Ducklings!

[Quatie]

The ducklings might be saxony. They have very subtle head markings that can be hard to see. And one looks like it has the slightly darker tail feathers they have.

 

[KaleIAm]

So it’s not necessary?

I didn't put rocks in my ducklings' water bowl. I basically lived with them for the first few weeks though, lol, so I would have known right away if they spilled something!

 

[noodledog]

Rocks in the water bowl would stop them from getting wet. Their preen glands won't work until they're at least a few weeks old, so they aren't waterproof yet and they can get waterlogged easily. If they aren't dried off they can get chilled. Supervised swimming in warm water is best until their preen glands work.

For water, either rocks in a bowl, or holes cut in a container big enough for them to fit their heads into would be best. Congrats on the babies, they're adorable

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

The ducklings might be saxony. They have very subtle head markings that can be hard to see. And one looks like it has the slightly darker tail feathers they have.

Yes. Their heads have a bit of dark shade. I’ll see if I can take some more pictures tommorrow of their “runner” stance and their markings, but the roads are totally iced over. Also, they might not all be the same breed. At ace, they mainly sell purebreds, but sometimes you have a chance of getting mixed. They get their poultry from Hoover’s Hatchery and they sell random breeds. It’s buy one get one free for any of the birds they have there, so we’ve always gotten two because they sell in pairs. I’m not entirely sure, but I think this was the first year they sold ducklings. We got a free third duckling because the fourth one that was supposed to be a pair with the third one died unexpectedly, so we got the third one for free because poor little guy couldn’t be left alone.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Rocks in the water bowl would stop them from getting wet. Their preen glands won't work until they're at least a few weeks old, so they aren't waterproof yet and they can get waterlogged easily. If they aren't dried off they can get chilled. Supervised swimming in warm water is best until their preen glands work.

For water, either rocks in a bowl, or holes cut in a container big enough for them to fit their heads into would be best. Congrats on the babies, they're adorable

Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to ask if I have any questions! One question lol, when can they go outside? I have no intention at ALL of taking them outside soon because 1) they are still too young and 2) it’s below freezing. They are a week old.

 

[Quatie]

Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to ask if I have any questions! One question lol, when can they go outside? I have no intention at ALL of taking them outside soon because 1) they are still too young and 2) it’s below freezing. They are a week old.

With your temps, you will want to wait till they are fully feathered. That is about 5 to 6 weeks old.

Also hoover's hatchery has pictures of all their duckling and chicks so you can try and identify them. TSC sells ducklings from hoover's hatchery and they are all different breeds mixed together. I got 6 Pekins and 1 saxony. We went to get 6 ducklings, ended up bringing 7 home because we could not leave the last one behind. I spent so many hours trying to figure out what my saxony duckling was.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

With your temps, you will want to wait till they are fully feathered. That is about 5 to 6 weeks old.

Also hoover's hatchery has pictures of all their duckling and chicks so you can try and identify them. TSC sells ducklings from hoover's hatchery and they are all different breeds mixed together. I got 6 Pekins and 1 saxony. We went to get 6 ducklings, ended up bringing 7 home because we could not leave the last one behind. I spent so many hours trying to figure out what my saxony duckling was.

Thank you

 

[Percipen]

I'm sorry if this was already mentioned, but they should be on duck pellets, not chicken feed and they do need grit to digest their food as well. They sure are cute. Nothing's better than duckling snuggles

 

[DucksAreBest]

@Percipen made a good point.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I'm sorry if this was already mentioned, but they should be on duck pellets, not chicken feed and they do need grit to digest their food as well. They sure are cute. Nothing's better than duckling snuggles

Yep. They have duck pellets that were sold to me with them. How do I give them grit?