Ducklings - questions (advice welcome also) :)

[xx_li_xx]

Hello everyone,

I just had a couple questions, we have 7 little ducklings - they are all inside in a brooder set up and will be for at least 4 weeks then I plan to move to garage before introducing to our other 3.

My questions are... when can we start taking them outside to venture close by to us for a few minutes a day?
When can we start letting them have a couple mins swim - supervised of course.
also how is best to introduce them to our other 3 ... they are 11 weeks now. we wont be keeping all the ducklings, only 1 or two females is the plan (we have 4 females and 3 males) ... although I kinda want them all haha, but i am wanting to get them all use to people, outside etc .

Thank you

 

[FortCluck]

@Miss Lydia can help. She's really good with ducks.

 

[CoriM]

We just had ducklings this summer - 3 pekins and 3 welsh harlequins. When they were about a week old we let them "swim" in a pie plate of warm water for a few minutes. They loved running around and playing in that. Just keep it lukewarm and shallow. Within weeks they graduated to the bathtub, but I always put something in there for them to stand on when they were tired. Kept those swims only about ten minutes long. Before they get feathers they can get too wet. They don't have their moms to put the oil on their baby feathers. This also means after their swim it's good to towel them off and get them to a warm place.

We had ours in summer so it was nice and warm outside, which would influence when you bring the babies out for the first time. We let them play in the grass outside close by us for a short time starting when they were a week or two old - just to get used to it. I think the main thing there is you want to be watching them closely, and not make them walk too far.

Ducklings are so fun and cute - wish I could do it all over again!

 

[DuckyDonna]

It depends on how warm it is outside. If it's a nice sunny day you could let them run around on the grass for a little bit. When I hatch mine it's usually around the first of June and it's very warm here in Georgia (about 90° F) so during that time I let them out to play in a couple of days.

I know you're in the UK so I looked up the London weather forecast and I see that it's pretty chilly there so I would wait a few days to take them outside. You don't want them to get chilled because they don't have any feathers yet. 60° F seems cold to me.

 

[PirateGirl]

They can start having supervised swim and trips outside now! You just have to watch them for signs of chill and get them somewhere warm and dry when needed. Shivering, standing still or laying down instead of actively swimming or exploring are signs they may be getting chilled and/or tired and need to go back the the safety and warmth of the brooder.

 

[Miss Lydia]

When introducing try putting the ducklings in a small enclosed area where the older ones can see them. Keep this up for at least a week or two. Give the newbies a chance to get their legs under them real good then start trying to have so supervised time with them all. By the time the younger are old enough to go outside everyone should be use to each other. And don’t forget the pictures

 

[xx_li_xx]

Thank you everyone. I will wait for a day its a little less urgh outside and take them out for a couple mins. I also think I will wait a few days then workout a plan with the other 3 and inductions.
We have them all indoors so they are nice and warm and they are getting plenty of love and handling and are doing really well.

Another question if anyone is available to offer advice ... I will be keeping at least one female and never planned to add a drake to my flock, however we have all fallen in love with our box baby (he is called this as original we ordered 10 eggs not realising there was no way 10 would fit in our incubator and the lady who sent us the eggs then sent us 12, so we ended up with 4 we had no room in incubator for- I couldn’t bare that so we set up a makeshift incubator with a box , towels, a lamp etc and popped 4 in there - we always knew it probably wouldn’t amount to anything as we couldn’t stabilise the temp etc but figured it was worth a try ... anyway 2 of them ended up infertile and then one failed to develop and box baby made it against all odds, we had one infertile in the incubator so at day 10 we took that infertile one out and popped in box baby and he made it all the way to hatch day and hatched with all the others- he was last out and was slightly weaker but you wouldn’t even know that know, he’s probably the craziest of them all, anyway back to my question) so we all now feel this attachment to keep him, we currently have 3 females outside, at the least one of these girls will be staying and hopefully we plan to incubate some cayugas and add a female Cayuga to our flock, if we were so keep a male would that be ok? So 4 girls to one male.
I don’t want to be making separate enclosures , or housing him on his own really as I assume that’s quite lonely and I don’t think my neighbours will appreciate double the amount of ducks just so I can get him a friend haha. I wouldn’t be breeding as they are all mixed breeds so I assume not ideal and I know I can’t house him with one female either if I were to separate him with one of his breed.

Would that ratio work? Or am I best keeping to my plan of females only. We only have them as pets and for eggs- only incubating for the fun and experience and the fact we hope having them from hatch will make for some tamer ducks than the 3 we got outside already.

Any advice as always greatly appreciated.

 

[Miss Lydia]

4 or more is best, But don’t forget the pics. Box baby how precious

 

[DuckyDonna]

I think that is fine. You just have to watch come spring and make sure little box boy isn't going crazy with mating. If he is you can figure out a way to separate him.