Help! I just bought ducks! Lol

[confusedturtle]

I went to a poultry swap today planning to buy 1-2 silkies & maybe an Easter Egger but I found some adorable runner ducks. I said no 3 times and then held one. I decided to buy 2 females and since there would have been one lonely male left alone they gave me the male for free. I'm new to chickens and my only knowledge of ducks is that they never wear pants & they talk funny lol. What do I need to know about runner ducks? Can they live in the coop with my chickens? What do they eat? What special needs do they have coop-wise? In the coop my chickens have a ladder to get from coop to run, can ducks use ladders or will modifications need to be made? Are runner ducks loud, particularly males? The ducklings (1 week old) have adopted the silkies as their moms, is this ok or will they need to be separated? When can the ducklings be moved outside? And finally when & how often do they lay eggs? Sorry for the game of 20 questions, I have no idea of what to do.

 

[RouenDuck]

For my ducks, they get pooped on during the night by my chickens, but then our coop is too small.

Males are quieter than females. Sorry I can't help more, I don't have runner ducks. (But I want some. But then I want every type of duck.)

 

[Frank Phinster]

Are you saying that you just bought three living beings spontaniously without a hint how to care for them?
With so little idea how to keep ducklings, why did you buy them? I don't want to be rude, but that is quite irresposible...

Well then, since your ducklings need care, here some advice:

Many do not recommend to keep ducks and chickens in the same coop for ducks are messy and can bring a lot of moisture into the coop while chickens like it dry. A friend of mine is keeping the two species together for many years now and both are well.

Grown up ducks can be fed with chicken feed, ducklings need duckling starter feed.

They need a pond or at least a bath tub to bathe and clean themselves. Ducklings should not be allowed to swim because they are at the risk to drown. I usually give them flat bowls in which they can bathe, but not swim.

At this age, ducklings need a heat lamp and depend on it until they are three weeks old.

Since ducks are mostly ground dwellers, you cannot expect them to enter the coop via a ladder. They prefer a ground-level entrance.

Runners can be quite noisy, but usually the sounds they make to not disturb anyone. Drakes are naturally more quiet and have raspy voices that simply do not allow loud quacking.

If the silkies adopt the ducklings and don't peck at them, seperation is not necessary. If the silkies take care of them, you can let the ducklings out with them, otherwise I would wait until they are four weeks old but let them out temporarily before so they can get some exercise.
Runners start to lay at the age of six months.

Hope I could help you and good luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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

 

[Going Quackers]

Welcome to the 'duck side' lol

Here is a great place to start...

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

As for sharing with chickens, well one has to remember they are waterfowl, which means they make things awfully messy compared to chickens but people do mix them, i choose not too. Also caution with the drake some try to mate with chickens which can result in death.

Generally ducks are not so agile, ladders, ramps and so forth not so easy, depends on your angles etc so something to keep in mind.

I hear silkies make great 'foster moms' so if they are taking on the role without causing harm, it maybe fine, the only concern will be the ducklings water tendencies vs chicks, could be a bit tricky.

I would probably ask separate on the fostering to gain some knowledge from those who have done it before.

 

[confusedturtle]

Well i didn't go into this blindly, i have a place for them to live now and when they are old enough to move outside. i bought food before coming home so they'd have food but wasn't sure if they ate other "treats" or anything. I'm prepared to make coop mods while they are living indoors. I know they do not roost like a chicken, do they sleep in the bedding or in a nest box? I have a second coop that is a ground level coop, so giving them their own coop is no biggie. I was just afraid to separate them from the silkies since they seem to have bonded. I can't keep the silkies under the heat lamp but I will do my best to accommodate both. I was planning to keep them indoors in my brooder (with heat lamp) for at least a month but thought I'd ask here to make sure. The silkies do not peck them at all, the ducklings jump on them and snuggle under them and seem to snuggle beside them and the silkies just sit there and let them. I bought a bag of duckling starter food but when I got home I read the bag and it said also for chicks and a few others. The lady I bought them from said in about 2 weeks I should let them swim in the bathtub or make them a small shallow pool so they can play in the water, clean up and get used to trying to swim. Thank you the advice & tips I will check out those links. I bought a book about duck care so I will be reading that tonight too. Thanks again!

 

[fawne]

Are you saying that you just bought three living beings spontaniously without a hint how to care for them?
With so little idea how to keep ducklings, why did you buy them? I don't want to be rude, but that is quite irresposible...

Well then, since your ducklings need care, here some advice:

Many do not recommend to keep ducks and chickens in the same coop for ducks are messy and can bring a lot of moisture into the coop while chickens like it dry. A friend of mine is keeping the two species together for many years now and both are well.

