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Sunflower0306

Sunflower0306

Chirping
Jan 29, 2025
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Greetings! Bear with me I’m new on here. So much information and I definitely need it.. I am new to raising ducks. I have a male/Drake peeking and a female magpie. She hatched six ducklings within the last 24 hours. We are in the thick of January in the Midwest. They seem to be doing OK one though I have been keeping an eye out for it doesn’t seem as active as the others. Mom is super protective. I have them in a safe place in the barn with a heat source and hemp bedding. I have put a shallow dish of water. And another with flock raising food.
So I have so many questions, and probably some I haven’t even thought of yet. Do I need to leave them alone and let nature take its course. I really don’t like stressing mom out.
I will openly receive any comments, suggestions, personal experience, and of course, encouragement. Thanks.

PS… in the second photo, the one that is by itself is the one that isnot as active. I did remove it, brought it in the house and checked it over it perked up quite a bit so I quickly returned it to mom.
 

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Sunflower0306 said:
Greetings! Bear with me I’m new on here. So much information and I definitely need it.. I am new to raising ducks. I have a male/Drake peeking and a female magpie. She hatched six ducklings within the last 24 hours. We are in the thick of January in the Midwest. They seem to be doing OK one though I have been keeping an eye out for it doesn’t seem as active as the others. Mom is super protective. I have them in a safe place in the barn with a heat source and hemp bedding. I have put a shallow dish of water. And another with flock raising food.
So I have so many questions, and probably some I haven’t even thought of yet. Do I need to leave them alone and let nature take its course. I really don’t like stressing mom out.
I will openly receive any comments, suggestions, personal experience, and of course, encouragement. Thanks.

PS… in the second photo, the one that is by itself is the one that isnot as active. I did remove it, brought it in the house and checked it over it perked up quite a bit so I quickly returned it to mom.
Click to expand...
Welcome to BYC! I hope you have fun on here, Also. As for Ducks: I have lots of experience on Ducks, so If you need any help. You can ask me (Or. Most Likely. Anyone on here) And for your Ducklings: If the Ducks seem all good, you should most likely leave them alone. Of course, check on the multiple times a day. To make sure they Don't have splayed legs, a sickness or something
 
Blue Andalusian said:
Welcome to BYC! I hope you have fun on here, Also. As for Ducks: I have lots of experience on Ducks, so If you need any help. You can ask me (Or. Most Likely. Anyone on here) And for your Ducklings: If the Ducks seem all good, you should most likely leave them alone. Of course, check on the multiple times a day. To make sure they Don't have splayed legs, a sickness or something
Click to expand...
If the Mama duck is taking care of the ducklings too
 
:welcome

You may want to post this in our Duck forum, also.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/

Sounds like you're doing fairly well. I would switch them to a Duckling Starter feed though. If that isn't a possibility, get a high protein food (my starter is 23% I think) and supplement with nutritional yeast on top of that for the extra niacin that ducks need.
 
Blue Andalusian said:
If the Mama duck is taking care of the ducklings too
Click to expand...
Mama is doing what mamas do best❣️
I just worry about them getting nutrition. I’ve read they’re good for about 48 hours before they start needing to eat and drink. Has that been your experience? Will mama show them?
We are dealing with unseasonably warm weather for the next week so that is good. We just came out of a deep freeze. But I know those ducklings need to stay pretty warm.
The one that I felt was struggling a little bit. I also noticed its siblings were pecking at him/her a bit. If I do have to pull that one out, is it best to pull another one so it’s not by itself?
 
Canadian Wind said:
:welcome

You may want to post this in our Duck forum, also.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/

Sounds like you're doing fairly well. I would switch them to a Duckling Starter feed though. If that isn't a possibility, get a high protein food (my starter is 23% I think) and supplement with nutritional yeast on top of that for the extra niacin that ducks need.
Click to expand...
I will double check on the bag. This is what was suggested for newly hatched ducklings. I read about the niacin and how important that is also. Thank you very much for your input. 😅
 

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