every day it's something new....

[Halizabeth]

Hi! New to backyard ducks. Hard to believe they are only 4 weeks old...1 Khaki Campbell named Chocolate (with potential change to Coco in the future) and 1 Pekin still nameless at the moment, but has been called Chub Chub lately cause she is growing like crazy!! They are sooooo big!! We have changed brooder sizes throughout the past few weeks, we have changed water bowl sizes, spots, ideas, contraptions.. whatever it takes to keep them dryer in the house!! today's new things is their water contraption. They grew from a small bowl, to a larger bowl that we had to add something in the center so they would just dunk their heads and not their FEET lol. eventually we placed the water bowl in a larger bowl to keep the water from flying into the wood shavings as their bills got larger and the backwash was flying out. We place the water bowl in a kitty litter pan and kept it raised on a bed of shaving which kept the water mess absorbed and doubled as a place for them to "root" through searching for bugs I guess. And today we are using a larger bowl for water since our Pekin duck's bill is growing faster than Pinocchio's!! To keep it lower in the pan we are not using the wood chips anymore... so i placed towels in to absorb excess water... and they are still sitting and nibbling at those wet towels over an hour later. So it is givng them some busy work to keep they happy till the weather is suitable for an outside day again.
Happy Quacks to you all!! Beth

 

[cmillerrun89]

So cute! Ducklings totally require us to get creative with their messy habits haha.

Do they ever stop messing with the pine flakes? I have puppy pads in my brooder right now and large pine flakes underneath from Tractor Supply, but I'm afraid to do all flakes because anytime they see one they just have to put it in their mouth! I'm afraid of them eating them.

 

[Halizabeth]

when I have them outside the are mouthing the dry leaves and just put them back down when they are done so I think they are just mouthing the pine shavings too. And mostly they are just rooting through them for the water. they love searching through them.

 

[cmillerrun89]

That's what I noticed too, they kind of chew on them and eventually spit them out. I think I'll make the switch by the end of the week. I think they would entertain themselves digging around in them. Thanks!

 

[lomine]

Nice water feature you have there. Ducks and their water, it's a constant battle.

Is your Pekin always or mostly always laying down? I had a WH that started laying down a lot at this age. I discovered she needed more niacin than the recommended amounts. I increased the brewers yeast and she was up and running with the others a week later.

@cmillerrun89 If you have puppy pads put them under the pine shavings. It makes it a lot easier to clean up. You can just lift the pad and take it all. And you don't need to use as many shavings.

 

[CarleeAnn]

I used pine shavings, my ducks just “foraged” through them when in the brooder.

They still get happy when I get a new bag for their nesting spot! They have this sweet quack and then they dig through the fresh bedding. Ducks are so fun!!

 

[Halizabeth]

Is your Pekin always or mostly always laying down? I had a WH that started laying down a lot at this age. I discovered she needed more niacin than the recommended amounts. I increased the brewers yeast and she was up and running with the others a week later.

I increased the Niacin last week after seeing a post on here with a Pekin having leg issues....... with extra brewers yeast and a b12 complex vitamin disolved in their food. My Pekin does lay around more than the Khaki Campbell and seems to walk heavy on his legs. I have seen impovement since the extra Niacin. There is sooooooo much to learn. This forum is so valuable. Thank you for checking in, I hope I'm doing enough Niacin. I read they need 10mg a day at this age and the vitamin has 25mg. The brewers yeast has almost 6mg and I add 3 servings of that also.

 

[lomine]

I increased the Niacin last week after seeing a post on here with a Pekin having leg issues....... with extra brewers yeast and a b12 complex vitamin disolved in their food. My Pekin does lay around more than the Khaki Campbell and seems to walk heavy on his legs. I have seen impovement since the extra Niacin. There is sooooooo much to learn. This forum is so valuable. Thank you for checking in, I hope I'm doing enough Niacin. I ready 10mg a day and the vitamin has 25mg. The brewers yeast has almost 6mg and I add 3 servings of that also.

Yes I've read that Pekin can have more problems since they grow so big so fast. You caught it early and since he isn't showing more severe signs I'm sure the niacin increase will be enough. You don't want to give too much either. As long as you see a steady improvement you are doing good.

 

[Halizabeth]

This is my Pekin walking..... she seems thumpy and heavy ... is this normal for her breed or is it too little Niacin? Thanks for any advice. Sorry the video is sideways ha I am new to duck and loading video........

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

@onaharley is this how pekins waddle?