How do I care for my pet ducks?

splashbros

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Apr 8, 2021
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My family got 2 pet ducks almost 2 weeks ago spontaneously without any prior research. they were quite small when we got them and they've grown a lot. They live in a small plastic box with food and water containers and I take them out pretty much every day into a tub of water and wash them and their bucket. Their bucket has a bedding of paper and paper towels. I know I'm supposed to keep them outsjde, but I live in a hot country in the middle East (40+ degrees Celsius in the day) and can't take them outside due to the hot weather and also the fact that there are cats outside my house. I feel like I'm torturing them because the only time I take them out of the box is to clean them in the tub, because I don't know what else to do with them. Also their tubnis definitely too small and their water container is also too small because they run out of water quickly and they can't fit their whole body into it I want to play with them but don't really know what to do them. I also think they're scared of me because whenever I put my hand in their box they run away. I would greatly appreciate some tips on the following:
1. How i can make/buy them a bigger house
2. What I can do with them to play with them and also make them trust me
3. How to take them out of their box without them pooping everywhere
4. What I should be feeding them ( my family just got duck food from where they bought the ducks, do they need anything else?)
5. How often they need to be taken out of their box
6. How I can make them a home that doesn't need to be cleaned super often and doesn't get filled with poop quickly
7. How to deal with the smell of the box
8.Basic caring tips and rules, necessities
 
1. How i can make/buy them a bigger house

You'll need to buy lumber and fencing to make them a coop and run outside. Ducks are hardy, the heat will be okay, especially as long as you provide swimming water for them to cool off in.

2. What I can do with them to play with them and also make them trust me

Ducks mostly aren't like cats and dogs. They are prey animals, and don't really like to be petted or touched. Things coming at them from above will scare them as it will trigger their instincts about a possible predator attack, like a bird of prey, etc.

You have to let them come to you. You can offer them treats like mealworms and see if they want to come to you to eat them. If they don't, don't push it.

3. How to take them out of their box without them pooping everywhere

You can't. They're going to poop when they need to poop, and if that's when they're outside of their brooder, then that's when they're going to poop.

4. What I should be feeding them ( my family just got duck food from where they bought the ducks, do they need anything else?)

Duck feed is fine, as long as it has the proper nutrition. You can also offer treats on the side like mealworms or veggies and fruit (ducks are very fond of peas) but these should only make up a small part of their diet.

6. How I can make them a home that doesn't need to be cleaned super often and doesn't get filled with poop quickly

The bigger the coop, the longer it will take them to thoroughly soil it. The answer is to give them as much space in their coop as you can.

7. How to deal with the smell of the box

You're just gonna need to change it more often. Duck poop stinks, and when they're in a space that's too small, it's going to get dirty quickly. The only solution is to clean it before it gets disgusting. Which might mean that until you can get them into the new coop you're going to build for them outside, you'll have to clean the brooder three or four or more times a day.

8.Basic caring tips and rules, necessities

Read these articles:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introduction-to-keeping-ducks.67402/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ing-ducks-the-complete-essential-guide.76260/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/duckling-care-brooder-ideas.64854/
 
You'll need to buy lumber and fencing to make them a coop and run outside. Ducks are hardy, the heat will be okay, especially as long as you provide swimming water for them to cool off in.



Ducks mostly aren't like cats and dogs. They are prey animals, and don't really like to be petted or touched. Things coming at them from above will scare them as it will trigger their instincts about a possible predator attack, like a bird of prey, etc.

You have to let them come to you. You can offer them treats like mealworms and see if they want to come to you to eat them. If they don't, don't push it.



You can't. They're going to poop when they need to poop, and if that's when they're outside of their brooder, then that's when they're going to poop.



Duck feed is fine, as long as it has the proper nutrition. You can also offer treats on the side like mealworms or veggies and fruit (ducks are very fond of peas) but these should only make up a small part of their diet.



The bigger the coop, the longer it will take them to thoroughly soil it. The answer is to give them as much space in their coop as you can.



You're just gonna need to change it more often. Duck poop stinks, and when they're in a space that's too small, it's going to get dirty quickly. The only solution is to clean it before it gets disgusting. Which might mean that until you can get them into the new coop you're going to build for them outside, you'll have to clean the brooder three or four or more times a day.



Read these articles:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introduction-to-keeping-ducks.67402/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ing-ducks-the-complete-essential-guide.76260/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/duckling-care-brooder-ideas.64854/
So is 40 degrees okay for them? Also I have 2 outdoor cats that live outside of my house the whole day basically so I'm not sure how I'm going to allow them to live there without them being scared.
Also, do you know how I can pick them up and transfer them to the tub without them being scared? I know you said that they are going to naturally be scared, but I don't know how to pick them up when they're trying to jump out of the tub.
Thanks for all of the help.
 

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