First time swimming

[Dave Murphy]

Some of my ducks are now 4 days old when can they have there first swim?

 

[eggbert420]

When they have all their feathers.

 

[Dave Murphy]

When they have all their feathers.

Can't they go in shallow water as ducklings?

 

[eggbert420]

If you are raising ducklings without a mother duck, they will not have their own oils at first and will be unable to swim safely. Even a shallow dish of water can be fatal to a baby duck. Whenever they get wet and have no oils, they will get cold and maybe even die if they are not kept warm enough and helped to dry off.

 

[Dave Murphy]

So could I let them in a warm water sink about 1 1/2 to 2 inches then dry with a hair dryer? See a few videos of ducklings in a bath to clean themselves.

 

[eggbert420]

Sure

 

[Hybridchucks]

mine had a bath when it was 3 days old.....in the house, it was a warm day and i dried him with a towel and placed him STRAIGHT away under his lamp
do it for only 5 mins and MAKE SURE that they are fully dry!

 

[chickens really]

Yes, your Ducklings can swim supervised ....The water will stimulate the oil gland and they will have so much fun....No need to blow dry them...Pop back into the brooder and they will get busy fixing themselves up....

 

[Isaac 0]

They will be completely fine.I will usually take the down to the pond and supervise them for a bit then dry them off with a towel and place them in there brooder.They can have a shallow dish of water about enough so they can clear there nostrils out.

 

[gilbert2]

My newest five ducklings went into my sink (in the garage) when they were 3-days old--just as I have done with all of the other ducks I have raised. I do watch them....just to be safe, but nothing bad ever happens. I take them out of the sink and transfer them to their little home, which is a big rubber horse watering bowl--about 2-1/2 ft in diameter, with a chapped straw floor.
I have a heat lamp aimed at the center of the bowl, and leave it on for about 15-minutes after they get out of the sink.
I have never had anything bad happen as a result of their swimming in the sink.