i have 4 indian runner ducklings and there 6 days old.... first swim ?

[Daniel_2kaii9]

hey, can my 6 day old indian runner ducklings go for there first swim today ?

and should the water be worm'ish ?

thanks

~Daniel~

 

[percyj]

They can have supervised swimming in a small pan. Emphasis on SUPERVISED!!!

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

yeah i'll be watching them and thay will have there first swim in the bath tub

 

[Amiga]

I let my ducklings swim fairly early. Here are some things I did.

Water only up to their bellies until they started getting real feathers which they oiled.
Water about 90F, warm not hot
Clean dry warm-enough brooder ready for them immediately after their swim (this was in February, by the way)
Help those that don't start preening right after their swim by wiping them with a clean dry washcloth.
Duck vitamins in their water afterward, since the swims were a bit of extra excitement and energy expenditure
As soon as they start looking tired (could be three to ten minutes), out of the water and rest. Tired means they start to slow down, one or two just stand there.
Watch over their every move every second they were in the water.

And we all had a blast!!!!!

 

[tony garza]

I just got my runners in the mail yesterday. I always put a shallow cake pan with about an inch of water for them to drink and play in. The runners walked into the pan and later started preeming themselves under a heat lamp. I've always made this pan available to all my ducklings. Since the water is only an inch deep, they get to drink and play at the same time. So far, I've never lost a duckling.

Tony

 

[animalloverabh]

yeah they should be fine
when i let my 3 runners have a swim for the first time, they got soaked! they will need a warm place to dry off, if they were shivering, i would put them on my knee and dry them with a towel.

~ Alanna

 

[Cetawin]

Oh they should be fine for a little swim. Use room temperature water and just deep enough for them to paddle...about chest high roughly. Don't be surprised if you get a scuba duckie in the bunch...

This was my scuba duckie at 11 days old

You can see how high the water in their first pool was...they could paddle or stand and scuba dive

This is what they played it at 3 days old...pie plates

Then at 1 week, rubbermaid

 

[duckyfromoz]

Love the scuba pic Cetawin...and the captions too!!!


Daniel_2kaii9 ...Hope they enjoyed their first swim- Its gorgeous seeing them for the first time- I enjoy the after antics preening just as much as seeing them have their first swim.

 

[Daniel_2kaii9]

thay have had there first and 2nd bath tomorrow is there 3rd swim

 

[percyj]

Awwwww… no pics??? Cmon pretty plz???