Duckling feathering

[pauleberly]

My drake is starting to get his flight feathers, and I noticed his back looked a little rough. Is this normal for a duck starting to feather out?

 

[Orca5094]

Yes, looks normal to me. They look pretty hideous when getting in their adult feathers. I call it the "ugly duckling stage".

 

[pauleberly]

Ok perfect, I just wanted to make sure. Is now a good time to clip their wings or do I need to wait longer?

I always called it ugly teenager stages lol

 

[Orca5094]

Ok perfect, I just wanted to make sure. Is now a good time to clip their wings or do I need to wait longer?

I always called it ugly teenager stages lol

Oh, you'll need to wait until they are fully feathered and the wings have fully come in. They are just the beginnings of their blood feathers starting to come in right now, which you never want to clip because they can actually bleed out. When the wing feathers have fully grown out and you no longer see blood in the feather shafts, it is safe to clip. They'll need at least a few weeks for that I think.

What breed are your ducks? Many domestic breeds cannot fly (they are too heavy) so you don't actually need to clip them.

 

[pauleberly]

They are muscovy. So I want to clip them, but only when they are ready.

I was hoping to catch them today and bring them inside and examine them a little bit closer, but we all know how hard it is to catch ducklings lol

 

[Orca5094]

They are muscovy. So I want to clip them, but only when they are ready.

I was hoping to catch them today and bring them inside and examine them a little bit closer, but we all know how hard it is to catch ducklings lol

Ah, ok. Those you'll need to clip if you don't want them flying off. You have quite awhile yet before they are ready to be clipped. Even after they get their full wing feathers in, it will take awhile for them to figure out flying, so there is no big rush.

 

[pauleberly]

Great. Soon as they warm up to me I want to let them free range. I need to be able to catch them without them flying away lol.

My chickens always come running to me wanting snacks. Maybe the ducks will pick that up from the chickens

 

[bydhatch]

A good way to catch them while free-ranging is to keep treats with you! Let them know you have them and chances are they will follow you or stick near.
I let my 5 week olds out with me and they came when called due to some Cheerios and peas. Haha!

 

[pauleberly]

Well my chickens all for that, I'm not sure about the ducks yet. We didn't get them as ducklings, they were about 5 weeks old and pretty skiddish still. They seem to be warming up slowly, because they love bread lol

 

[bydhatch]

Try peas, greens, strawberries, tomato, scrambled egg, and small amounts of plain Cheerios instead of bread. Bread can be super harmful to ducks. Plus, they probably will love fruits and veggies just as much!