How to care for ducklings?? I'm unprepared and they are due tomorrow!

[LaynaDon95]

I'm splitting a chick order with a friend and she has ordered ducklings as well. She will be out of town this weekend so I will be caring for her chicks and ducklings for a few days. I was all excited and started getting the brooder ready today, as they are due tomorrow, Friday at the latest. Then I realized... I have no earthly idea how to care for ducklings!

I know they aren't that different from chicks, so I'm not terribly worried, but I would like some input from you ducky people.

They things I do for my chicks are as follows:
Unmedicated feed in a feeder like this:

Will their bills fit?

Water in a waterer like this:


Is it deep enough? Aren't they supposed to have a waterer deep enough to fit their bill all the way up to their nostrils in?

I give my chicks kefir as a coccidia preventative. Do they need coccodia preventatives? I know they can't have aprolium, but that's not a big deal as I don't even give my chicks medicated feed. (Kefir is like yogurt, can ducks have yogurt?)

They can be in the same brooder as chicks, can't they?
Is there anything I need to know? I need some ducky wisdom fast!
Thank you so much for all your help and advice in advance. I really appreciate it. Next time I'll have to remember to remember sooner. =P
~Layna

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm splitting a chick order with a friend and she has ordered ducklings as well. She will be out of town this weekend so I will be caring for her chicks and ducklings for a few days. I was all excited and started getting the brooder ready today, as they are due tomorrow, Friday at the latest. Then I realized... I have no earthly idea how to care for ducklings!

I know they aren't that different from chicks, so I'm not terribly worried, but I would like some input from you ducky people.

They things I do for my chicks are as follows:
Unmedicated feed in a feeder like this:

Will their bills fit?

Water in a waterer like this:


Is it deep enough? Aren't they supposed to have a waterer deep enough to fit their bill all the way up to their nostrils in?

I give my chicks kefir as a coccidia preventative. Do they need coccodia preventatives? I know they can't have aprolium, but that's not a big deal as I don't even give my chicks medicated feed. (Kefir is like yogurt, can ducks have yogurt?)

They can be in the same brooder as chicks, can't they?
Is there anything I need to know? I need some ducky wisdom fast!
Thank you so much for all your help and advice in advance. I really appreciate it. Next time I'll have to remember to remember sooner. =P
~Layna

Both waterer and feeder will be fine for the short time you'll have them. You don't want to give ducklings something they can climb into and drown the same as chicks. as for yogurt my ducks don't care for it but ducks don't get cocci like chicks do. Un medicated chick feed is fine too. tell your friend when she picks up her ducklings that she may want to put her ducklings on niacin [just tablets dissolved in their water] if she is feeding chick feed also as ducklings need more niacin than the chick feed has. she may already know this. I see Kefir well you can try it and see, my ducklings never cared for either but my chicks loved it. When you get them how about some pics we love pics.

 

[jessiduck]

I'm splitting a chick order with a friend and she has ordered ducklings as well. She will be out of town this weekend so I will be caring for her chicks and ducklings for a few days. I was all excited and started getting the brooder ready today, as they are due tomorrow, Friday at the latest. Then I realized... I have no earthly idea how to care for ducklings!

I know they aren't that different from chicks, so I'm not terribly worried, but I would like some input from you ducky people.

They things I do for my chicks are as follows:
Unmedicated feed in a feeder like this:

Will their bills fit?

Water in a waterer like this:


Is it deep enough? Aren't they supposed to have a waterer deep enough to fit their bill all the way up to their nostrils in?

I give my chicks kefir as a coccidia preventative. Do they need coccodia preventatives? I know they can't have aprolium, but that's not a big deal as I don't even give my chicks medicated feed. (Kefir is like yogurt, can ducks have yogurt?)

They can be in the same brooder as chicks, can't they?
Is there anything I need to know? I need some ducky wisdom fast!
Thank you so much for all your help and advice in advance. I really appreciate it. Next time I'll have to remember to remember sooner. =P
~Layna

You waterer is fine and NO DO NOT make it deep enough for their bill to fit in! They will drown! Just give enough so that they can actually drink it.
Also, I would not advise anything dairy for the first few weeks.
They can be in the same brooder as chicks yes!
Some advice is that they are very messy! AND POOP ALOT! So, be prepared with lots of hay and doggy training pads! I put hay ontop of wee-wee pads and it works FANTASTICALLY for odor and spillages. Unmedicated food is absolutely fine! I would never give any of my chicks or ducks that!
Good lucks I hope this advice helps!

 

[destinduck]

Just like chicks only messier. Check your waterer way more frequently. They shouldnt need coccodia preventatives. Yes ducks can have yogert but I wouldnt. It will be slung everywhere anyway.Yep you can put them in the same brooder if you dont have the room but if you do I would keep them separate.When they are ducklings I dont sweat the deep water to clear the nostrils as much but with that waterer they will get their bill plenty deep.Keep em warm at night and good luck with em.

 

[Tahai]

Quote: Jessiduck, this statement confuses me. I don't think ducklings can drown in this type of dish (it's a mason jar, so not very big). They won't be able to fit their bodies in the lip. They do need to submerge their nares once they begin eating, otherwise they could choke or suffocate.

 

[Nsampsel]

Here is the only problem I had with putting my chicks & ducks in together...Ducks like to get wet, chicks don't & it can actually kill them. I lost 2 Banty babies due to them getting wet & the ducks sitting on them. I immediately separated mine as I didn't want to lose any more babies. Just a word of caution, especially if Bantum chicks are involved...they are very fragile.

 

[LaynaDon95]

@: Miss Lydia
Oh, good. It's relieving to hear that they don't get cocci. I have a Dumor starter that says it's good for pretty much all fowl types, including ducklings, so I figured that would be okay. I'm not sure what my friend feeds them at her house.
So it is okay to brood them together?
I will absolutely post pictures! I'm so excited!

I have time release niacin capsules...
They look like this. Would that work and are they necessary?

 

[LaynaDon95]

Here is the only problem I had with putting my chicks & ducks in together...Ducks like to get wet, chicks don't & it can actually kill them. I lost 2 Banty babies due to them getting wet & the ducks sitting on them. I immediately separated mine as I didn't want to lose any more babies. Just a word of caution, especially if Bantum chicks are involved...they are very fragile.

I will have 8 silkies in with them. Has anyone else had a problem with that? I do not want to risk losing a baby.

 

[zooweemama]

Everyone gave great advice. I use a chick waterer http://www.randallburkey.com/Plastic-Quart-Jar-Waterer/productinfo/13085/ for the first 3 days or so with my duckies (they outgrow it fast) but it's the perfect size for the first couple of days for me- so I am sure the waterer you have is just fine. I think just about everything is said is about right for duckies too. Keep them warm, keep their bedding dry (as you can. they poop wet poop- and frequently so be prepared for more bedding changes). I add a powdered stuff to my water that works much like the kefir you add but I didn't want the mess of a thick dairy product- ducks are MESSY and will fling it everywhere.

 

[LaynaDon95]

Jessiduck, this statement confuses me. I don't think ducklings can drown in this type of dish (it's a mason jar, so not very big). They won't be able to fit their bodies in the lip. They do need to submerge their nares once they begin eating, otherwise they could choke or suffocate.

She was answering my question in my original post. I asked if they needed to be able to fit their whole bill in. She was just warning me not to have it too deep, I think.
The mason jar will be plenty deep for them to do what they need to do, though, won't it?