More duck questions not readily found on sticky or searching...

[jeaucamom]

Brooding ducks: 6 weeks at least like chicks?

If they are provided a waterer they can't get into to splash around, but are allowed to swim in tub until outside, is that sufficient for them?

I have 16 coming and have an Xtra large dog crate with the two halves seperated and the door openings put together so it is about 2 by 6 by 18 inches... How long will that hold them? I know they grow so quickly, but how quickly? And if I get them in mid may and by early June it is hotter than a dickens around here... can they go outside as long as they are put up at night? Or do they still need to be inside until 6 weeks?

How tall do runner ducks get when full grown?

If I keep the runners with the chickens... what food can I give them that will be okay for both?

If I keep my WH breeder seperate.. what food would I give them?

Do they have additional food needs? Do they require greens everyday? Treats? etc?

pools: how often do you have to clean out? I plan on having seperate waterers for clean water access for them... so this would just be their swimming hole.... so how often to clean out? Everyday? Week?

Do they use nesting boxes or just lay wherever?



Ok.. thanks so much..

I really did try the search (but when there is 20 to 400 pages on the posts that come up it hard to weed through all the info).. and I read the stickies.. but still needing help..


Blessings, Suz


Do I need a pool big enough for them all to go at once? Or do they learn to take turns?

How many males per female is good ratio? Too few? Too many to get fertile eggs?

 

[jeaucamom]

One more question..

Do males and females get along... all males? all females?? what is the best gender dynamics?

Do ducks "pair up" or breed indescriminatly?

Ok.. that was two.

 

[gofasterstripe]

If its hotter than Dickens they can stay outside as long as they are locked up and secure and nothing can get in and kill them.
My Holderreads drake stands tall, aboe my knees.
That size tote for all those ducklings night last you a week, maybe 2 at a squeeze, but the cleaning up is whats going to get you
Dont feed your ducklings Medicated chick starter, get the NON medicated, yes they can eat treats cut up small and make then lots of pea mush, they will loe it.
Plastic kids pools are great, I clean mine out every day and refill.
I use nesting boxes...cat litter trays, but yes they lay where ever they drop it.
I hae 2 pools, 1 for the Pekins and 1 for the runners and mine are separated by a fence, but they will learn to take turns on who gets to use the clean water 1st.
ratio they say can be anywhere from 1 male to 3 to 9 females..
im sure others will chime in if I am wrong
Ducks will pair up if you put them in pairs, but other that that its going to be a free for all, males doing females, females doing females doing females. Ive had 4 females all stacked ontop of each other.
As for gender dynamics. I have 1 drake in with 8 Runners and a J Pekin and 1 dominent drake who gets to do everyone in with my Pekin girls along with 2 11 week old drakes and another drake...none of them get to do the girls, een the girls beak them out the way. But I must admit, I had a little spat between dominent drake and Tula (he was ment to be a she) but now Tula is in his place and the babies arent old enough to know what to do...1 of them was holding the door when they were handing out brains and there was none left for him.

 

[gofasterstripe]

I edited that 4 times...if i missed anything holler at someone else

 

[jeaucamom]

Wow.. that was great thank you!!

So non medicated for ducklings... what do they get when they are older? Flock raiser?


So what do people brood them in, when they have more than a couple?

 

[jeaucamom]

And I am almost afraid to ask this.. but what is pea mash

 

[Baralak]

lol.. pea mash... mushed up english (or sweet) peas

 

[gofasterstripe]

I get my feed from TSC...I use the DUMOR unmedicated chick starter 20% for 20 week, then move onto the Grower/Finisher 18%, then once they are big enough to go outside they are on the same as the big ducks. Last year I had my babies on the grower untill about 12 weeks or so and I would let them in with the big ducks and the 1st thing they would do was run to their feed bowl...layer pellets 16%.

Ducklings are to small to swallow whole peas so I take a handfull of peas and mush up with a fork then add some water to make a pea soup...your ducks will love it, and slop it all up and over the place. I give my babies peas every day and once they are about a week or more I throw them in the bath so they can go diving for them. I use peas for everything. If my ducks are out in the front yard and too near the road I just have to shout peas and they all come running. Peas to me are like a training aid. Once you give them peas, tell them its peas, and after a few times I would shout down the hall who wants peas and they would peep up a storm. Ducks just love peas. I go thru a bag a day..yep 7 bags a week but its worth it as I know I can call PEAS to my ducks any time and they will all come running and im tripping over them. So yes, give them LOTS OF PEAS, you can use them to teach them its bed time, to go up stairs, all sorts of thing.

Brooding. This is what I brood mine in. I have a spare room that is my duck room. I bought this from Walmart and the last lot of babies I hatched out I had 13 in there and they still had room to move even at 3 weeks old. Its worth the money coz you can put it outside to use as their pool once you have finished brooding them.. I use old sheets and a puppy pad under the water dish to catch the mes they will make.

 

[jeaucamom]

OH GFS.. I love your set up... I was just asking on another thread if a pool would work. How big is that pool? I was looking at an 8 ft one at Wally world... for 16 ducklings... Storeys says 3 sq ft per bird by the time they are 5-6 weeks old.. so that is 48 sqft. An 8 ft pool has 50 so that is what I was thinking. But I was thinking about one with the soft bottom and the stiff sides. It has an 18 (or 16??) inch side...

How high can they "jump" for lack of a better word.. hop? High how do the sides need to be so they can't get out???

And did you mean unmedicated chick starter for 2 weeks and not 20??

WOW SEVEN bags of peas a week.... better buy stock in C&W LOLOLOL!!!! They are probably pretty cheap out at Winco... When can you start giving them the whole ones?


I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT GETTING MY BABIES!!!! Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[gofasterstripe]

I dont know how big the pool is, standing up its bigger than me (5ft 5) so I would say 6 to 6 1/2 ft high, I had to squeeze it under the door frame to get it in the room. Its a ridgid pool and the sides are 18 inces hig and slope slightly outwards. I have put ducklings in there at a week old and they tried to jum p out but never quite made it, plus I also put my 2 Pekin drakes in there from 6 to 8 weeks old and they didnt even try to jump out. I found the bigger the ducklings get the lower they jump...to much booty fat.....
Yes the starter for 2 weeks not 20
Starter 0 to 2 weeks
Grower 3 to 14ish weeks ish
Layer 14ish and upwards.

That pool was the best thing I ever bought, easy to get in and out of, easy to clean and im sure I will have it for years