Ducklings in water

[ducklings5405]

So I heard that ducklings who are hatched naturally under a mother duck are able to swim ASAP because their mother rubs a natural oil on their fluff to make them waterproof and buoyant but incubator ducklings don’t receive this from their mother. This means that they can become waterlogged and drown in water. I was advised to wait 8 weeks until their fluff turns to feathers to allow swimming. There is a lot of debate about how long to wait until they can swim, does anyone have experience with this?

 

[Cayden05]

I let my ducklings swim once they are at least a few days old. Then monitor them don’t let them be in there for too long as they will tire. Then eventually drown. But that is my opinion you can wait until however long you want.