Is it mandatory for ducks to have water to swim/bathe in?

[bucolic beauty]

I have two ducks, which I believe are a Pekin and a Buff Orpington, that live with my flock of chickens. They're all roughly 2 months old, give or take a couple of weeks and not free ranging - yet(I think they're still too young?). Anyhow, we have a creek in our yard that will serve the ducks as their swimming/bathing/watering hole but aside from their drinking/bill rinsing water, we haven't given them access to water they can bathe and swim in. Is this bad? Am I hurting or depriving them? And if so, can I let them free range so they can have access to the creek or are they still too young(I think they're about 2.5 months old)? Thank you in advance.

 

[ducksinarow]

My mom had 5 pekins. She did not put them in water to swim when they were ducklings. They were free range. They never would get in the stream they had access to when they were older. They lived about 5 years that way until they ate them.

 

[bt03]

Are they fully feathered? Ducks don't have to have water to swim in but they do like it. If they are fully feathered and are safe from predators you could give them some free range time just keep an eye on them. Mine are a bit older and have some free range time. We don't have a creek but as soon as they found the pool they knew exactly what to do.

 

[Struttn1]

Not mandatory but it sure makes for happier ducks. I bought a 5 foot kiddie swimming pool at Wal Mart for my young Rouens and they are loving it.

 

[julie75]

Not MANDATORY but soooo much fun to watch.

I'll put it to you like I put it to my hubby before we fixed their pond- How would you like it if you could only wash your face everyday and not take a shower????

 

[bucolic beauty]

They are fully feathered. We do live out in the boondocks of Oregon, though and have a variety of predators - cougars, raccoons, bears, hawks, opossum, fox, and coyotes. None of which I've seen during the day but they're there.

 

[70%cocoa]

To keep their feathers and feet in good condition they need to have access to water that they can throw over their bodies and step into. A shallow trough will do if you can't provide swimming water in their pen. Here's an article that you may be interested in that tested the impact of providing ducks with different types of water facilities

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~abrg/papers/dawkins/Duck1.pdf

 

[wpalmisano]

70%cocoa :

To keep their feathers and feet in good condition they need to have access to water that they can throw over their bodies and step into. A shallow trough will do if you can't provide swimming water in their pen. Here's an article that you may be interested in that tested the impact of providing ducks with different types of water facilities

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~abrg/papers/dawkins/Duck1.pdf

Absoultely. I raise mallards. In the wild the chicks are quickly led to water. There are oil glands on mom's beak she uses to oil the chicks so they are water repellent. In captivity, there is no mother to do this. If you get baby ducks wet they will chill and die ! It takes five to six weeks for them to be able to make their own oils, then, let the games begin!

 

[DuckLover9138]

Your duck will probably run towards a stream or river when it sees a predator. My Mallards saw a rapid moving squirrel and flew into a stream. Otherwise, there is no reason for them to do it. They have personalities. Some like water, other dislike it. Its like people really...

 

[bucolic beauty]

The husband and I decided to carry them out to the creek thinking they would have a grand old time - not so! They didn't want anything to do with it and ran(waddled)as fast as they could back to the coop/run. All in due time, I suppose. Thank you for all your responses. I truly appreciate them.