A Question About Ducks - Broodiness?

[Daniel_2kaii9]

there both sitting now

hope thay hatch in 9 days

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

how long did u say i got 2 keep him separated 2 months from the day thay hatch isit ?

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I think about two months at the most to be safe. But when they are maybe four weeks old you can start to experiment with letting the ducklings in with the drake to see how he acts with them. Once you know he won't hurt them you can keep them together. He seems like a nice drake, and sometimes drakes are gentle with ducklings, but often they will attack ducklings.

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

how old do the ducklings have 2 be before i take them off chick crum and give them laying pellets?

 

[Soccer Mom]

DWD is right, you really can't know how a drake will act around babies until you have them.

I switch from 20% crumbles to starter pellets at around 3 weeks.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

You should take them off the chick crumbles when they are about two to three weeks old. Gradually add the new feed - just a little more each day so it isn't a sudden change.

I wouldn't start them on layer pellets though until they are four months old. Look for a pellet that has about 16% protein to give them when they switch from the chick crumbles. We have a type of turkey finisher we use for that.

Also it is good to find a source of extra niacin for them, like brewers yeast in their feed or niacin tablets added to their water. Most feed is designed for what chickens need, ducks need more niacin, without it they may develop leg problems, especially Pekins.

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

how long can i give them chick crumbles for ? couse i cant get other pellets well i dnt know if i can get them tablets where would i get them?

 

[Dances with Ducks]

The problem with the chick crumbles is that the high soy protein in it can cause a deformation of the wing called angle wing in young growing ducklings, and also with Pekins it could encourage them to grow too fast with is bad for their overall health and also contributes to leg problems. So you definately should stop the crumbles by three weeks.

If you can't find niacin tablets (we can get them at the grocery store here) you will really need to make an effort to give them fresh greens every day like we talked about before.

Can you let them out on the grass in a temporary pen maybe for a few hours a day?

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

i can pick grass and stuff every day for them is that ok ? and what can i give them when i take them off chick crum what about chicken corn ?

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I'm thinking it would be much better for them to be on the layer pellets when you take them off the crumbles if you don't have the option of starter pellets or something like that. Corn hardly has any nutrition in it, your ducks wouldn't be very healthy on that even with fresh grass.
Yes, grass is good, snip off the tops of the blades an inch or two and feed them that. Actually you may need to chop that into smaller pieces when the duckling are really little, like 1/4 - 1/2 inch. Just as long as you are sure no one is putting herbicide or other chemicals on the grass! Do you have weeds to feed them also? Maybe you could pick up some spinach or other greens at the store too.