new duck owner, questions galore!

[jadekaelyne]

So I have a 5 week old duck, it hatched out of some eggs we got from a neighbor, they were supposed to all be chicken eggs, but we had a small duck egg.
Question 1: We have dogs in a fence, and dogs down the road from us, and I know ducks will fly. We want to clip the flight feathers to keep it from flying. I hate to do this, but I'm not taking the risk of it getting near dogs when I'm not around. I have a book that tells me where to clip and how to clip, but it doesn't say at what age. Does anyone know at what age to clip the feathers?
Question 2: How do you tell the sex of a duck? I've named it Sir Waddlesalot, and I'm not sure if its a boy or girl. If it turns out to be a girl I'll just change it to Lady Waddlesalot. I would just like to know.
Question 3: We have been feeding my duck chicken scratch. I was just wondering, are there any other nutrients a duck needs that are not in chicken scratch? It waddles around the yard and eats bugs with the other chickens and the chicken that is raising it with her baby chick, but I want to make sure my duck is healthy.
That's all so far! I also appreciate any advice about anything else duckwise

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Domestic ducks don't fly, so unless it's a wild type duck flight shouldn't be an issue.

Scratch is not adequate feed for any bird. Everyone has an Oppinion on feed to use. We have our list of what we feed of our farms website, it's under what we do. Feel free to read it over.

Vent sexing is how you tell at a young age, or you wait and listen to the voice as become older. The next way is if it's a breed that gets different coloring between males and females. DNA sexing is also a way, it requires waiting for feathers (not fuzz) to grow in and pulling a feather to send to a lab.

Ducks need water, lots of water, water deep enough to submerge their entire heads in to help clean their nares out. Ducks also need water to swim in and bathin to stay in good health. Young ducklings can not float for long periods of times because they aren't yet waterproof while just fuzzy. The water proofing comes as their feathers grow in and they distribute the oils from the oil gland along the feather while preening.

 

[jak2002003]

So I have a 5 week old duck, it hatched out of some eggs we got from a neighbor, they were supposed to all be chicken eggs, but we had a small duck egg.

What a nice surprise! I love my ducks. What colour is it? Can you get a photo on here of it? It may be a good idea to get another one of 2 to keep it company. Ducks love to be in a group and will stick close to each other.


Question 1: We have dogs in a fence, and dogs down the road from us, and I know ducks will fly. We want to clip the flight feathers to keep it from flying. I hate to do this, but I'm not taking the risk of it getting near dogs when I'm not around. I have a book that tells me where to clip and how to clip, but it doesn't say at what age. Does anyone know at what age to clip the feathers?

Most domestic ducks can not fly - they are too fat and heavy! BUT, if it is a small breed such as a call duck - they can fly very well. Wait and see what it turns into! DO NOT CUT THE FEATHERS when they are still growing. You can only cut them when the feather is fully formed and the inside is hollow - they have blood in the growing feathers. So you can not clip the duck until its nearly full grown anyway.


Question 2: How do you tell the sex of a duck? I've named it Sir Waddlesalot, and I'm not sure if its a boy or girl. If it turns out to be a girl I'll just change it to Lady Waddlesalot. I would just like to know.

You can not easily tell on a duckling. When older the females will quack loudly, the males will make a raspy soft sound. Once its got its grown up feathers its eary to tell. Drakes (males) have curly feathers on top of the tail. If its a coloured duck then the males are always much more colourful. If its a muscovy duck the drake will have lots of red swollen lumps on his face and he will be huge!

Question 3: We have been feeding my duck chicken scratch. I was just wondering, are there any other nutrients a duck needs that are not in chicken scratch? It waddles around the yard and eats bugs with the other chickens and the chicken that is raising it with her baby chick, but I want to make sure my duck is healthy.
That's all so far! I also appreciate any advice about anything else duckwise

Chicken scratch is a TERRIBLE food for duckling and chicks!!!!!! Its very poor in all nutrients and no good for the fast growth of young birds. You should be feeding the chicks and duckling UN-MEDICATED chick starter food. Don't use medicated food as it will harm you ducks health badly. You can also feed scrambled egg and greens. Make sure the duck always has plenty of water as it used the water to help swallow the food.

When you duck is grown up it will need a large pool of water to swim, wash and play in. You can use a kids play pool and empty the water every few days to clean it. If its a muscovy duck they don't need the water to swim so much, but they will still be happier with something to swim and bath in.

 

[jadekaelyne]

This is Sir Waddlesalot. This was taken last week.
Thank you so much for the information, I have been completely clueless on this and this has helped so much! I will be getting some better food immediately We are getting a kiddie pool deep enough for Waddles, right now she/he enjoys swimming in this pan in the yard, I empty it out everyday and refresh it. I'll talk to my grandparents about getting another one, they originally didn't want a duck, but I did, and this was just a surprise to us all. My grandmother took back saying she didn't want one. Again, thank you so much!

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is Sir Waddlesalot. This was taken last week.
Thank you so much for the information, I have been completely clueless on this and this has helped so much! I will be getting some better food immediately We are getting a kiddie pool deep enough for Waddles, right now she/he enjoys swimming in this pan in the yard, I empty it out everyday and refresh it. I'll talk to my grandparents about getting another one, they originally didn't want a duck, but I did, and this was just a surprise to us all. My grandmother took back saying she didn't want one. Again, thank you so much!

I have Muscovy ducks and they do fly so I just trimmed the flight feathers on my 14 week old yesterday, he had been practicing in the driveway. your duck is too young to have it's wing clipped. not familiar with the breed but most likely you won't have to clip sure is cute though. his/her wings.

 

[Ally Rose]

What type of duck is it? it looks domestic so it can't fly, so no need to clip his/her wings. I don't know what chicken scratch is but it needs chick starter and you can also give him/her the occasional veggie. To tell the sex, just listen to the quack: if its a loud quack its a female if its a raspy, soft quack its a male. look up male and female ducks on youtube and you will see the difference. The duck might also need to be supplemented with niacin so leg problems don't develop. Good luck and WELCOME!

 

[Mum]

Waddles is a cutie! He's clearly won over your Grandma if she has had a change of heart over ducks

At 5 weeks old you should start to hear if it is male or female; or certainly in the next couple of weeks. Once you know for sure (and now your Grandma is more keen on the idea) you will have a better idea of what gender to get for a companion for Waddles.

Enjoy!