New Pekins.. First time Duck mom

[ktomacie]

Hey, So I wanted to come over here and introduce my 2 girls ( I hope both are girls.. or at least 1 is?) They are still nameless as my husband is naming them and he can't figure it out yet. They are 2-3 weeks old and full of personality. I have them in our basement in a brooder, I spend about an hour a day with them cleaning/hanging out. They are also next to my soap making room so I am down there a LOT and we chat. I wasn't planning on getting ducks but my husband said if I wanted chickens he wanted ducks so I happily brought them home. We have space/time to take care of them so its no issue at all.

 

[Isaac 0]

Adorable!

The only way you're going to know their sex that young, is if you vent sex them. If you wait a few more weeks you should be able to voice sex them which is a lot easier to do. Females go Peep, Peep, QAUCK, and males make a raspy peep when young. It looks to me like you have a Pekin and a White layer. Pekins usually have an orange bill, White layers usually have pink.

Are you providing a supplemental source of niacin?

 

[ktomacie]

Adorable!

The only way you're going to know their sex that young, is if you vent sex them. If you wait a few more weeks you should be able to voice sex them which is a lot easier to do. Females go Peep, Peep, QAUCK, and males make a raspy peep when young. It looks to me like you have a Pekin and a White layer. Pekins usually have an orange bill, White layers usually have pink.

Are you providing a supplemental source of niacin?

Yes, waiting until they start talking a bit more to sex them. I am not about to vent check at all. I was told both are Pekins but the white layer makes a lot of sense. I am very unfamiliar with ducks but a little research I can totally see that. The pink billed one is smaller and slimmer, I thought I just had a fatty on my hands with the other one.. LOL I will do more research now on the difference between them. Thanks!

No supplements as of yet.. we are feeding them a flock starter that was recommended at the place we got them from. If I remember right its the Dumor brand..( still drinking morning coffee can't remember 100%)

 

[Isaac 0]

Since Pekins are such fast growers, they often suffer from leg problems related to niacin deficiency. I would recommend adding nutritional yeast or brewers yeast over their feed, at 1tabl per cup of feed.

 

[ktomacie]

That is easy enough, I have nutritional yeast on hand all the time anyways. I will research that up more. Thanks. I was just starting to read about leg issues with them and wondering how to best handle that.. We are planning our coop build next weekend and that was one thing I saw mentioned a lot.

 

[DiYMama540]

Absolutely adorable!! Welcome to BYC!!

 

[ktomacie]

thanks for the welcomes, doing some more research and I really hope that second duck is a White layer now.. More eggs.. umm yes please! Now if I could just get my husband to name them..

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are adorable ❤

 

[Gerty0630]

Niacin is very important so just make sure you supplement them once they start laying eggs (if any are female) don’t give too many mealworms as treats as they provide lots of protein and your ducks will have to push out some massive double yolk eggs. I made that mistake as a rookie and felt so bad my duck was laying dragon eggs! It’s easy to tell sexes once they reach an age where they get their voices. The girls are loud as helllllll. Cute babies! Good luck!

 

[ktomacie]

Niacin is very important so just make sure you supplement them once they start laying eggs (if any are female) don’t give too many mealworms as treats as they provide lots of protein and your ducks will have to push out some massive double yolk eggs. I made that mistake as a rookie and felt so bad my duck was laying dragon eggs! It’s easy to tell sexes once they reach an age where they get their voices. The girls are loud as helllllll. Cute babies! Good luck!

All very good info, thank you! I need to take new pics of them. They are getting huge!! We decided to call them Gabby ( pink beak/white layer? ) and Daisy. I will try and get pictures tomorrow. We are starting to build their split coop tomorrow too so things will be hectic. We are doing 2 coops side by side for our chicks and the ducks into a run. We have a lot to do tomorrow seeing as it snowed today and killed a lot of progress.