Hi all!! Diving in as a new member!

[Mommyto9]

Howdy all!

I've read sooooo much from this site...and that was only in gathering information about raising ducks!!! I can now say that I am the proud "mom" to four ducks..two ducklings and two teenager ducks, with 12 more expected at the end of April! Woooo hooo!! Go ducks!!! Seriously though, I am a home schooling mommy to 6 girls and a new step mom to a wonderful 6yr old girl and delightful 4yr old boy, and on top of that, my new husband and I are expecting our 1st (and last) little one! Yay!!! Can ya tell I'm a hyper hypo?! I finally have the yard for raising ducks and we are all finally embarking upon our great duck adventure! I have 12 female ducklings coming from Metzer farms soon, but I jumped the gun and adopted two adorable duck from the shelter in town....and then, when going to get feed for those guys/gals (not sure which yet) the store had little ducklings and I simply could not resist!! It was like offering a drink of water to a lost person in the desert! Of course my girls were quite pleased with my weakness. They are now babying the fool out of the little crested pair that I got! So total we have one black Swedish 8.5 mths, one Rouen 6.5 mths, and two crested ducklings about a week old. Everything is going great and we are about to transition the "teens" to an outdoor coop. Any comments or suggestions?! I'm so excited to meet all of you!!! And thanks for having such a great community to learn from!
Most sincerely,
Leia

 

[Mommyto9]

 

[Mommyto9]

 

[Feedingfour]

Oh my gosh too cute!!! We have 3 adult ducks and 5 ducklings. I also homeschool my two boys. Welcome to BYC!

 

[brood mother]

My very first ducklings!! I have lots of chickens and I'm very new to that also! Lol!
These little babies are fast! Just got today. Have a few questions about ducklings if anyone can help!

 

[Feedingfour]

Here's my babies. They're very fast and so fun! I can try and answer whatever questions you have

 

[brood mother]

Ok, question 1. Is this ok for their water?? That's what I have in there now. Some say to use shallow Tupperware container and cut a hole for their head.
2. What is this clear kinda slimy snotty stuff I've seen around the mouth and nose on a couple once or twice today?
3. At what age can ya give them treats?
4. At what age can they have safe and short play dates outside?
5. At what age can you let them swim in shallow water?
6. How do I mix brewers yeast in with their food?
7. Is their stool supposed to be kinda slimy??

Ok, that's it, FOR NOW. Lol!!! They are just so dang cute! It's so funny how they nibble on everything with their little bills. And fast! Now my problem is coming up with cute names. Just wish I knew the sex, that'd make it easier.

 

[TLWR]

1. Is this ok for their water?? That's what I have in there now. Some say to use shallow Tupperware container and cut a hole for their head.
2. What is this clear kinda slimy snotty stuff I've seen around the mouth and nose on a couple once or twice today?
3. At what age can ya give them treats?
4. At what age can they have safe and short play dates outside?
5. At what age can you let them swim in shallow water?
6. How do I mix brewers yeast in with their food?
7. Is their stool supposed to be kinda slimy??

1 - for the 2 you have now, yes. When you get 12, you are going to want to swap to the gallon size. I used that type of waterer until they were safe to leave around large open water alone. They were able to get their bills in there to clean stuff. They got swim time daily, so no issues with cleaning.
2 - no clue what that is unless just water, but that shouldn't be slimy.
3 - you can use peas and just make them small enough. I used to make one pea be 4 snacks (hard to believe they were that small once when they are inhaling chunks of tomatoes from my hand tonight!)
4 - any time. Just consider the temp. If cold, short playtime and then make sure they get warm when you bring them back in. If warmer out, they can hang out longer before needing a time to get warmed up.
5 - I started mine after a few days. I did shallow water once. The rest of the time they had water to really swim and dive in. Warm water (about the temp of the brooder) for the first week or two), then dry them when done and plop them under the heat lamp to warm up
6 - i used niacin. 1/2 a capsule in a gallon of water. I used hot water to disolve and then used room temp water to fill.
7 - duck poops runs the range and pretty much always will. Just wait until you have watermelon poop. EW

 

[brood mother]

Ok! With the niacin, how often so I need to give it to them? How often can they go for a swim?

 

[TLWR]

I refilled water daily and added niacin daily. I stopped around 4 weeks or so. Maybe a bit later.

Swims - mine went daily.