because I am the person giving them treats.

I'm sure I'll have more duck 101 questions as I go down this path. I have six pekin eggs in the bator scheduled to hatch on the 22nd of this month!

Thanks for any input you can provide.

dawn

 

[acceabex]

• They go on pine shavings in a few days... As long as they figure out that they aren't food.
• After a few weeks, I give up on waterers... They seem to make a mess of whatever I put out so I just use a plastic feed dish (like a dog dish), just make sure they can get out because they will get in.
• Make sure they can dip their bills and eyes no matter what you use. They have to be able to clean their nares.
• If you're feeding chick starter make sure it isn't medicated. I don't know about that brand to know for sure.
• Pekins can have leg issues. For the larger breeds I watch their growth rate and start mixing the starter with maintenance a bit sooner than I usually would just to make sure they aren't growing too fast. Just be careful, they still need more calories so don't over do it trying to get ahead of a problem you don't have.

 

[Sunflower Acre]

I'm no expert, but here's what I tried! I had issues with mine trying to eat shavings (plus being a first time duck mom, I was paranoid about it). I ended up getting compressed straw at Tractor Supply and love it. It's cut shorter than regular straw (but not as tiny as chopped straw for mulch), smells nice, and absorbs as well as can be with messy ducks.

For water, I just used bowls and put rocks in them to try and deter using it as a pool, and adjusted the bowl size as the ducks grew.

Enjoy your duckies! We got our first 6 in May and just got another 6 a couple weeks ago (first batch were straight run and we ended up with 4 drakes, doh!). They are adorable messy little buggers, and so much fun!

 

[Miss Lydia]

You need to make sure your ducklings are getting at least 100mgs of niacin a day. If I was you I'd switch to nutritional yeast it's got better taste and much easier to use just put a tablespoon per cup of feed.
Pekins can have leg issues but if you do it right in the beginning it can keep any from happening. Oh and sometimes even when we add NY BY and Niacin in powder form they might still come up with a leg problem but it's easy to fix with B Complex liquid So having some on hand won't be a bad idea the most important thing is to treat asap when one does have trouble. . Enjoy those babies and try not to worry. Hey I remember a member a year or so ago who had a Pekin that was 12 yrs old. I love Pekins they look to always have a smile on their faces, happy ducks. Something like this would make a good waterer. Put out 2 or cut 2 holes in one.

 

[dpenning]

I've got a couple gallon jugs to cut holes in as they get a little bigger for water jugs and my water is sitting on a tray over a baking dish so I think I'll be ok as far as the waterers go. I also have the B12 complex from tractor supply I can inject into peas once they are a little bigger and can have treats. I'm trying to be proactive. They are currently in the same brooder as my 3 buff orpington chicks. Our weather is in the upper 90's during the day and upper 70's at night. I have a heat lamp on them at night but they really don't seem to be needing it. I'll probably split them up after they have been here for a week or so when I start letting the ducks swim.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have we seen pics yet?