Need Help...I know nothing about ducks

[ChooksinChoppers]

Our landlords 12 yr old son came down today with 4 baby ducks they bought at the auction last friday. Son is going to his fathers place in Miami for the summer and the mom says she now doesnt want them or to have to look after them

....anyways we are happy enough to have them. I set them up in a doggy exercise pen with a plastic shower curtain lining it as they could squeeze through the bars LOL. What do I feed them? I gave them a pan of water to play in/drink out of and the son bought a bowl of what looks like bread? rice? all mushy. I also gave them a box on its side as a temp sleeping house with shavings in it. Do they need medicated water? I have some chick starter. Any advice would be appreciated Thank You!

 

[Blondiega1]

I feed Purnia Flock raiser.
I get it at TSC.
I give mine fresh peas and corn for a treat and access to water and food 24/7 until about 8 wkes old and they went free range on our lake.
I put down puppy pads when they were little to make clean up easy and moved them to an outside pen at around 5 weeks old, bringing them in at night but back out during the day.
Best piece of advice I ever got on here: They are not as fragile as you think, and good common sense will take you a long way.

 

[Blondiega1]

OH!!!
And enjoy them and have fun!!
They grow OH SO INCREDIBLY quick!!

 

[creekside2012]

First, prepare to have your heart stolen. Ducks are amazing!

I use Mazuri waterfowl starter. I have to order it from their website as I do not have anyone around here to buy it from. I am going to look into the Purina at TSC after reading the above post though. There are also many healthy things you can give them as snacks, supplements, etc.

Google "raising ducklings" or "raising pet ducklings", etc. There are some great sites out there.

Can I post links on this site? I need to re-read the rules because if I can I have some really good ones for you.

I also recommend highly The Ultimate Pet Duck Guidebook by Kimberly Link of Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary.

My first 3 lived in a guinea pig cage (minus the guinea pig, lol) for about 3 weeks. The puppy pad idea is a good one. I used old dish towels and had to keep washing them. Then they moved into a much larger guinea pig cage that took my entire kitchen table. I let them out during the day in a dog pen with some water, which they loved and brought them back in at night.

Now they are about 6 weeks and they still go out during the day and come in at night. They have graduated to a little swimming area (actually it is the bottom of the first guinea pig cage they were housed in as babies). In about 2-3 more weeks they will be moving to a duck pen with housing at night and free range of the front yard during the day.

I hope that helps some. I know there are others on here with great advice. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Miss Lydia]

One thing you'll have to do is get them in secure fencing because living in Fl. you have alot of preds that would love to eat your ducklings. You don't say if this setup is outside or in? you'll also need to have something over the top to keep preds from flying or climbing in and bury your fencing at least a foot into the ground to keep out diggers, Maybe you can build them something safe that they can be locked into at night when many preds are on the prowl. There are alot of good info on how to and what to build for your ducklings. Your the best for taking them in. If you can't get duck or water fowl feed then go with Purina Flock Raiser crumbles and make sure to get either niacin or Brewers yeast to cover lack of niacin in chicken feed. Please post pics of your new charges we love to dote on new babies. And please no bread for ducklings really doesn't give them much in nuitrition. All the best!

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Oh you guys are right about preds...we live way at the back of a 50 acre horse farm by the stables and I am sure our barn owl would like to be first at getting a easy snack...the new kitty is already eyeing them off and last but not least our own 4 small dogs. I will bring them in at night as per everyones advice and the "pen" is set up under our shade padoga tent on the concrete outside my apartment.

 

[Amiga]

Congratulations, and ditto the concerns about safety. Their little lives are in your hands.

Chick crumbles, unmedicated, with extra niacin - definitely.

You are in Florida so I doubt cold temperatures are a concern.

They need food and water 24/7 the first two months, and need to be able to wash their heads to avoid eye, ear and sinus infections.

Water management trips up many people, so look at water setups in the forum archives (search on duckling water, for example).

Yes, please keep us updated! Always feel free to ask . . . we are all learning.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Yep got some chick crumbles (unmedicated) Got some peas and corn and oatmeal do you cook that stuff first? I guess I will see in the am if they eat it or not...I got back rather late with it all including a cat litter box for them to swim in. also grabbed some shavings which they proceeded to eat so I covered them real quick with a puppy pee pee pad...now they are snuggled up in a corner of the box going night night. Took some pics but will up load them tomorrow when I am not so bushed, after all had to spend an hour naming the little boogers LOL we have Donald, Daffy, Daisy and Dolly LOLOL

 

[SourRoses]

I'm chooks daughter.. thought I'd add a little to the update!

We got them set up safe for the night.... the pen secured... and since they are on a big concrete pad under the tent, we didn't worry about the bottom being dug thru )
Actually having them there on the concrete was quite handy, for when they made a mess, we just (carefully) hosed it all off.. ha! How simple that will be for a while!
They have a nice bed, of a little shavings pile in a corner with a puppy pad over the top and tucked in to keep them from eating any, LOL.
Also they have a shallow pan of water, and a new kitty litter tub of water (they didn't seem able to get into that yet, thus the pan as well) which we put some electrolytes powder in (it listed ducks on it) ... and we found them a food with ducklings listed on it that has the Niacin as well... Manna pro un-medicated. We gave them that mixed with some oatmeal and peas and corn.
One of them tried to catch a fly, which was cute!

There are supposed to be 3 girls and one boy. The kid didn't know what kind of ducks they were, except he guessed they were white ducks.
So were curious to find out, and hopefully mom will get some pictures posted tomorrow to that end

Donald, Daffy, Daisy, Dolly. Duck. (they all have Duck on the end )

They have some tiny white tufts for tails... feathers coming in I guessed? And the kid bought them on Friday he said... so about a week old, maybe?

 

[Amiga]

Okay, so I am not getting a clear picture.

Tent outside? Doesn't sound secure to me.