Need Help...I know nothing about ducks

[ChooksinChoppers]

Puppy pen enclosed with hardware cloth all around and top as well. Just like we did for our silkies when we lived in Ft Myers area. We also have a guard horse right outside the door (something not many people have LOL) Bear (the paso fino) would bash his bucket on the wall of my bedroom if there was any danger

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Well after feeding the horse I got to sit and watch the ducklings while I had my morning cuppa

Quite the industrious little things they are....couple of bites of food then over to the water pan..swish swish drink dunk LOL then back to the food again..peck at some flies and do it all over again. They sure look better than when they arrived here yesterday..they were covered in whatever rice/bread mush the boy was feeding them and I dont think he gave them enough water to wash themselves off with. Thanks to you guys for letting me know about their need to wash heads and such..poor little things could've got very sick. I gave them a shower yesterday and after having a pan of clean water for the rest of the day they managed to get the rest rinsed off as well....so this morning they look all fluffy and cute.
They had fished out the corn and peas from the oatmeal and chick starter (non medicated) by this morning and now they are polishing off the rest. Whats with the non medicated thing? You would think they would be same as chicks and need it to prevent diseases?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well after feeding the horse I got to sit and watch the ducklings while I had my morning cuppa

Quite the industrious little things they are....couple of bites of food then over to the water pan..swish swish drink dunk LOL then back to the food again..peck at some flies and do it all over again. They sure look better than when they arrived here yesterday..they were covered in whatever rice/bread mush the boy was feeding them and I dont think he gave them enough water to wash themselves off with. Thanks to you guys for letting me know about their need to wash heads and such..poor little things could've got very sick. I gave them a shower yesterday and after having a pan of clean water for the rest of the day they managed to get the rest rinsed off as well....so this morning they look all fluffy and cute.
They had fished out the corn and peas from the oatmeal and chick starter (non medicated) by this morning and now they are polishing off the rest. Whats with the non medicated thing? You would think they would be same as chicks and need it to prevent diseases?

Ducks have quite the system to be able to handle stuff better than chickens their body temp is higher for one thing which kills just about anything that could hurt them, and if you get them outside early on their little bodies adapt better. If I have to brood chicks or ducklings inside I start when newly hatched with a nice big chunk of sod with grass on top for them to peck at which helps to build up the immune system. I haven't used med. feed in years and never had a case of cocci. Ducklings eat alot more feed than chicks which means when they are consuming med feed their getting alot more of the meds which can be toxic. Glad to hear you are enjoying them and they are doing better. A little TLC goes along way.

 

[Amiga]

Whats with the non medicated thing? You would think they would be same as chicks and need it to prevent diseases?

Indeed, there are a number of similarities, but ducks are waterfowl, and so there are significant differences.

Regarding non medicated chick feed, there is some disagreement (of the friendly sort, in my experience). Here is my understanding:

There was a time that the medications in chick feed were at such types and levels that ducklings, which eat more, would suffer health problems from ingesting too much of the medication.

At some point, the medication used in chick feed was changed to amprolium, which ducklings tolerate much better.

Some of us feel that unnecessarily medicating animals is not good practice. Ducks do not tend to get nearly the number of diseases that chickens do in the first place. I like that about ducks.

Another concern is that according to Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, ducklings need three times the niacin that chicks do. Niacin deficiencies cause neurological problems in a number of ducklings, though not all are detectable, as far as I can tell.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Ah Yes Miss Lydia, I noticed the amount of feed they are going through already LOL I could only get a small bag from the local feed store so it looks like a trip to TSC is in order. At least adding the oats makes it go a bit further and corn was on sale this week...6 for $2 so they have some of that for treats. Do ducks like watermelon?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ah Yes Miss Lydia, I noticed the amount of feed they are going through already LOL I could only get a small bag from the local feed store so it looks like a trip to TSC is in order. At least adding the oats makes it go a bit further and corn was on sale this week...6 for $2 so they have some of that for treats. Do ducks like watermelon?

You'll just have to try them on it, my ducks really aren't that crazy about it but give them some frozen peas thawed in the microwave and I believe they would dance.