Need a crash course in duckling care

[rarebreedeggs4u]

So I'm a bit late in posting

My first purchased duck eggs are starting to pip. I hatched Coturnix quail the last few days and have lots of chicks and several turkey poults, but I have NEVER had ducks. Can you great folks point me to some links and info on caring for ducklings?

Bator humidity is @ 72% right now. Is that going to be OK for them? They aren't actually due until Thursday. Since I was hatching the last 2 days, I waited until today to take these and the turkey eggs out of the trays and put them in lockdown, but they have been in the Sportsman with the hatching quail eggs for the last few days and humidity was running around 65%.

They are laying on their sides. I usually hatch upright in egg cartons, but thought these guys needed more room than that. They are fawn crested runner duck eggs.

Any and all advice is very welcome. Thank you in advance!

 

[1lpoock]

That humidity is good for them. You will probably find the best duck advice and care right here on the duck forum, just ask any question and someone will be able to answer it. Something you should be aware of is the fact that your ducklings may be crested. You will probably get crested ducklings and non-crested ducklings. Crested is a gene that can be deadly and cause deformities. Not to scare you or anything but some of your ducklings may hatch with their skulls deformed or their brains out. Hopefully you will get crested ducklings and they will be fine, but this might happen. Good luck with your hatch!

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

Quote:
Ugh, I have seen the occasional post about that. I'll hope for the best, but I can humanely cull if I have too

Thank you so much for the advice. Can these littles (assuming they hatch OK) have non-medicated game birds starter crumbles? It's 28% protein. Would they be better off with a standard 1 1/2" opening chick waterer? I use quail waterer bases for my chciks to prevent drowning, but thought they might be too narrow for these guys.

Thank you again!

 

[Amiga]

The protein in your feed is a bit high. I aim for 20%, so I add rolled (not instant) oats to their feed, one part oats four to five parts crumbles, with a little chick sized grit sprinkled in. Mine love the oats, sometimes picking them out first.

I use standard chick sized waterers, first quarts, now a gallon, and soon something larger (as of today, looks like we are getting just under three hours from a gallon. Not that they are DRINKING all that, of course

)

The chick feeders worked for the first two and a half weeks, then I switched to a three-gallon stainless steel salad bowl. The runners grow tall fast - they were over a foot tall in three weeks or less, by the way. They couldn't get their bills into the chick feeders very well. And, since it was time for them to switch to small grower pellets, mess wasn't as big a concern (these are ducks - there is a baseline level of mess that I have come to expect

)

I also use what I call "snoots," or face washers. Eye and nasal infections can be reduced if not totally avoided by giving them, from an early early age, something in which they can dip their entire precious heads in. I started with 8 ounce ricotta tubs, a head-sized hole cut out of the top, in a pie plate to catch splash.

Yesterday we graduated to a large yogurt cup with custard cup inside (see the topic I posted today with pictures, if you want an idea of what that looks like). So far, so good. I still use a pie plate for splash.

Oh, and check the niacin levels. Ducklings have a very high niacin requirement compared especially to chicks. Storey's Guide (may I suggest you get ahold of one? I love it.) recommends 35 mg of available niacin per pound of feed up to two weeks of age, then 30 mg from 2 to 10. Once they are out foraging, they will get some additional niacin from bugs, but while in the brooder, they need the stuff - very much.

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

That sounds great. Thank you so much I already use crimped oats in my chicken feed. Do you think those would work?

 

[vlapinta]

What kind of niacin do you use and do you just mix it in the food?

Vicki