Call Ducks Finally Hatched

[Jemima Puddles]

They are gorgeous. A very successful hatch! Out of interest what number if eggs successfully hatched?

 

[Calichicken2015]

I have a duck care question. I am currently waiting on 5 duck eggs to hatch...3 have external pips..one of those is zipping...2 not sure what's happening yet? Anyway, I am planning on caring for these babies for a bit, until the family that is giving them a home is ready to have them outside. So....how old will they be when they are ready to be outside? I have kept chickens...never ducks so any advice is appreciated. The family wants them past the brooder stage, as they do not have any of the supplies need

 

[Ravynscroft]

I have a duck care question. I am currently waiting on 5 duck eggs to hatch...3 have external pips..one of those is zipping...2 not sure what's happening yet? Anyway, I am planning on caring for these babies for a bit, until the family that is giving them a home is ready to have them outside. So....how old will they be when they are ready to be outside? I have kept chickens...never ducks so any advice is appreciated. The family wants them past the brooder stage, as they do not have any of the supplies need

4-6 weeks old, approximately... once they are fully feathered out they can go outside full time...

 

[Julie Birb]

This week's hatch was successful! 1 black magpie 1 black ancona 1 blue ancona 1 black bibbed 1 chocolate bibbed 2 chocolate pied

Lookit all the soft cuddly warm babies.

 

[Lacrystol]

This week's hatch was successful! 1 black magpie 1 black ancona 1 blue ancona 1 black bibbed 1 chocolate bibbed 2 chocolate pied

AWe sweet

 

[Lacrystol]

I have a duck care question. I am currently waiting on 5 duck eggs to hatch...3 have external pips..one of those is zipping...2 not sure what's happening yet? Anyway, I am planning on caring for these babies for a bit, until the family that is giving them a home is ready to have them outside. So....how old will they be when they are ready to be outside? I have kept chickens...never ducks so any advice is appreciated. The family wants them past the brooder stage, as they do not have any of the supplies need

Depends, i send mine out at three weeks because they start to smell soooo bad, however i do have a small coop that i lock them up in. I wont allow mine to free range until they are about 2 months or fully feathered. Also Depending on the weather i will keep mine locked up and with a heating lamp if the weather is very cold at night but shut it off during the day. Since calls are smal they can be easy prey. So for me free ranging is part of the yard but still confined.

 

[Calichicken2015]

4-6 weeks old, approximately... once they are fully feathered out they can go outside full time...

Depends, i send mine out at three weeks because they start to smell soooo bad, however i do have a small coop that i lock them up in. I wont allow mine to free range until they are about 2 months or fully feathered. Also Depending on the weather i will keep mine locked up and with a heating lamp if the weather is very cold at night but shut it off during the day. Since calls are smal they can be easy prey. So for me free ranging is part of the yard but still confined.

Thank you both for your input! I now have 3 beautiful ducklings...no clue what type they are. The eggs were given to me as a barnyard mix

That gray baby is so shy!!! LOL


And 2 of these babies have that crazy tuff on the back of its head?

So a little more advice...difference between setting up a duckling brooder from a chick brooder...if any?

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thank you both for your input! I now have 3 beautiful ducklings...no clue what type they are. The eggs were given to me as a barnyard mix:/ That gray baby is so shy!!! LOL And 2 of these babies have that crazy tuff on the back of its head? So a little more advice...difference between setting up a duckling brooder from a chick brooder...if any?

The tuft on the head is a crest... crested ducks *can be* prone to neurological issues, just an fyi in case you run into any... Brooder doesn't need to be quite as warm as for chicks and you can wean them off the heat a bit quicker too... water setup is the biggest difference... they need a deeper waterer, deep enough to dunk their heads in and clean out their nares and eyes... best to put their waterer on a shallow pan, like a baking dish, with mesh across the top to catch all the water waste so it doesn't soak their brooder... Also, what are you feeding them? Ducks have a Niacin deficiency and most chick starter doesn't contain enough for ducks, even when it says for chicks and ducklings...

 

[Calichicken2015]

The tuft on the head is a crest... crested ducks *can be* prone to neurological issues, just an fyi in case you run into any...

Brooder doesn't need to be quite as warm as for chicks and you can wean them off the heat a bit quicker too... water setup is the biggest difference... they need a deeper waterer, deep enough to dunk their heads in and clean out their nares and eyes... best to put their waterer on a shallow pan, like a baking dish, with mesh across the top to catch all the water waste so it doesn't soak their brooder...

Also, what are you feeding them? Ducks have a Niacin deficiency and most chick starter doesn't contain enough for ducks, even when it says for chicks and ducklings...

Thank you for the info! Neurological issues? What do I look for and is there anything I can do to prevent it?. Ok..I will change the water set up. And my feed does say for chicks and ducks

Do they make a feed especially for ducks I can get a the local TSC?

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thank you for the info! Neurological issues? What do I look for and is there anything I can do to prevent it?. Ok..I will change the water set up. And my feed does say for chicks and ducks :/   Do they make a feed especially for ducks I can get a the local TSC?

Most crested ducks are fine, but some can end up with issues... fine motor control, head twitches, etc... breeding crested to crested is not recommended as it causes many to not hatch or be born with severe issues... look up crested ducks and neurological issues, it should tell you more... I don't have them personally, but the issue comes from the crest being formed by fatty tissue that actually pokes through a hole in their skull...

If you got duMor feed from TSC, then no it's not adequate... most TSC's do stock Purina Flock Raiser, it's formulated with higher Niacin and is fine to feed them from hatch to lay...