at what age can ducks start to swim

[BelValleyDaisy]

I let mine begin swimming in water where they could touch the floor on day 2. As long as you are watching they'll be fine. Mummy ducks take their babies soon after hatching. Just make sure that afterwards you dry them off and cuddle them to keep them warm

 

[Ducks4us]

I have had mine for a week and started them in the sink the second day just to clean them off and access their pecked bodies and then the tub a few days later, first day they were torpedoing and diving, and we have done swim time 2 times a day in the tub since then and each time they seem to stronger and more determined to do more. today they looked at me as if they were bored with the water level so I kept raising it until they started getting excited, in three minutes I had ducks swimming and dunking their heads and they were enjoying themselves, if they tired they went to the shallow end but didn't stay long as they were back to the deeper water it was back and forth for quite some time and when they stopped going in I drained the water, put a towel down and let them preen and when they were finished preening I dried them the rest of the way and back under the heat lamp.  I have noticed that their feathers are coming in alot faster then the neighbors who got theirs the same time and mine are much bigger even though they are from the same artificial hatching.  I am not a duck expert, just learning as I go, but these two were being pecked at so badly they were actually going to destroy them. so 1/2 off and free are now residing with me.  I think alot of it is the love, trust and bond they have with each other and the human moms. I have no idea what breed they are just praying they are not mallards

Do you have a photo? So someone can help with breed. It should be fairly easy to tell if they are mallards
There is one other breed that can look very similar to a mallard. But typically mallards have one full eye stripe, and they are a very tiny breed compared to the other( rouen) that looks similar

 

[Taylorbrood]

I do but they are on my dead cell phone currently they are just yellow with the white down coming through, they have beautiful blue eyes and huge feet, they have grown so fast that the chicks huddle with them, their beaks though are a pale pinkish color. I will post as soon as I get my phone up and running. seeing so many mixed reviews on what to feed them so they are on chick starter, I give them brocolli, cranberries and and egg and take them outside to root around for worms, but they love those disgusting slugs. I did notice today that the one is digging at her ear when they were swimming

 

[ProviderEx]

Two mallards showed up in my yard yesterday. no mama, no papa.
I called fish and game and they said either put them in the lake up the road or raise them and release them.
I told the lady, they will drown or get eaten and that I will raise them as mama/papa till they get a good bit of feathers going.
they are a solid 3 days and I have a kiddy pool setup for them (fenced in)
they have 1.5 inches of water. non medicated starter feed and a makeshift island to chill on.

one seems to love the water. stays in there for 10-20 minutes before coming out and it comes out because his sibling starts yelling at him.
the other stays in the water for maybe 3-8 minutes and it gets out and starts preening. (or trying to)

They spent the night outside covering each other last night and woke up early to swim and eat crushed grapes.

but they are wild mallards and not yard ducks.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Two mallards showed up in my yard yesterday. no mama, no papa.
I called fish and game and they said either put them in the lake up the road or raise them and release them.
I told the lady, they will drown or get eaten and that I will raise them as mama/papa till they get a good bit of feathers going.
they are a solid 3 days and I have a kiddy pool setup for them (fenced in)
they have 1.5 inches of water. non medicated starter feed and a makeshift island to chill on.

one seems to love the water. stays in there for 10-20 minutes before coming out and it comes out because his sibling starts yelling at him.
the other stays in the water for maybe 3-8 minutes and it gets out and starts preening. (or trying to)

They spent the night outside covering each other last night and woke up early to swim and eat crushed grapes.

but they are wild mallards and not yard ducks.

It is great you are helping them. Minimize your exposure to them. For their sakes you don't want them tame at all if you are going to release them.

 

[Amiga]

I would keep them in a predator-proof enclosure at night.

And make wild-type food available to them.

 

[Camey]

Eroc1_1 pretty much covered it.  At day two, my runners "swam" in an inch and a half of 90 degree water in a cake pan for five minutes.  /img/smilies/smile.png


My general guidelines were to have a clean, warm, dry brooder ready for their return from the water, to dry off any that did not immediately begin preening after bathtime, and to keep the water only deep enough to hit the tops of their legs - that was deep enough for floating or swimming, shallow enough to stand.  The older they got, the deeper the water, the longer it took for them to get tired (when a couple of them just seemed to stand there, staring around, that was my signal to pull everybody back into "the bus" and back to the brooder.  The bus was a deep cardboard box with a towel in the bottom, to get them from room to room once we began using the tub, at about day four.


I stood by every moment.  Without full feathers and oils, they get soaked and don't float so well.  But a few of them were excellent torpedoes!  Enjoy those babies!  They grow fast!!!

 

[BelValleyDaisy]

Two mallards showed up in my yard yesterday. no mama, no papa.

I called fish and game and they said either put them in the lake up the road or raise them and release them. 

I told the lady, they will drown or get eaten and that I will raise them as mama/papa till they get a good bit of feathers going.

they are a solid 3 days and I have a kiddy pool setup for them (fenced in)

they have 1.5 inches of water. non medicated starter feed and a makeshift island to chill on.


one seems to love the water. stays in there for 10-20 minutes before coming out and it comes out because his sibling starts yelling at him.

the other stays in the water for maybe 3-8 minutes and it gets out and starts preening. (or trying to)


They spent the night outside covering each other last night and woke up early to swim and eat crushed grapes.


but they are wild mallards and not yard ducks.

These babies won't survive on their own. You need a heat lamp to keep them warm at night but pen them off outside. Make them forage for food etc and be aware of danger but you don't want them tame if you are releasing them. I would take them to a rehabilitation centre. Or keep them, raise them and let them stay as pets.