If all goes as planned, I will be getting 2 mandarin ducklings tomorrow sometime.. Does anyone have any advice? What to feed, how to feed? How to handle to make them reasonably tame? Will they do ok as babies (once they are all feathered) in a communal pen with call ducks and chickens? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Feed the same thing as you do any other duck to get them started. How old are they? You can pretty much expect that they wont "tame down." I held my ringed teal, mandies, and wood ducklings from the second they hatched and they still run like crazy when I just look at them. If they just hatched, put them under a heat lamp at around 90 degrees, lowering by 5 degrees every week. They should start eating fairly easy, but in case they dont, feed them live meal worms. They will do okay with the call ducks when feathered out but probably not chickens. And remember, Mandarins can fly very well and if given the chance will fly right out of a pen and fly away.
