Colorado

[PirateGirl]

Time for an update.
The 2 bachelor ganders have been very interested in the goslings so I figured I would give them the late hatcher and see if they would raise her. She scooted under the fence into the other goose pen and ran right up to daddy. 10 seconds later she was part of the group. Checked in on them a few times at night and everything seemed fine. This morning she ran out of the pen with the other goslings like she belongs.
Amazing how quickly they grow. 2 1/2 weeks old. Off heat and outside at one week. So much easier than chicks.View attachment 1389061

This is interesting. I failed at getting any of my girls to adopt my ducklings, none of them care. When I have them out on the opposite side of the fence to get used to each other, the drake is extremely interested in them. Perhaps he would be the one to raise them? How did you give your ganders the baby? What made you feel it was safe (or not)? I would love if my drake would nurture the babies and protect them if any of the other ducks decided to be mean. I have a feeling if he accepts them, it means they will all accept them, because after all he is the boss.

Also your flock looks great. I wish I was ready for geese, but I'm trying to be semi-responsible and wait until we have more land and our neighbors aren't as close as they are. Another question... so it's ok for them to be off heat even though they don't have adult feathers? I've been thinking of pulling the plug on the heat on my ducklings, but am not sure how to know if they are ready. I figure I can always turn it back on after trips outside or after swimming if they need to really warm up.

 

[Percheron chick]

I would try the drake. Put him in the pen with the babies and see what happens. Do it when you have some time to spend outside with them. My first gander raised 3 goslings. After just spending 5 minutes with babies, he was hooked. He flipped out when I took the babies away ( they were 5 weeks old) so I was comfortable putting them together.
How old are they? I turned the heat off in the brooder at one week. House is 60* at night. Put them in the barn at 10 days no heat with 10 3 week old chicks. Nights are mid 40's.

 

[PirateGirl]

I would try the drake. Put him in the pen with the babies and see what happens. Do it when you have some time to spend outside with them. My first gander raised 3 goslings. After just spending 5 minutes with babies, he was hooked. He flipped out when I took the babies away ( they were 5 weeks old) so I was comfortable putting them together.
How old are they? I turned the heat off in the brooder at one week. House is 60* at night. Put them in the barn at 10 days no heat with 10 3 week old chicks. Nights are mid 40's.

I have two ducklings. They are about 3+ weeks old and supposed to be sexed females. They just have fluff and pin feathers, but no real adult feathers to speak of. They are turning into little porcupines. I finally feel like they are of a size that they are not so delicate. I have the heat lamp on but now its a good 3 feet from the brooder floor. The house is kept around 60* I'm fairly confident I can shut the light off during the day at least. Maybe this afternoon I will try them with the drake but separate from the rest of the flock. If he likes them, honestly, the way the girls ignore the ducklings, I'm not worried about them. I think the drake is more curious than anything else. Hmm... I'd never considered him raising them, but if they can move in with the flock soon, that would be great!

 

[lomine]

I think this is more about broody raised versus brooder raised. I wouldn't leave 3 week old ducklings without heat right now. Those goslings can tuck themselves under the parents when they get chilled. I've got a bunch of chicks running around the coop right now with no heat. The 6 week old ones have been fine for a while but all the younger ones (1-3 weeks) have a broody hen to tuck under. My ducklings have a heat plate to get under when they need it.

I've never heard of a drake brooding ducklings but that would be cool to see.

 

[PirateGirl]

I think this is more about broody raised versus brooder raised. I wouldn't leave 3 week old ducklings without heat right now. Those goslings can tuck themselves under the parents when they get chilled. I've got a bunch of chicks running around the coop right now with no heat. The 6 week old ones have been fine for a while but all the younger ones (1-3 weeks) have a broody hen to tuck under. My ducklings have a heat plate to get under when they need it.

I've never heard of a drake brooding ducklings but that would be cool to see.

I am doubtful about the drake raising them, but I may try. They need to meet without the fence between them eventually. Maybe I will build an escape box that the ducklings can run/hide in but the drake cant fit through the door.

In terms of heat, I feel they still need it after swimming or to warm up after our trips outside. I'm not sure they need it in the house (human house, not duck house) during the day. We'll see how it all goes.

 

[lomine]

I am doubtful about the drake raising them, but I may try. They need to meet without the fence between them eventually. Maybe I will build an escape box that the ducklings can run/hide in but the drake cant fit through the door.

In terms of heat, I feel they still need it after swimming or to warm up after our trips outside. I'm not sure they need it in the house (human house, not duck house) during the day. We'll see how it all goes.

You might be safe to turn the lamp off during the day but I would still keep it on at night. If they get too cold you will know it. With my very first ducklings I used a heat lamp in the house and it was terrible having to sleep across the hall from that heat so I get why you want it off. This is why I like the heating plates versus the lamps. The chicks and ducklings can use it whenever they need and I don't have to worry about heating the whole house/room. It also makes it easier when I move them from the house to the coop at one week old. I don't have to worry about fire danger with a heating plate. I think it also encourages faster feather growth because it's more natural.

 

[PirateGirl]

You might be safe to turn the lamp off during the day but I would still keep it on at night. If they get too cold you will know it. With my very first ducklings I used a heat lamp in the house and it was terrible having to sleep across the hall from that heat so I get why you want it off. This is why I like the heating plates versus the lamps. The chicks and ducklings can use it whenever they need and I don't have to worry about heating the whole house/room. It also makes it easier when I move them from the house to the coop at one week old. I don't have to worry about fire danger with a heating plate. I think it also encourages faster feather growth because it's more natural.

I like the idea of the heating plate too, but already had a lamp and bulb on hand. I managed to set up a brooder without buying anything special! I did find nutritional yeast at Whole Foods in the end and have been adding that and nutridrench and now the weaker duckling is the bigger of the two and rarely falls/sits. Her legs are getting way stronger. She could always walk but I felt like she rested way more in a seated position) than the other duckling and would lose her balance if she was standing still.

 

[PirateGirl]

How did everyone survive the weather the past few days? I had plans to camp with friends from different parts of the state and we called it off due to the fact that things looked terrible pretty much everywhere! We had quite a bit of thunder snow, along with much needed rain and hail, but never the predicted winds (a nice surprise). I didn't get as far on garden projects as I had hoped, but I did manage to build a relatively secure separation pen for the ducklings (or the drake), so everyone can play nice outside if the weather cooperates. I would like to add a better top/roof to it so I can ultimately leave them all day/night in it and have them be safe, but I like to think by the time the ducklings are big enough to be outdoors 24 hours a day that everyone will get along and I won't need to use a separate pen for anyone. Also in the past week I've managed to score 4 free windows so my garden boxes will become hot boxes and I won't have to contend with rolls of plastic to cover things when it's cold! I'm very excited about this, but now need to build a few frames to hold the windows in place properly. I also picked up the last of the seeds/bulbs I plan on trying this year. I can't wait to get them in the ground, but typically try to wait until memorial day to plant anything outdoors.

 

[emrya]

so far so good- was a bit worried about my week old chicks last night when we lost power for a few hours, but the garage was warm enough they didn't have any trouble.

 

[lomine]

I rather enjoyed the cooler weather but the high winds made it hard to dig holes for all the baby trees I have. I still have so many left to plant. I don't know what i was thinking buying so many of them. I also need to finish rebuilding my old chicken coop to be my new quail coop, install fencing to separate an area for my new bucklings, and put together a garden so I can actually grow something this year.

Right now I'm just feeling grateful. My dog's initial cancer prognosis was not supported by the more sophisticated tests so she doesn't need to have chemotherapy treatment.