first time owner of three pekin ducklings about 5 weeks old in need of really good advise

[CrystalM]

okay so heres the thing im a new duck owner i have no idea what to do or the dos and donts of caring for them or what and what not to feed them i bought them off a friend who didnt no much her self she told me to feed them crushed oat meal and wheat germ i never gave them wheat germ just the oatmeal for 2 weeks i had them on some type of duck food that was given to me by a different friend i dont no where she got it i had four but one of the duckling died something was wrong with him he hurt his leg and stoped growing he died last week i cant explain how heart broke i am now one out of the three i have seems to be limping i have them with no bedding due to the fact that i dont know what to buy them the bedding i got them from walmart grew mold within two days i put there water in a bowl and being the fact that their so messy ad bassically splash the majority of it out of the bowl i need some major. help how do i help my hurt duck i dont want to lose another duck. ive tried looking up who to take care of them but most of the websites i find arent very helpful considering most of the ones i found were about how there were a good meat source.. like im not trying to eat them there my pets and all the others are about ducks that are already full grown living outside in pen i have seldomly found any reliable info on taking care of them in a house.please can someone help me out a little i would appreciate it alot and so would my little ducks. <3

P.s I have pekin ducklings

 

[Going Quackers]

This should help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

Welcome to byc by the way

 

[CrystalM]

thanks so much i appreciate it. it really did help. might you have any information on things that loo like blisters on the bottom of there feet im getting worried every where i read people have said contact a vet but i don't have the money for a vet i would really appreciate any type advice you have would an antibotic be okay to put on them suck as neosporin or vasiline mabey even poroxide?

 

[ducklover87]

When you say blisters it reminds me of bumblefoot. I've never dealt with it but I can give you a link to a different thread that talks about it. Here's this link its not bumblefoot but may be what your duckling has https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/655945/duckling-bumblefoot. Here's a thread of someone trying to fix the bumblefoot without it being taken to a vet. I didn't read the whole thing but what I did would be helpful https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/286388/sunny-has-bumblefoot-help. To see what bumblefoot looks like Google images will help with that. Good luck and so sorry about your ducks.

 

[Amiga]

If the ducklings are on wet soiled bedding all the time they will have foot problems.

The bedding needs to be as dry as possible. Even old towels make fine bedding if they are changed and kept from getting too wet and soiled. They are reusable, too, and the water from rinsing them is good fertilizer for the lawn or garden.

70%cocoa uses a rabbit hutch with towels over the wire and a pan under the hutch to catch water. Can you get something like that?

Get a tube of triple antibiotic without pain reliever and rub it on the ducklings' feet, top and bottom.

They need a balanced ration, you probably already know that if you read the duckling care sticky. So get them some starter crumbles and if it's for chicks, get the niacin - it does not cost much - and start them on it right away. In fact, I would get them on some niacin right now.

Follow the advice from the sticky, and please keep asking questions and checking in with us here.

Welcome to the Duck Forum!

 

[CrystalM]

thank you so much i really appreciate it. I'll update with pictures asap just so you can see what it looks like. I just found the bruises yesterday and lost one out of the four duckling that I had a week ago and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him I've been letting them bathe in warm water the one of the duckling has it worse then the other two the other two only have one tiny one on its feet. They no longer look like blisters they look like bruises now. I feel so bad, I will continue to ask as many questions as I have to so that I don't fail my ducklings. I love them so much on the link that that you have posted another person posted in the thread that she put a little bit of epsom salt in the warm water also I think I'm going to try that with the ointment I put a sheet in there brooder yesterday and they seem to like it. for my brooder I have them in a regular plastic bin there pretty big and i think they have out grown it considering I went down this morning and one had gotten out he was just roaming around my living room I'm not ready to put them out side yet I want to keep a close eye on them with this foot thing going on so I'm keeping them inside till I no the problem is gone I'm just going to have to get a bigger brooder for them till this stuff goes away on there feet. i live in Philadelphia PA about two miles from the race track I was told that they have duck food so I plan to make a trip up there this week. can they eat dried rice just curious the person I bought them from didn't have very reliable information she just hatched them and soled them she was feeding them crushed oats since they hatched is there anything else I should be giving them they are 5 weeks old how long do i leave them on the starter food and there Pekin ducklings so do they need niacin still as for the water I just have it in a bowl but i think i going to make one of them containers that they can only put there heads in cause they spill the water every where. is there anything else that I should no cause I've been given all the wrong information since before i decided to get them.and been trying to look up information since i got them i stumbled across this website about a week or so ago and I'm really happy i did.

thanks for all your help every little bit of advice is very helpful

 

[Amiga]

CrystalM, there is alot to learn, but I think you can do it.

The Epsom salts are a laxative so don't let them eat or drink it. Yuck. But I like to put Epsom salts in water, dip a clean rag in it and wrap the foot and leg in the rag and hold on for several minutes (as long as the duck lets me). Then do the other foot.

This takes time but even if you do each foot for three minutes, that would be half an hour to do all of them. Not that bad, really, to make them better.

I had to have three brooders - the third was huge, but I had eleven ducklings. And because of when they arrived, and how cold it was outside, they were indoors for three months. And it was fun. Work, but fun.

So, safety is key, you are right to keep them in until you have a very very safe place for them outside. Once they are gone, they are gone, there is no bringing them back, so stand firm and protect the little ones!

Food: best is a balanced ration for ducks. And that can be hard to find. So, a poultry grower feed would be what you are looking for. It is okay to supplement with no more than one part oats to four parts grower feed if the grower feed has a high (more than 18%) protein level. But fresh water and grower pellets 24/7 till they are two months old is the good basic plan.

Many of us like to feed greens - salad - on the side. Easy on the spinach, it may interfere with calcium absorption, which they need for their bones and eventually eggs.

Mealworms are yummy to ducks, too, as are feeder fish. But just work on the basics first.

Yes, get the watering thing handled. You will enjoy the ducklings even more when you do. I speak from experience!!

Do a search on this site for "duckling water" and "duckling brooder" to find some good ideas as well as what's in the stickies.

And just keep asking, keep sharing, we are glad you all are here.

 

[CrystalM]

thanks so much i really appreciate it and yeah i know theres alot for me to learn which is why i made an account with this website there so many nice people on hear like yourselves that donnt mind giving advice and actually enjoy helping it really means alot to me and my ducklings all the advice you are giving like i said if there is anything else that you feel i should no please id love to hear it and if i come across anymore questions i will deffinatly ask. as far as my ducks names im waiting for their feathers to come in so i can sex them and not give a girl a boys name or vice versa.