duckling swim

[JennKH]

my backyard is facing a lake with a lot of ducks. I rescued 3 ducklings, they are 3 weeks old. can I let them free in the backyard? I have been keeping them inside the house at night and during the day, in a playpen area (fence with door) with sun shades, so they can't get out to go to the water, I place 2 wading pools in the playpen. I want to let them free but not sure if this is right thing to do. If they get to the water, how long they can swim? i build a ramp for them, not sure if they will use it. Any suggestion?

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[ruthhope]

I think that three weeks old is too young to free-range on their own in your backyard, They should remain in the penned area with sun shades. At three weeks old, they still need to be supervised in the wading pool as they can get waterlogged. The wading pool should have stones inside to made steps for the ducklings to get out. Ducks are not good on ramps -- any ramp would have to be very shallow, not steep.

My ducks do not go out free-ranging until they are 12 weeks old. They are in the brooder until 4-6 weeks old [depending on numbers of ducklings and how crowded the brooder is] then in the run for another 6-8 weeks. Even introducing new adult ducks, I have them in a run for at least 2 weeks, where they can see my ducks an my ducks can see them, before letting the new ducks free range. I currently have 2 that I am introducing and after both spending time together in the run, I now have one free ranging at a time, so that I always have one I can put back in the coop -- the other wil then follow back to the coop. That way, they learn their way back to the coop and I will not have to go chasing round hte back garden looking for ducks in the evening

 

[Vicktoria Giuergia]

I think that three weeks old is too young to free-range on their own in your backyard, They should remain in the penned area with sun shades. At three weeks old, they still need to be supervised in the wading pool as they can get waterlogged. The wading pool should have stones inside to made steps for the ducklings to get out. Ducks are not good on ramps -- any ramp would have to be very shallow, not steep.

My ducks do not go out free-ranging until they are 12 weeks old. They are in the brooder until 4-6 weeks old [depending on numbers of ducklings and how crowded the brooder is] then in the run for another 6-8 weeks. Even introducing new adult ducks, I have them in a run for at least 2 weeks, where they can see my ducks an my ducks can see them, before letting the new ducks free range. I currently have 2 that I am introducing and after both spending time together in the run, I now have one free ranging at a time, so that I always have one I can put back in the coop -- the other wil then follow back to the coop. That way, they learn their way back to the coop and I will not have to go chasing round hte back garden looking for ducks in the evening

Ducklings grow up so fast & sometimes they act a lot older than thery are. I keep a record of when they are hatched (by name/every one has one) to make sure they are not introduced to something they're not ready for. Although trying out new things isn't a bad idea & if it works fine, if not go to plan B .