New ducklings

Karpadm76

In the Brooder
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Ok, so we have only had chickens for about a month and a half and just got 3 baby ducklings two days ago. Oh my these are messy creatures!! Do they ever stop pooping????? We have kept them inside in the evenings/overnight the last two nights. Yesterday we put them in the coop for a couple hours in the morning to get them used to it, but kept the chickens out during that time. The second we opened the door they were off to the water. Today the same thing, but when we opened the door, they just kept eating and drinking, and are still in the coop. I am assuming they just like the coop and feel safe there, but is this normal for them to have access to water and not run to it? Do I just have lazy duckies? My chickens don't act like chickens, so I guess it would only be appropriate if my ducks didn't act like ducks.... Can they eat too much? Their crops (I'm assuming that it is called the same in a duck as in a chicken) are so full they look like they would tumble over on their faces right now! Silly silly duckies!!
 
Your little poop machines will go to water when they are ready (I'm assuming you mean for a swim?) As babies their feathers are not water repellent yet; in fact, if they get into water their down will soak up water like a sponge and if the water is too deep, they could tire and drown. They will find it when they are ready though
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How old are they? What breed are they? Do you have any pix?

Do be a little cautious of combining your ducklings with your hens while they are still small, they will get hen pecked and they need to be old enough and strong enough to deal with that.

Eat too much? I have no experience of ducklings eating too much.
 
Your little poop machines will go to water when they are ready (I'm assuming you mean for a swim?) As babies their feathers are not water repellent yet; in fact, if they get into water their down will soak up water like a sponge and if the water is too deep, they could tire and drown. They will find it when they are ready though
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How old are they? What breed are they? Do you have any pix?

Do be a little cautious of combining your ducklings with your hens while they are still small, they will get hen pecked and they need to be old enough and strong enough to deal with that.

Eat too much? I have no experience of ducklings eating too much.

Little poop machines... LOL The "mud hole" we dug for them has to be filled a few times a day, it is only about 3 inches deep in the deepest part, mostly about an inch to two inches though., so not too deep, they "swam" in it yesterday and the day before. More like waddled and dunked their heads a lot, but were obviously having tons of fun! I'm pretty sure they are just sitting in it and pushing themselves around because it isn't deep enough to get their feet off the ground.

They are about a week or so old, maybe up to two weeks, but that was a guess by the feed store. They were found on someones land living wild with smaller mallard ducklings and no parents around. They are Pekins.

As far as the hens, they don't seem to care so much about the ducklings so far. They come over and check them out while in the yard together but really don't bother them. We do have one, that we think is going to be a roo, about 2 months old and still small, that chases the pullets around and tries to with the ducklings every once in a while. We chase him back and his poor little comb turns BRIGHT red on us, lol. I was figuring when they got to be about his size to let them stay in the coop because it is in the 90's during the day here and at least the 60's-70's in the evening.



This was them the day we got them.

I did attempt to vent sex them yesterday just to make sure I picked 2 girls and a boy. The one I was sure was a boy absolutely is NOT a boy. I don't feel that I got the other two smaller ones vents open as much as the larger one, never found any little duckie penis, so expecting girls, but could still be wrong. I just didn't want to hurt them by trying too hard.

Them little suckers are still just chilling in the coop. Guess they like it there, lol
 
Well no wonder they are staying put ... they look so cosy!!!
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Thank you for the extra pix (I do enjoy looking at other's pictures
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Well no wonder they are staying put ... they look so cosy!!!
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Thank you for the extra pix (I do enjoy looking at other's pictures
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)

LOL, I thought they looked happy, just wanted to make sure nothing might have been wrong!! I just can't imagine that even though they have water available to wade in that they would prefer the coop!! Oh well, thats our duckies!! Your welcome for the extra pics, we will probably be taking them every few days or so, just in case we get darned predators again. We lost a chicken to one when they were in the chicken ark so built that coop in one day trying to make them predator proof so we didn't lose any more. Lots of quick work, but better than dead or in my house pooping all over the place chickens!! Here is a couple more of our quick work coop...

 
Wow! I wouldn't be able to build a coop in a month of Sundays; to make that in one day is a credit to you!

The *will* wade, they just don't feel like it yet. But, don't worry, that day *will* come and then ... you'll be posting about the mud and the mess!
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I understand just how awful it is to lose a bird to a predator attack. A year ago I lost all but one of my hens to a fox attack. The one he didn't get was a broody who had been seperated. I remember how dazed I felt for hours after finding all my girls had gone.
 
Oh my, I am laughing out loud right now! The baby ducks just kicked the chickens out of the coop when they came in to feed. They told them you got 10 minutes, then we are done with you, and promptly started chasing them about and ran them out. Needless to say, they came out afterwards and are going to their mud hole. I filled it up with water this morning, so when it is out, it is out.
 
Wow! I wouldn't be able to build a coop in a month of Sundays; to make that in one day is a credit to you!

The *will* wade, they just don't feel like it yet. But, don't worry, that day *will* come and then ... you'll be posting about the mud and the mess!
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I understand just how awful it is to lose a bird to a predator attack. A year ago I lost all but one of my hens to a fox attack. The one he didn't get was a broody who had been seperated. I remember how dazed I felt for hours after finding all my girls had gone.

I am so sorry about your babies! I cried when I couldn't find spot and found feathers near the door to the ark. It was quite distressful to say the least. Hubs got angry, started building, got quite a bit wrecked, and we finished the sucker that night about two hours after we put the chickens in the house for the night. Thank goodness for that cause they were messy!!

We leave the back door open a lot and they thought they could come sleep on the dog bed, but I got a baby gate yesterday and they haven't figured out that they can go over it, so it seems to be helping... Phew!!
 

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