Need some advise please! (new duck owners)

[newchickmom09]

Well today we were asked if we would take care of some ducks for a friend. From what I understood they were basically and impulse buy.

We just built a fully enclosed area for our chickens that we are going to be getting in two weeks. They will be only two days old so they will be kept inside for the next month or two. That means we will have a area to keep these ducks in for a while so there owner can come up with something to keep them in.

My questions are:
1. What do they eat?
2. Do they need anything special like lighting or vitamines?
3. Will they get our enclosure really dirty? (dumb question I know. We were really excited about our enclosure and it is all clean and ready for our chicks when they get big enough.)
4. Do they need nesting boxes like chickens do to sleep in?
5. Will they hurt themselves trying to get out. (It has fencing over the top they won't be able to get out)
6. Are they loud?
7. Will they bond with you? (if they stay with us for a month then go to there owner will they adapt ok)
8. Do they need a little water thing like a kiddy pool to swim in?

Thank you in advance, we have never owned ducks before and are in the dark about them.

Anything else we should know would be great!

 

[GrannySue]

Quote:
It sounds like you've got a lot to learn about ducks, just as we all did when we started. Get yourself a good duck book, then go and see your friends' set-up and ask, ask, ask!

 

[Silky]

1. What do they eat? As Grannysue said, it depends on their age. You can find suitable duck feed at many feed stores.
2. Do they need anything special like lighting or vitamins? You may want to look up raising ducklings if they're babies for lighting.
3. Will they get our enclosure really dirty? If you have an outdoor enclosure, yes. My ducks dig through the dirt for bugs, and there are large holes all through the ground in their pen. If they have a pond, there's lots of mud.
4. Do they need nesting boxes like chickens do to sleep in? My ducks just sleep on the floor of their enclosure.
5. Will they hurt themselves trying to get out. (It has fencing over the top they won't be able to get out) Depends on the breed. Runners can't fly, and some may not care about getting out.
6. Are they loud? Calls. Yes. It depends.
7. Will they bond with you? (if they stay with us for a month then go to there owner will they adapt ok) My Runner drake follows me all around the yard. Depends on the unique personality of the duck.
8. Do they need a little water thing like a kiddy pool to swim in? Mine have one, and they would be very pleased with one.