Grown up ducks can be fed with chicken feed, ducklings need duckling starter feed.

They need a pond or at least a bath tub to bathe and clean themselves. Ducklings should not be allowed to swim because they are at the risk to drown. I usually give them flat bowls in which they can bathe, but not swim.

At this age, ducklings need a heat lamp and depend on it until they are three weeks old.

Since ducks are mostly ground dwellers, you cannot expect them to enter the coop via a ladder. They prefer a ground-level entrance.

Runners can be quite noisy, but usually the sounds they make to not disturb anyone. Drakes are naturally more quiet and have raspy voices that simply do not allow loud quacking.

If the silkies adopt the ducklings and don't peck at them, seperation is not necessary. If the silkies take care of them, you can let the ducklings out with them, otherwise I would wait until they are four weeks old but let them out temporarily before so they can get some exercise.
Runners start to lay at the age of six months.

Hope I could help you and good luck.

If you don't mean to be rude, then why are you being rude?

 

[Frank Phinster]

@ confusedturtle:
When the silkies keep the ducklings warm you probably won't need a heat lamp. Just watch them for a while to make sure that they really do keep the ducklings warm and do not suddenly change their minds. I would make use of the second coop when the ducks are eight weeks old ( that's when young ducks leave their mother for good). They won't depend on the chickens for company since they have each other.
Ducks usually just sleep in the bedding. As treats you can feed lettuce and other vegetables. They also love small insects and earthworms which they eagerly hunt for.
When it comes to bathing water, opionions go in different directions.
I think as long as the ducklings have a place to dry off and keep warm you can just give them a shallow bowl in which they can bathe. But you should make sure that the bedding does not get soaked. I never give mine warm water, wild ducklings don't get warm bathing water either and do well.
This year my muscovy duck went broody in december, ducklings hatched in february and despite low temperatures they bathed in their drinking water and later, at the age of three weeks, not even ice could stop them from swimming on the pond. As long as they could snuggle with each other and hide under mother duck it was no problem.

I am sorry if I sounded a little unfriendly, but it sounded as if you had just bought ducklings without second thought and that can cause a lot of trouble.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I think you have got all your info from these wonderful members.
I'm going to say, if it hasn't already been said If you have hen ( chickens ) You can not have a drake in with them. You can have a drake near the hens ( chickens ) but either separated by wire or something, just so they can't touch.
Usually ducks will just keep to them selves but if a drake decides to mate a chicken ( which they will do ) he can seriously internally injure a chicken.
Hope you have fun and GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[Going Quackers]

@ confusedturtle:
When the silkies keep the ducklings warm you probably won't need a heat lamp. Just watch them for a while to make sure that they really do keep the ducklings warm and do not suddenly change their minds. I would make use of the second coop when the ducks are eight weeks old ( that's when young ducks leave their mother for good). They won't depend on the chickens for company since they have each other.
Ducks usually just sleep in the bedding. As treats you can feed lettuce and other vegetables. They also love small insects and earthworms which they eagerly hunt for.
When it comes to bathing water, opionions go in different directions.
I think as long as the ducklings have a place to dry off and keep warm you can just give them a shallow bowl in which they can bathe. But you should make sure that the bedding does not get soaked. I never give mine warm water, wild ducklings don't get warm bathing water either and do well.
This year my muscovy duck went broody in december, ducklings hatched in february and despite low temperatures they bathed in their drinking water and later, at the age of three weeks, not even ice could stop them from swimming on the pond. As long as they could snuggle with each other and hide under mother duck it was no problem.

I am sorry if I sounded a little unfriendly, but it sounded as if you had just bought ducklings without second thought and that can cause a lot of trouble.

As for the bathing depends, the key is ensuring they don't get chilled, it's a top cause of duckling death. I do warm up the water for my calls but they are quite delicate in comparison to a Muscovy, they are half the size lol

I towel my babies down too. I too had a winter hatch of Muscovy, mind you it was Feb, hatched in Mar but were still very much winter here. They all did well but supplemental heat was a must. Plus whether they have a duck mother matters into the equation too.

I think you have got all your info from these wonderful members.
I'm going to say, if it hasn't already been said If you have hen ( chickens ) You can not have a drake in with them. You can have a drake near the hens ( chickens ) but either separated by wire or something, just so they can't touch.
Usually ducks will just keep to them selves but if a drake decides to mate a chicken ( which they will do ) he can seriously internally injure a chicken.
Hope you have fun and GOOD LUCK!!!!

Yep, mentioned it above in my post earlier.