Newbie here! Call duckling questions

[bobsmith2002]

I recently acquired two call ducklings from my local feed store today that were hatched on May 20th. I am keeping them indoors inside a small rabbit cage and I am using paper pelleted bedding. I noticed that they are eating the paper pelleted bedding. Is this normal? Will they eventually stop doing this and go back to eating their food instead?

Also, is it normal for them to scream when I leave the room? It seems they like my company.

 

[bobsmith2002]

Sorry for all these questions but my feed store charged $75 for each of the call ducklings, and I don't want them to die.

 

[waterfowllovers]

Can you post pictures of your setup?

 

[bobsmith2002]

So I switched their bedding from paper pelleted bedding to wood pellets, and I noticed that they sometimes would eat the wet wood pellets. Is this normal? It seems they ate almost all the different kinds of bedding I placed in their cage: pine shavings, paper pellets, and wood pellets. Is this normal for ducklings to do? Will they grow out of this eventually?

 

[Hardboiled]

They try to eat everything. Swap them to a puppy pad for a day or two and add a shallow bowl of water with a small amount of their food in the water. Keep a regular food bowl and waterer in as well. Once you're sure they are eating feed well, put large flake shavings in the brooder.

I had one who took a few weeks to quit eating bedding. It would clog her nostrils and then she'd have trouble breathing. Her lightbulb moment was finding food in the bottom of the water bowl.