How old?

[WVcountrygirl84]

I have four Pekin ducks and I’m new to raising them. How old are they now? Is Are there ways you can tell how old they are? Also when will they not need the use of a heating lamp?

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have four Pekin ducks and I’m new to raising them. How old are they now? Is Are there ways you can tell how old they are? Also when will they not need the use of a heating lamp?View attachment 3498608

They're such cuties! My guess is between 3 and 4 weeks. I can see some little white feathers growing in I think.
I can see that their feet are a little bit inward turned, have you noticed any difficulty walking? Such as them stepping on their own toes as they walk?
This can be a sign of a niacin deficiency, are you supplementing any niacin to their feed? Pekins benefit from extra as they grow so big so quickly.

As for heat, do they live inside or outside, and what is the temperature like where you are? They likely won't need heat for too much longer if my age guess is accurate. Once those feathers grow in they should be able to keep themselves warm quite well. If they're outside in a cold climate, they may benefit from heat a little bit longer than normal, until they're mostly feathered out. Just ensure that they're able to get away from the heat, their brooder/space should have a warm side and a cool side.

 

[WVcountrygirl84]

They're such cuties! My guess is between 3 and 4 weeks. I can see some little white feathers growing in I think.
I can see that their feet are a little bit inward turned, have you noticed any difficulty walking? Such as them stepping on their own toes as they walk?
This can be a sign of a niacin deficiency, are you supplementing any niacin to their feed? Pekins benefit from extra as they grow so big so quickly.

As for heat, do they live inside or outside, and what is the temperature like where you are? They likely won't need heat for too much longer if my age guess is accurate. Once those feathers grow in they should be able to keep themselves warm quite well. If they're outside in a cold climate, they may benefit from heat a little bit longer than normal, until they're mostly feathered out. Just ensure that they're able to get away from the heat, their brooder/space should have a warm side and a cool side.

Thank you! We love them so much! Yes. They are getting some feathers in and are turning white in some spots. I haven’t noticed any difficulties with their walking so far. I haven’t been using niacin in their feed but will definitely look into it.

They have been living indoors with us. And we keep our house comfortable. We take them out to play inside and if it’s nice out we take them outside as well. Their new house for outside comes in this week. We live in West Virginia and the weather here has been back and fourth with cold and hot. They stay in our bathroom and we keep door open since it’s already warm in there.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have four Pekin ducks and I’m new to raising them. How old are they now? Is Are there ways you can tell how old they are? Also when will they not need the use of a heating lamp?View attachment 3498608

Precious ducklings! and Welcome to BYC.
Here is some info on niacin deficiency https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/