I had an impulsive moment at the feed store.

[TubbyChicken]

I'm in love with the little ducklings!!! Is one gender quieter or less of a quacker than the other? LOL

Andora, as soon as I got them home I let them swim in my sink for a bit...even my dh thought it was unbelievably cute. One of the little buggers managed to sneak through the wires in the brooder though so we had to put cardboard on all the sides. They seem much more curious than the chicks.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I've heard that the females as babies have a more squeeky toy sounding peep. The males never quack, only the females. Males have a raspy sounding whispery noise that they make. My pekin duck started quacking around 2 weeks old, my cayuga and rouen didn't start till around 4 or 5 weeks.

 

[Guitartists]

NONmedicated feed is about all I can tell you

Mine are in a brooder with the chickens right now... I will separate them later. I get them out once a day to swim and then they get dried off and put back in the brooder. So far everyone is getting along great... they (the ducks) do flock together though

 

[obsessed]

Chicks and ducks = yuk... I wont do that again.

 

[Andora]

We are having so much fun with our ducklings so far! Even my chicken hating/fearing neighbors are letting their 3 little girls play with our ducks. They came over again tonight and asked if I could get them out to play. My husband is still insisting that we will have to re-home them once they are ready to leave the brooder, but I'm hoping maybe he can fall for their extreme cuteness...the fact that our anti-chicken neighbors love them is making me a bit more hopeful that we can keep them...

 

[tazzy]

oh, how adorable!!!!!

we did the exact same thing today! after visiting three TSC stores who didn't have the type of chicks we wanted, we gave in and bought two white pekin ducklings and two mallard ducklings. they are sooooooo precious! I haven't gotten to play with them yet, but I'll get some good pics tomorrow.

I am totally new to raising ducklings, too! so excited to learn how and all of that.

Here are my new babies. I told my husband we should name them Ricky and Lucy and Ethel and Fred. I have no idea if they're male or female, so then again, maybe we should wait before naming them!

 

[Mahonri]

Ducks need lots of room.

They will devastate a small backyard.

If I had a farm, I'd have a pond and some mallard ducks.

 

[sugarbush]

Hush everybody...your not enabling her to keep them with all this messy talk.....DUCKS LAY GOLD EGGS AND CAN KEEP THE HOUSE CLEAN, quite amazing animals actually

 

[2manyhats]

I bought a batch of runner ducklings last summer. I love them. We live on a river and they are now living down at the river rather than in the barn. I'm hoping they reproduce this year. Can't get to the eggs - they lay them on an island that I'd need a boat for and it's too cold to mess with the river right now. They have been swimming all winter and haven't lost one.

 

[Guitartists]

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