So I've been reading around online, and couple days ago signed on here because my turkey got sick. my chicken and ducks have been fine so far. They are all 3 weeks old.
the 2 ducks we got are Pekin as far as we know. so my questions:
1) how long before they're "fullsize"???
2) how long before they get their feathers and stop having "fur"??? (what is that "fur" called)
3) one of them makes more "quack" like noises, while the other one makes more "peep" like noises. does that mean anything???
4) They don't seem to really come out of the garage much unless I'm outside with them and sitting outside with them. Yesterday it was in the high30's, low40's and raining/sleeting and when I went to check on them, they were sitting next to the garage under the trailer, but close enough to the edge that they were getting rained on. They didn't seem to mind or want to follow me in the garage for over an hour. Then they finally went back inside on their own. Today it's sunny and mid-high 40's, and they spend about an hour in the yard playing in the grass while I sat outside with them, but as soon as I went back in the house, they disapeared back into the garage. Why won't they play/sit outside???
5) I don't see alot of racoons round here anymore after having taken out 15 racoons in my garden shed in 1 week last summer. since then I haven't seen a single trace of a racoon, and only 1 possum. My idea is that all my birds will free-range during the day, and was wondering if the ducks/geese could stay out by themselves, or if they have to be locked up at night. I mean there are ducks and geese out in the wild every night and they seem to survive somehow right??? or which ingredient am I missing for them to stay free-range 24/7???
6) do ducks/cats generally get along??? I was a little worried since we have 6 barn cats as pets that sleep out in the garden shed, but they seem to have taken to the ducks quite well. they watch them, lay down near them, and the ducks actually let one of the cats brush up on them today.
7) how long before ducks start laying eggs???
8) hold heavy do peking ducks get???
9) do peking ducks fly regularly, or do they mostly just walk everywhere???
10) what signs can I look for at what ages to be able to tell what sex they are???
at 3 weeks old they already grew so much that I had to kick them out. They are right now temporarily staying in my garage with the door closed at night so they don't get eaten. I have 2 heat lamps in the garage for them, but whenever I check on them, or try to peak through the window at night, they are never anywhere near the lamps. Last couple nights it was in the 30's and I was a little worried about them, but figured that between being completely out of the wind, and having 2 heat lamps if they want, that they should be fine. well both times that I looked through the window, they were more than 8 feet away from the lamps. Do they generally prefer colder temperatures, or why do my ducks seem to avoid the heat lamps??? Come to think of it, they have avoided the heat lamps since we first brought them home. the more space I gave them, the more they stayed away from the heat lamps. When they were less than a week old, I put them in a 6 foot long cage that I build, and they stayed the full 6 feet away from the heat lamps except right after they played in their water.
Thanks in advance for all the help/answers.
the 2 ducks we got are Pekin as far as we know. so my questions:
1) how long before they're "fullsize"???
2) how long before they get their feathers and stop having "fur"??? (what is that "fur" called)
3) one of them makes more "quack" like noises, while the other one makes more "peep" like noises. does that mean anything???
4) They don't seem to really come out of the garage much unless I'm outside with them and sitting outside with them. Yesterday it was in the high30's, low40's and raining/sleeting and when I went to check on them, they were sitting next to the garage under the trailer, but close enough to the edge that they were getting rained on. They didn't seem to mind or want to follow me in the garage for over an hour. Then they finally went back inside on their own. Today it's sunny and mid-high 40's, and they spend about an hour in the yard playing in the grass while I sat outside with them, but as soon as I went back in the house, they disapeared back into the garage. Why won't they play/sit outside???
5) I don't see alot of racoons round here anymore after having taken out 15 racoons in my garden shed in 1 week last summer. since then I haven't seen a single trace of a racoon, and only 1 possum. My idea is that all my birds will free-range during the day, and was wondering if the ducks/geese could stay out by themselves, or if they have to be locked up at night. I mean there are ducks and geese out in the wild every night and they seem to survive somehow right??? or which ingredient am I missing for them to stay free-range 24/7???
6) do ducks/cats generally get along??? I was a little worried since we have 6 barn cats as pets that sleep out in the garden shed, but they seem to have taken to the ducks quite well. they watch them, lay down near them, and the ducks actually let one of the cats brush up on them today.
7) how long before ducks start laying eggs???
8) hold heavy do peking ducks get???
9) do peking ducks fly regularly, or do they mostly just walk everywhere???
10) what signs can I look for at what ages to be able to tell what sex they are???
at 3 weeks old they already grew so much that I had to kick them out. They are right now temporarily staying in my garage with the door closed at night so they don't get eaten. I have 2 heat lamps in the garage for them, but whenever I check on them, or try to peak through the window at night, they are never anywhere near the lamps. Last couple nights it was in the 30's and I was a little worried about them, but figured that between being completely out of the wind, and having 2 heat lamps if they want, that they should be fine. well both times that I looked through the window, they were more than 8 feet away from the lamps. Do they generally prefer colder temperatures, or why do my ducks seem to avoid the heat lamps??? Come to think of it, they have avoided the heat lamps since we first brought them home. the more space I gave them, the more they stayed away from the heat lamps. When they were less than a week old, I put them in a 6 foot long cage that I build, and they stayed the full 6 feet away from the heat lamps except right after they played in their water.
Thanks in advance for all the help/answers.