Just Hatched! A wood duck

[MTtroutwithwings]

Ok, I'm generally a chicken/guinea person but I decided to venture into duck land... in my palm I have newly hatched baby wood duck, one of two, 2nd one pipped but not here yet. Any special advise on starting them off? Same care as for a poultry chick? Please advise!
I have 7 mallards hatching in 2 weeks as well. Help!!!
Thx,
Lori

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

If you dont have another duckling or chick around the same age to teach the duckling how to eat, get some live meal worms. Wood Ducks need to be taught how to eat and drink, either by their mother, another older domesticated duckling, or a couple day old chicks. Otherwise, get some live mealworms and sprinkle them onto the ducklings food for the first week. Dont handle them at all for the first week. Dont move the ducklings around for the first week. Put them in their brooder, and only bother them to change the water and fill up the feeder. I use a frisbee as a feeder as my mandarins seem to like that better.

Use either a duck starter crumble or a non-medicated chick starter crumble. I start my mandarin ducks out on Purina Duck starter.

 

[DuckFanatic]

Congratulations!!

Post pics ASAP!!

 

[cawooduck]

Congratulations on the baby woodie!! I love them, they are wirey little critters!! Things to be ware of..........they can climb, and they do it very well, so make sure you have some sort of top on your brooder if it is made of wood, you shouldnt have much of a problem if your using a tall tote. Dont put the ducklings in a full tub of water, only make it deep enough that they can touch bottom and make the water warm, after a few minutes of that each day they will start to use their oil glands and will be able to float on their own, but right now they may look like drowned rats as they dont have any oil on their feathers to keep them bouyant.

As for feeding, put paper towel down over shavings on the brooder floor, this will create somewhat of an uneven surface, sprinkle flock raiser or un-medicated chick starter, or turkey starter on the floor of the brooder, everytime they move around the food will move also and attract them to eating it, you can also sprinkle some of the food on their backs and the other ducklings will pick it off. You can also make a bit of a paste out of the crumbled food and smear it about neck high on the side of the brooder wall here and there, they will pick it off. As well as all this, keep a jar lid or what ever full of food. I have never had any problems getting woodies to feed.

Before you know it you will have a huge mess going on in your brooder!!LOL

Goodluck and keep us updated!!...............Jason

PS- Baby crickets work very well as a chaser food!!

 

[MTtroutwithwings]

Quote:
Thank you soooo much. I do have one 5 day old poultry chick that just started eating a couple of days ago ( I had to teach it as well) but it's medicated so that option won't work. I could switch it if necessary, it's what I had on hand when I adopted the single egg/now chick (long story). I'll try to find some duck starter.Meal worms won't be a problem.
DH has the digital at work so pic will have to wait a bit

maybe the other egg will hatch by then!

 

[MTtroutwithwings]

Quote:
Wow! Thanks Jason!
I do have Nutrena meatbird grower/finisher on hand too, any of this helpful? I do know my local feedstore does carry the Purina flock raiser, they just started carrying it.

 

[MTtroutwithwings]

The second woodie hatched last night around 11:00 pm and I had to make emergency change to the brooder type as Jason was right, the first one was climbing up the side of the original brooder which is a vinyl coated wire cage I've always kept my chicks & keets in, Amazing!
They're now in a huge glass aquarium I had in storage. They can't climb glass! This morning I put a pie pan of water and they were having a ball!
I'll try to get some pics posted today.

 

[lotzahenz]

Lori, We are hoping for pics!!

 

[AkTomboy]

How cool!! My hubby is turning green he wants and misses Wood Ducks so much but on a good note I did just get a Brinsea bator!! Cant wait till spring