Is it okay to let the ducklings swim.

[HenniPenni]

I think they are about three weeks old.

 

[HenniPenni]

oops i mean two weeks

 

[duckyfromoz]

It certainly is....and they will LOVE it. They can get watterlogged very fast though- so just in a fairly shallow dish of warm water- and make sure they have somewhere warm to dry off again. About 5 to 10 minutes at a time at this age.

 

[HenniPenni]

Thanks for your reply. I guess it was dumb to ask after the fact! It was so nice and warm in the sun today. I brought them out to a dog crate and removed the tray on the bottom. So they had access to the grass. I placed a 12 inch pan in the crate. So they could go in and out as they wanted to. I didn't expect to see them ducking and diving their first time out. They seemed to really enjoy it. But then I read something about water logging and I was concerned that I may have messed up!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Not a silly question at all. Raising ducks yourself rather than having a mother duck brood them can be just a little different. Ducklings raised in the wild may be swimming at just a few days old- but they also have the mother watching over them- making sure they are ok. Your duckies have you- ask all the question you need- the only silly question is the one you never ask!!

 

[HenniPenni]

I took a picture of their first day out. I don't know what kind they are. A friend gave them to me. I can tell you that they do not have the stripe near the eye like some of the ducklings I have seen on the internet. Two look to be one type and the other two another. Two are mainly black with a light yellow chest. The other two are black with a yellow chest and head and have a black spot on the head.

 

[70%cocoa]

They're very cute and I'm sure they loved their first swim

 

[jayjay]

I have been reading about your ducklings, they are beautiful. I am a beginner at this and have one of my ducks sitting on eggs at the moment. They should hatch in a couple of weeks so i am trying to learn as much as i can. I am worried though. I don't know if i should seperate the father nearer the time. Will he hurt the ducklings when they hatch? At the moment he is very protective of mum and eggs.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Cute ducks

Okay so the ones you have seen on the internet with the stripe through their eye is prolly a malard, you DONT have those
*
I would say you have 2 mag pies (the ones with the black dot on their head, we had one but it got eaten then we got one when it was older, it was a drake *sigh* hope you dont have any drakes, they are brats, funny bratsm but brats) and 2 black swedish

they will love swimming more and more as they get older, but watch out for waterlogged duckies, in Valdez the seagulls go in this tray thing where all the fish guts and stuff go, they get stuck and get waterlogged and die i rescued one once, but then I found ANOTHER one and i had a net this time (before these 2 nice guys took a shovel and lifted the gull out) and my (mean) grandma wouldnt let me help it!

 

[OldGuy43]

I started ours out at 4 days in a glass baking pan in their brooder. Just about enough water to go above their legs. Some claim it helps their oil gland develop.