New to owning Ducks

[Meischay]

Hi there,
So my 10 year old daughter talked me into getting two very cute Ducklings. They are now only 4 weeks old and oh how big they have gotten.

We were hoping to have them be cute and cuddly, but neither one is interested in being social with us. In fact, the one screams it head off when I am getting ready to pick it up. We are not sure if they are male or female. I guess we need to just wait.

I have been looking every where to figure out how to keep their water clean especially as we are planning on leaving for vacation in the next week.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Welcome to BYC! The best place to find information on ducks is in the duck forum. Try reposting these questions there and you might get more info sooner. Have fun with your new ducks!

 

[Fatherdowling]

I have 3 ducks almost 4 weeks old, and I regularly hold them, but they still scream like crazy every time I pick them up. They're not mean just obnoxious, I find it quite cute and hilarious. I have 1 Cayuga named Bruce and 2 Rouen's named Bill and Beaker. Genders are unknown on all three.

 

[DuckyBabies]

Mine were very treat motivated when they were small (and still are!) they would follow me and my kids around the house when we had treats. Other than that, they didn’t want to be picked up and they would quack for each other very loudly if I picked one up without the other. As far as attempting to sex them, you will notice that females have a loud quack while males have a more raspy low sound. You may notice these changes in the coming weeks. Keeping their water clean is a subject for a more seasoned duck owner, I tried everything but never succeeded. Ducks are EXTREMELY messy with water as I’m sure you know by now. They definitely make up for it by being adorable though!

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

@A Fowl Guy
@Miss Lydia @MagpieDucks

 

[Fatherdowling]

View attachment 1731233

Mine were very treat motivated when they were small (and still are!) they would follow me and my kids around the house when we had treats. Other than that, they didn’t want to be picked up and they would quack for each other very loudly if I picked one up without the other. As far as attempting to sex them, you will notice that females have a loud quack while males have a more raspy low sound. You may notice these changes in the coming weeks. Keeping their water clean is a subject for a more seasoned duck owner, I tried everything but never succeeded. Ducks are EXTREMELY messy with water as I’m sure you know by now. They definitely make up for it by being adorable though!

In reference to clean water, I made my ducks a special watered until they are old enough to go outside in the run, and then they will have a pond I will build for them.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Hi there,
So my 10 year old daughter talked me into getting two very cute Ducklings. They are now only 4 weeks old and oh how big they have gotten.

We were hoping to have them be cute and cuddly, but neither one is interested in being social with us. In fact, the one screams it head off when I am getting ready to pick it up. We are not sure if they are male or female. I guess we need to just wait.

I have been looking every where to figure out how to keep their water clean especially as we are planning on leaving for vacation in the next week.

I hope you are going to have someone look after them while you're gone! You won't want to leave them alone for a week!

 

[Fatherdowling]

View attachment 1731233
In reference to clean water, I made my ducks a special watered until they are old enough to go outside in the run, and then they will have a pond I will build for them.

 

[DuckyDonna]

View attachment 1731235

Cool! How the heck does it work?

 

[Fatherdowling]

Cool! How the heck does it work?

I started by purchasing a PVC T that's a 6 inch pipe. You cap the two ends off and have the other side pointed up (I used gorilla tap to seal the ends). You attach the PVC to a board (I used a screw on the inside, but glue would work too. If you use a screw be sure to put a piece tap over the screw otherwise it will leak). The ducks can only get water from the top, so they can't get in it or dump it.