New to having Peking Ducks

[donaldanddaisy]

Hello everyone,

I have adopted two peking ducks that are a little over two weeks old. I have there brooder and food and everything all set up and they seem to be doing well for the last couple days I have had them. I had a few questions I would love some answers to, just so I can better familiarize myself with how to care for ducks.

1. I saw the ultimate food list for ducks on this site but are blackberries or any other berries ok to feed? Also, what about rose petals or plants? My ducks seem to love rose petals (My kids kept giving it to them) I was unsure if it was ok.

2. How long would you recommend allowing my ducks to play in the pool and outside to "somewhat" roam? I am supervising and they seem to love to be outside and swimming but I didn't know what is a reasonable allotted time frame.

3. Also, I use straw for there bedding.. what is the best way to clean out the straw and poop? As it can get runny and stick all over their brooder.

Thanks so much! If you have any other advise for a new mommy of ducklings it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[silkiecuddles]

HI, welcome to BYC, and congrats on your new ducks!

I give my ducks and chickens pretty much any kitchen scraps, except meat, citrus, avocado, potato, and tomato. The last three listed have toxins that are bad for birds. I give them boiled egg yolks and whites and scrambles eggs, which everybody loves. I think any berries, fruits, veggies, are fine as long as they aren't what I listed in bold above.
Think of it this way: if you wouldn't eat it., don't give it to your chickens/ducks.

DON'T leave your ducklings unattended in pool. They can drown. Mother ducks give the ducklings special oils they need to float. You can let them swim for 10ish minutes, as long as someone is watching them. Also, don't leave them outside by themselves for long. There are numerous predators of ducklings/chicks. I'd say 5 min at most, unattended. Otherwise, sit with them till you tire of it and return them to their brooder.

I personally don't like straw or hay as bedding. It doesn't absorb water well, and grows moldy and nasty fast.
For when they're little, though, in the inside brooder I use newspaper that isn't shiny and smooth, or paper towels, changing either daily. In my outside "brooder" I do use hay but it requires at least daily cleaning.

Good luck with them! If you have any more questions feel free to ask me!

 

[donaldanddaisy]

Hi,

Thanks for your response! I never have left them unattended I wouldn't want them to drown or get hurt. I just was unsure of how long until they need to go back into their brooder to rest and what not.

I built a little container that has some hardware cloth that I place their food and water dishes on top of and anything that spills falls in there and I can dump it out and clean. So I haven't had a water issue in their bedding so far, besides of course their droppings.


So are the rose petals OK for them to eat? Lol. They really like them so if it isn't harmful I will continue to give it to them. They also love blueberries I just tried giving them a couple in their water broken in half and they seemed to go for it super quick.

Thanks again for the advice!

Daniela

 

[silkiecuddles]

I don't know of rose petals/leaves being poisonous to ducks/chickens so it'll probably be fine. And I don't think blueberries will hurt them either.