Duckling Pictures, Breed ID needed! Check 6th post

silkieluvr

Songster
12 Years
Sep 20, 2007
944
1
159
Marin, California
So today, my dad was at work when he noticed two TINY baby ducklings wandering around outside the dealership. He went out to see what they were doing and then noticed a dead duck, most likely there mother, though the poor thing was too torn apart to really tell male or female or even what breed it was. So long story short, I now have 6 orphaned ducklings and have never had ducks before. Here's a few pictures, I'm pretty sure they're mallards but not entirely positive. Thanks for any tips you guys can give me!

Two look like this one:
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The other four look like this:
Photo10.jpg

Photo11.jpg
 
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get some chick starter crumbles-no medicated-water-lots of water! you cannot leave them alone in the water-( I mean a deep amount of water)they may not have gotten alot of "oil" on their feathers to repell water -from their mom on their feathers yet-so they will get "water logged fast" but they need water to eat at all times-they are very messy and poop ALOT-but so loving! a shallow pan with water is fine inch or two....they should be fine. Be preparred to clean their place alot-you should try and get a hold of a rescue center to take the ducks just in case they are illegal to own??? I have 1 duck his mess alone BLEAH
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-good luck and thank you for helping them
 
They are not more than a day or so old from the looks of them... here is the information I received from Holderread Waterfowl Farm with my new ducklings...hope it helps



A Dozen Suggestions for Starting Your Ducklings and Goslings

l. Expect your hatchlings to arrive 12-36 hours after shipment. Notify your post office of the expected shipment of day-olds, and ask to be called upon their arrival. It's advisable to pick up your birds at the post office.

2. Upon the birds' arrival, be sure to keep them warm until they are placed in the brooding area. Open the shipping box only in a warm environment. Check the underside of the box lid for order content information.

3. As you take the birds from the box and place them in the pre-warmed brooding area, immediately dip each of their bills in the waterer to make sure that they drink promptly. Initially give lukewarm water with 1 tsp. honey or corn syrup per quart and chopped greens (described in #6). Do not give feed for as least an hour after giving birds water and greens. Thereafter, we recommend adding a water-soluble vitamin mix formulated for baby poultry to the water for the first 5 to 7 days. Because waterfowl drink more than twice as much water as chickens, use vitamin mixes at 1/2 the recommended rate for baby chicks. Never use REN-O SAL on ducks and geese.

4. ONLY use waterers that the birds can drink from easily BUT WHICH THEY CANNOT GET INTO AND GET SOAKED!

5. Supply the birds with fresh feed that has been formulated specifically for young poultry. In the order of preference, we recommend starting hatchlings on one of these feeds: duck starter or broiler starter (we highly recommend Purina's Flock Raiser ration when a duck/goose starter is unavailable). By themselves, chick starter is low in niacin, and turkey and gamebird starters are excessively high in protein (forcing young waterfowl to grow too fast). However, using a mix of 1 part chick starter and 1 part turkey of gamebird starter normally makes a good ration for baby waterfowl. Use only fresh feed and NEVER give laying rations to young waterfowl. In our experience, so-called "all purpose" or "triple duty" feeds normally are unsatisfactory if used as the sole ration for waterfowl during the first 8 weeks. We highly recommend the additional information on feeding and nutrition covered in Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, The Book of Geese and Wing Disorders in Waterfowl.


6. Green feed (lettuce, spinach, tender young grass, etc.) chopped to 1/4-inch lengths and sprinkled in the water and on the feed helps get goslings as well as ducklings to eat quickly, and off to a fast start.

7. The correct brooding temperature is 90-92o F the first 3 days and 85-90o F for days 4 to7. Thereafter, drop the brooding temperature approximately 5o F per week. Birds must always be able to get away from the heat source to avoid the damaging effects of overheating.

8. Allow a minimum of 1/2 square foot of floor space for each duckling the first week, 1 square foot the second week, and 2 square feet to 4 weeks of age. Double these figures for goslings.

9. Do not start waterfowl on smooth floors (such as newspaper) which can cause spraddled legs. Wire mesh floor is ideal. If bedding is used, cover it with burlap or coarse cloth for the first day to prevent the birds from eating the litter while they learn what feed is.

10. Make sure the brooding area is draft-free and provides protection from predators, including rats, cats and dogs.

11. After arriving at their new home, your baby waterfowl need warmth, drinking water, fresh food and rest. Check on them regularly to make sure they are comfortable, but avoid handling them the first several days.

12. And most of all, enjoy your new charges. Ducklings and goslings are exceptionally hardy and fast growing, and watching their adolescent antics is entertaining. Happy duck and goose raising!
 
The top one looks like a mallard to me. The bottom two don't. Maybe you could post a better pic of the whole duck?

They are cute!
 
maybe domestic mixed ducks someone had, and dumped momma and babies??

I dunno, people dump cats and dogs with young pups/kittens all the time, so anything is possible, they don't look like muscovies to me, thats why I said that...they're cute!
 
My dad works in Mill Valley california where the bay has a small inlet and where he works is literally 50 feet from the water so there are lots of different wild waterfowl around which gives me reason to think they are wild and weren't just abandoned considering how that area has few to no houses in the surrounding area. Here are some better pictures of one of the four lighter ducklings. All 6 of them are thriving at the moment
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that they continue doing so well!

Group Shot:
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Photo14.jpg


Photo15.jpg



Photo16.jpg


The light chicks are kind of brownish yellow with dark brown stripes on the top of there heads, dark beaks and feet, a stripe down there backs, dark tails, and faint lines coming off of there eyes. Sorry for the poor picture quality, hopefully I can get some better ones soon, but if anyone has ideas of what they might be, I'd love to know!
 
I've seen ducklings like those yellow ones at the local park where I used to live, they were just Hienz 57 ducklings, they were hatched by a momma that looked like a black swedish,HER momma was a wild mallard, they were my grand-duckies so to speak LOL, because I'd known the momma since she was a baby lol


I want em, give em to me!
 

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