I am new to raising ducklings.

[cher1fan]

Hi,
I have 4 ducklings. 2 mallards, 4 weeks old, the person who sexed them for me doesn't guarantee it but said one was female and one male. I also have 2 peking ducks (I hope I spelled that right) also might be one female one male.

I have always loved ducks and now I have many questions. The first is when will they start getting their feathers. The second is when do I put them outside in a duck house. And, the third is people have been telling me to clip their wings so they will stay, I think this is so awful to do to a duck. What do you all think?

I am trying to find a book to help me.

Thanks!!

 

[SwedishDude99]

You will need to clip the mallard's wis or else chances are they will fly away. The Perkins however are flightless and as long as you have them behind at least a 3ft fence you will have nothing to worry about with them. Clipping their wings does not hurt them, it's like clipping your fingernails. You clip the flight feathers on one wing to make them imbalanced. You can look up videos and pictures on how to do this on youtube and google. The ducks can be moved outside once they get their feathers in completely. And also, chances are you will not be able to keep two drakes(males) and two hens(females). You will either need to add a couple more hens or get rid of a drake. This is for the well-being of all the ducks. It prevents the drakes from seriously injuring or killing each other over the females, and it protects the females from being injured and over-mated. Hope this helps!

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I just don't know a thing about ducks, other than they are cute and I love the quacking!! You might want to ask some questions in our Duck section here on BYC for all those Duck experts to help you...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

Good luck with your new ducks and welcome to our flock!

 

[cher1fan]

Thank you so much for all the information. I will have to wait until they get their fleathers before I know if they are drakes or hens.

 

[cease4771]

Clipping the wings of the birds does not hurt them at all. It only takes a couple minutes and it will keep them from leaving your farm.

 

[gander007]

 

[SwedishDude99]

Thank you so much for all the information.  I will have to wait until they get their fleathers before I know if they are drakes or hens.

I don't know if there are other ways to tell for sure weather a duck is a drake or hen, but I had to wait until they got their drake feathers to know they were boys or until they laid an egg to know they were girls. Obviously with your mallards you will be able to tell but with the pekins I think you will have to wait and see!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your ducklings!

 

[drumstick diva]

Swedish Dude gave you some good advice.