baby ducks are not growing/feathering right?

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Yeah, other than after swimming, it can walk just fine the rest of the time. Maybe I'm not giving them enough brewer's yeast? What exactly does brewer's yeast do for them?

good articles here - says brewers yeast (niacin) will affect their legs, hocks and feet

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=650030

the majestic waterfowl pages are veyr helpful - but still no ratio on brewers yeast yet....

 

[shelleyd2008]

So how much heat would they need at this age? They are 3 and 4 weeks old. I was thinking of putting them outside with a light, but I don't want them getting cold

 

[ShadyGlade]

I'm not an expert but I raise about a hundred or so mallard derivative ducklings a season. Ducklings are much slower to feather out than chickens. I don't expect to see feathers on mine before week five or six. I never allow mine to swim until they are almost fully feathered: it isn't necessary and may cause chilling or drowning. I lower the brooder temperature on ducklings slower also. They seem to be much more prone to chilling than chicks. Pekings do feather out faster because they have been bred for a long time for meat production. I'd advise patience.

 

[Wifezilla]

Aren't Pekins HUGE? (Compared to other duck breeds I mean)

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Hmmmm...I guess everyones ducklings are different. I've found my call ducklings require heat less time than chicks need it. I let mine have supervised swim time from day 1 or 2 with access to a heat lamp to dry out.

 

[shelleyd2008]

My ducklings needed no extra heat at all from about 2 weeks at the most. A lot of times, when I go in to feed them or something, they are laying in their brooder, with no other heat source than the temperature of the room, and they are panting. It is maybe 75 degrees in there tops, but they are too hot. I have had pekins (7 weeks old) and cayugas (4 weeks) and rouens (3 weeks), and none of them needed extra heat after 2 weeks.

I did put mine outside today for the first time. It was in the high 60's, low 70's, and they had a blast!! I'm going to steal a doghouse or something so I can put a light in it and leave them out there. I think if they have something to go into at night, they will be just fine.

Pekins are huge, but so are rouens and cayugas! I believe pekins are the biggest, but the other two breeds are not that much smaller.

Also, my pekins at 4 weeks had quite a bit of feathering on their bodies. These cayugas and rouens have hardly any, but they do have some. I guess, since they go from black to black, or brown to brown, it wasn't as obvious as the pekins transformation from yellow to white.

But I still think they should have more feathers than what they do.

 

[nettie]

pekins grow really fast, so i wouldn't compare the two. I have a snowy mallard who's skin i can see when she gets wet. What is the water temp like when you put the baby in? Is it too cold or hot maybe? Maybe you can try just wetting the baby and wiping it down with a towel afterwards to help it along so it can get clean. Perhaps letting it bethe alone or with only one other baby might help, so t doesn't get too stressed out.

I'd make sure it's not to hot in their brooder. They won't need a heat lamp anymore, and room temperature should be just fine for them.

At 4 weeks, it's still early for feathers in ducklings. They don't fully feather until after 8 weeks. They could start getting little prickles under their down where the feathers are starting to grow. And you should probably see little butt feathers starting to form.

Keep us updated!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I might try that, letting it swim with one or two others. Though I'm not sure I can tell which one it is? They all look the same!

They do not have a heat light at all. The only heat they have is from themselves, and the room temp. I have the vent closed in that room so it doesn't wreak havoc with my incubators, but it is still at least 75 degrees in there. They haven't had any external heat source other than the room temp since they were about 2 weeks old.

So, you are the 2nd or 3rd person that has said pekins grow very fast. I can vouch for that, my 'babies' look just like my adults, and the 'babies' are about 7 weeks old. But when I had my adults as babies, there were 2 pekins and 2 rouens, and they were the same age and the same size. That's why it bothers me that these guys seem too small. Maybe they are normal, and just seem small compared to the pekins.

It is supposed to be in the 60's for the next few days, and then the 50's for a while after that. I'm going to put them outside during the day at least for a while and see how it goes. They did fine today until it started cooling off, so I think if they have a heat source outside, they should be fine. Of course, I'll be a mother hen and check on them constantly, but I'll at least try it. They are getting too hot inside, and there is nothing I can do about it. I can't lower the room temp when the vent doesn't even blow in there!

 

[Blacksmithchic]

I am not new to raising ducklings and chicks of many breeds, but I am new to raising Pekin ducklings, and I have a problem. I have two male Pekin ducklings: both are the same age, but after three weeks one of them has grown to about six times his original size, while the other has not grown one bit...they look like David and Goliath next to each other...Why is one growing so much faster than the other, and what can/should I do to help the runt start growing/catching up in size and strength? (I'm feeding Purina Flockraiser with chick grit, and giving Avian Super Pack supplement in the water, which I empty and refill 1-2 times per day to keep it fresh.

 

[Blacksmithchic]

I've only raised ducklings and chicks to laying and/or slaughter age for 2 years now, but I have a few observations which I would like to have critiqued by wiser people than myself. In regards to ducklings: I raised runners and cayugas from baby to layer/slaughter in 2014, and I kept them in a large pen in my garage until their 4th month (when their feathers had mostly grown in), with a small pool, a heat lamp with a red bulb, and their eventual outdoor duck-house in the pen (as a training practice, I herded them into the duck-house every night to get them used to it...so when I eventually moved them outside, they would recognize and gravitate to the duck-house to sleep at night time). This yeafefr, I am raising khaki campbells and pekins - the khakis for eggs, and the pekins for meat. The khakis are developing great; I have three of them, and all are growing/eating/drinking heartily. My 2 pekins are another story. One of them is growing like a fertilized weed: he has literally double-quadrupled in size, he is HUGE after only three weeks...while his brother pekin duckling is exactly the same size as he was three weeks ago, he looks like a brand new baby duckling next to his gigantic brother, and we can't figure out why he is still so small. He and his brother are offered the exact same 20% protein flockraiser feed, chick grit, and constantly fresh water with Avian Super Pack water supplement added (which has a niacin supplement for fast growing babies, as well as ample nutritional supplements for stressed and/or fast-growing babies). So, I'm confounded as to why my khakis and one of my pekins are thriving, while one of my pekins still looks like a tiny little day-old baby duckling. advise please!!