Yes, ducks are very messy & like to play with their water. No, the baby duck can not go without heat overnight with the temps you have stated - at least for now. They grow like weeds! Ducks grow very fast, and need extra Vit. Bs (niacin in particular). Depending on who you speak with whether chick starter has enough for ducklings. I supplement chick starter by adding brewers yeast and have had very good luck with that.So, those of you with Duck experience, I may be calling on you for advice.
I got a phone call this evening. My boss has a orphaned baby duck. She claims her hubby had spotted this duckling a few days ago at the lake with no momma and siblings around. He went back daily and kept finding it alone. Today he brought it home. It is currently in a cat carrier with food and water and a hay bed. At first I was asked would it be ok if she turned it loose in her chicken coop, would her chickens be mean to it? I cannot answer that over the phone. I was then asked did I think it would do ok here in one of my coops if she brought it to me. Uhh, not tonight. My one coop is a no go with the big girls I do know this. My only option would be the silkie coop. My silkies are psycho's at the moment protecting that little silkie chick. Even if they did tolerate it in the coop, is a week old duckling big enough to survive without a heat lamp? I mean, temps are in the high 80s to 90s right now in the daytime and staying mid 70's at night. It would wreck the water's making them nasty. With a tiny chick I could not leave a swimming container in there with it. I would have to fill one daily and sit and supervise and then empty it. I cannot use the excuse though I do not have the time to raise a duck, time is all I have right now. I do not want to keep a duck though, ducks are messy. I will also probably fall for said duck if I took it on. Maybe it could work if she loaned me the cat carrier as well so I could isolate it at night and give it a nest so it stayed warm. Also, do ducklings require different feed then chick starter or my henhouse reserve? We had ducks 23 years ago, I do not remember what we used to feed them back then. I do remember they were MESSY.
I'm tagging along with mom to work tomorrow. I'm doing absolutely nothing but sitting and talking to people. I'm also planning on heading up to my boss's house for a few hours in the afternoon. She has horses to love on, goats, chickens, including several she has gotten from me that I need to visit. And now a baby duck. I've thought about it some and at this point it is 50/50 on whether or not I will soon have a baby duck. Temporarily, Ducky can go home to her when it is big enough if I take it.
Ducks do do well with nipple waterers...but they DO need deep enough water to clear their nares...and they also really, really enjoy playing with the water - I hate to deny them of that. That said, having water for a period of time that they can play in/deep water to drink for a period of time. They really do need access to some sort of water all the time, though, as they should drink while eating.
So.....you could possibly have it in a pen within the silky coop, bring in at night for heat/heat plate...and bring it back out i a small sectioned off area with deep water & a small nipple waterer for when the dish of water isn't available (by 'deep', I mean deep enough to cover their nares when they dip their beak in)
Ducklings are ABSOLUTELY adorable, and...I don't know if it is too old for this now or not....but bond even more strongly than chicks. Mine just love to be held...and nibble away at me when I pick them up. They RUN to the side of the pen or mesh coop whenever they see me......talk about warming your heart. They will be a very loving pet if you decide to raise it......
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