Are my ducks ready for the great outdoors? how do I prepare?

[DurhamDuck]

Quote:
Hmm it just occurred to me that perhaps I should have mentioned that we reside in southern Florida. In May the highs are in the high 80's and the low's in the 70's and high 60's. Does this make a difference as to when I can move them outside?

That sounds warm enough, but make sure the duckhouse is well ventilated but not drafty if they get wet from the water they need to not get chilled before they get a chance to dry off.

 

[DuckDuckDuckGoose]

Quote:
good info- thank you! i'm a little disappointed that they are not ready to go outside yet because they require sooooo much care, but alas! such is life. ok, so, what are good treats? i may as well start the treat-bucket-training now, right?
and thank you DurhamDuck and The Great Northwest for responding!

You're welcome. I buy 7 bags of frozen peas a week ($1 each at StopNShop here). I give them half a bag in the morning and the other half at night. It's like a shark feeding frenzy! They ADORE them. We also give them dandelion leaves, romaine lettuce, chopped small strawberries (with the leaves still on), chopped grapes and I let them pick at the left over watermelon rind (the love it).

WOW DurhamDuck- your ducks are spoiled in the "treat" department

Can I be your duck? LOL
Thanks,
DDDG

 

[DuckDuckDuckGoose]

Quote:
Hmm it just occurred to me that perhaps I should have mentioned that we reside in southern Florida. In May the highs are in the high 80's and the low's in the 70's and high 60's. Does this make a difference as to when I can move them outside?

That sounds warm enough, but make sure the duckhouse is well ventilated but not drafty if they get wet from the water they need to not get chilled before they get a chance to dry off.

And to add to DurhamDucks advice- this is a FYI, ducks will get wet/soaked by playing with their own water cause they play with it all the time. Water to ducks is like drugs to an addict. They know thay have had enough, but still want more, and can't quit even if it can jepordize their health
Thanks,
DDDG

 

[surgerynut]

When my ducks were fully feathered, I moved them to an outside pen, where I contained them for a couple of weeks. Now, I can open their gate and herd them to the pond, where they spend the day. By evening, they usually head toward the pen, which has become their home on their own. Occasionally, I will need to come behind them with arms outstretched to complete the pilgrimage. I only feed them in their pen, so they know that is where their food is. I do have a doghouse in the pen, which they use, once I figured that the clear strips which hung down over the front as protection from the elements were scaring them away. I removed them and they sleep in there every night.

 

[RaZ]

Mine came out of the coop this morning and went straight for the big, deep pond. I've been a little concerned as they are only 5~6 weeks old now and I wanted to make sure that they could handle the deeper water and not get too tired. So when I saw the smallest one getting tired, I shooed them out. They couldn't get over the 2 inch lip at the edge so I had to remove a cap stone down to water level and they made their way out. Big adventure for them and a little scare for me.

So the lesson here is to watch your little ones until you are sure that they can handle the great outdoors.

They got a handful of frozen peas for passing their big water test.

 

[SqueakyRoseShalom]

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AHHH! That's a great idea to keep them in their run for a couple of weeks so that they know it's their home, and to keep them safe as they get bigger. Very good. I will wait to introduce them to the pond but I will get them outside. Whew! Soooo tired of cleaning the bathtub every day!

I never knew that one of God's creatures could poop so much!

Sooo, leads me to another question- do i need to put pine shavings in the run area? Is it going to get super nasty?

 

[SqueakyRoseShalom]

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Wait a minute- all this time, you have all been talking about FROZEN PEAS?!

I was starting to wonder about my ducks! here i was, steaming their peas, and I couldn't figure out why those sweet lil' ducks were looking at me like I was crazy every time i went to check if they had yet touched them!!

 

[fifenashia]

Quote:
Wait a minute- all this time, you have all been talking about FROZEN PEAS?!

I was starting to wonder about my ducks! here i was, steaming their peas, and I couldn't figure out why those sweet lil' ducks were looking at me like I was crazy every time i went to check if they had yet touched them!!

I thought the same thing!! Then as I was laughing at myself, my husband looks at me and says "where on earth are ducks going to get STEAMED peas in the wild"!! Oh man, so glad that was cleared up. FROZEN peas tomorrow!!

 

[gofasterstripe]

Mine have been living in the duck house since they were nealry 3 weeks old. They are not feathered out but there is 18 of them so they can huddle. Its been a bit chilly here the past couple of days but they are all doing fine out there, noone is complaining and everyone is healthy and happy. You know they are happy when they are wallowing in the mud holes they are making

 

[suellen123]

I like to put a bowl of water in with my ducks when I put them in their house at night. I always put about a 1/4 cup of the floating pond food in it. Its their last meal of the night and they look forward to it and sometimes beat me to their house. I do this right at dusk every evening. They know its their night night time.

We also like to sit down and hand feed them the pellets and pet them when they are eating. This has helped establish a bond between us. Normally they are not thrilled about being petted. We can see they are getting friendlier and friendlier as we do this with them. My ducks are two and three months old. We are feeding them the floating pellets for now.

I live in St. Petersburg and have a very small yard which is fenced in with a 125 gallon pond that they love. They are very hard on the plants I have in my yard and I feed them a half a head of lettuce a day which they love. I also get them bean sprouts from the oriental market which they love. We are trying to grow some collard greens and I am sure they will love that too.

We built a bottomless café for our ducks with a door that latches and a shingled roof. I have the bottom lined with hay and each night before bed I fluff the hay to get all the poopies to fall to the ground. During the day I leave the door open so that the poopies will dry out. I found I can use one bunch of hay for about two weeks with out it smelling to bad or attracting flies. Its right by my front door so I want it to be nice.

I go outside sometimes and I have neighbors and small children lined up just ooowwwinngg and ahhhingg about how beautiful they are. They are really happy. I have a pit bull that they were raised with that loves the heck out of them too and visits them in the yard several times a day. Frankie Peepers and Marley are two very happy ducks at our house.