Samanthaschuler7
In the Brooder
- Mar 19, 2023
- 1
- 4
- 11
Hello there! My names Sami. My family and I are currently starting our own homestead, and we decided to add some ducklings to our growing family. Prior to going to tractor supply and purchasing ducklings, I watched a handful of videos on how to sex ducklings, and some said I could guess (not guaranteed without vent sexing) by the darkness of their downs [females with lighter downs; males with darker downs], and since tractor supply did not say what the sexs were, I went that route - later when I got home I attempted vent sexing them, but I didn't seem to be very successful (or i have a lot of females by luck) - keep in mind it was my first time, and I didn't want to hurt the darling little things.. advice on how to properly sex your birds, would be super awesome and much appreciated! I just want to make sure I have a proper male to female ratio (I've heard 3-4 females to 1 male is good for the females, I don't want to stress them), and if I don't, what's the proper way to go about getting more females if needed..? Probably key information, we bought 13 ducklings. Im also attempting at identifying the breeds of these ducklings..
Nutrition wise, I've got a duckling feed for them that has a18% protein content, and at 3 weeks of age (estimated to be nine days old) I was planning on diluting their feed by adding a 20% ratio of rolled oats (from what i've read, they seem to need to go down to a 15%-16% protein content feed from 3-8 weeks of age), and I've also tried giving them some lettuce and grated carrots, as I heard that that was alright to give them.. I also have grit available, and I have a water additive that has electrolytes, acidifiers, and prebiotics in it.. is there anything I'm missing or am doing wrong..?
I've also been giving them supervised swimming sessions in 3-4 inches deep of water for about 20 minutes every other day.. and I've been trying to handle them as often as possible so they are used to me and aren't afraid of me.. and we are planning on adding a couple of goslings to the flock asap.. I would love and appreciate advice! Thank you!
Nutrition wise, I've got a duckling feed for them that has a18% protein content, and at 3 weeks of age (estimated to be nine days old) I was planning on diluting their feed by adding a 20% ratio of rolled oats (from what i've read, they seem to need to go down to a 15%-16% protein content feed from 3-8 weeks of age), and I've also tried giving them some lettuce and grated carrots, as I heard that that was alright to give them.. I also have grit available, and I have a water additive that has electrolytes, acidifiers, and prebiotics in it.. is there anything I'm missing or am doing wrong..?
I've also been giving them supervised swimming sessions in 3-4 inches deep of water for about 20 minutes every other day.. and I've been trying to handle them as often as possible so they are used to me and aren't afraid of me.. and we are planning on adding a couple of goslings to the flock asap.. I would love and appreciate advice! Thank you!