Ducklings and water

[Wifezilla]

Some say a week, some say 6 months. I say if you are watching them and don't leave them in too long...you can put them in water within days. Just dry em off afterwards and put them back in a warm brooder. No problem

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
More ducklings die from becoming chilled in water than drown! Very young ducklings cannot regulate their body temperature. As they become chilled they quit moving around and just drift off to death. They can often be brought back by warming back to normal temperature. When a mother duck takes her kids to water she pretty much knows this by instinct. She will either get them ashore and brood them with her body heat or does what makes those oh so cute pictures of pulling them out and sticking them on her back tucked between the back and the wing. as the come around from the heat you will see them sticking their head out from under the wing.
If you are going to play mommy duck you need to do the same, keep an eye on them and rewarm them when they START to show signs of chilling. Even the ones you are sure are dead can often be brought back by rewarming. It is always worth a try , what do you have to lose?

 

[my1stchicks]

If you put them in the tub make sure the water is warm too and have a soft towel ready to dry them off.

 

[rainplace]

At 7 weeks my ducks had full time access to a pond.

As ducklings I set up a baking dish and let them take little swims while under close supervision. When I took them out I would wrap them in a towel for a few seconds to get the access water off them, then set them down back under the heat lamp.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
I'm wondering about the warm water thing. It seems to me that whenever I put the ducklings in warm water they got waterlogged quicker and thus started shivering sooner. Was it just my imagination? I've never really known for sure.

 

[my1stchicks]

Quote:
I'm wondering about the warm water thing. It seems to me that whenever I put the ducklings in warm water they got waterlogged quicker and thus started shivering sooner. Was it just my imagination? I've never really known for sure.

I never really noticed them getting cold sooner, at least mine didn't. Guess it depends on the duck.

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

My ducklings were 9 and 6 days old when they took their first bath. I supervised them, they were in for about 5-10 mins.


Just an FYI- duckies LOVE to poop while they're swimming- don't think that would be good for a 2 yr old to take a bath in.

 

[lovesduckies]

my duckies were a week old i think when i got them. the first thing i did was fill up the kitchen sink about 2 inches with luke warm water and gave my duckies a bath. they came from a flea market so i figured that was the most important. then i put them in the play pen i have set up for them in my room with a heat lamp. i let them dry themselves off. they hated me to dry them off and i didn't want to force them and cause them stress since it was their new home. they were fine and are still fine. i gave them luke warm baths for the first few weeks and now they are taking baths in cold water. i also had a pretty good sized dish for water that they played in when they were babies. they are too big for that now but my little girl still goes in sometimes and makes a mess.

good luck!!

 

[newchickmom09]

My ducklings were 1 week and 3 weeks old when I got them. The people that had them before me would just throw them in there pool and let them swim.

Then after, the poor little one wouldn't be able to walk and just fall over. So when I got the ducks they told me this. (don't get me started on how they took care of these poor ducks before I got them) I had a tiny baby pool and would fill it up just about 2 inches deep. That was just enough for them to swim in but shallow enough for the younger duck to stand up in if she got tired. It was still warm and summer time when I got them so the sun dried them off.

I would say once they are strong enough to stand and walk around then they are strong enough to go swimming. So maybe around day 3 or 4. Just put them in a little bit of water, watch closely because you will be able to tell when they are getting tired, dry them off real quick with a towel, and then back in the warm brooder.

Or when you find them trying to get into there waterer then you will now they are old enough. I think it is Wifezilla who has a pitcure of her little duckling sitting in the water dish.