Now I am in trouble.... so, here I am in a different forum.

[fishnet1971]

ok, i am a chicken fanatic.... love my babies! came home to a 3 newbies last night... um, for some reason they just didnt seem right in the box of my chix!

so now I am a duck person as well. I will admit it.... I have never raised ducks before. I now am the momma of 3 white Pekins. Huey, Louie (or Louise) and Dewey. How original. So I take them out of the box from the chicks, as my one new Polish was trying to act manly and bump chest whith the poor Pekin. I quickly checked the web to see what I needed to do and it seems like they are about the same as the chicks.

Is that right? I want to make sure I give them everything they need. Want to be as good a momma to them as to my chix. Any friendly advise for a duck newbie? any thing little I should know?

Here are a few shots from last night. They had me in stitches last night. How old do you guys think they are?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

i would say lees than a week, cute, but make sure they don't get cold after playing in the water, be careful if useing medicated feed its not good for ducks

 

[fishnet1971]

i was real careful to make sure the water was warm, but not hot, kept the light on them, and rubbed them down with a towel from the dryer.

 

[duckyfromoz]

They would only be a few days old. So cute. You are so going to love having ducks. Did you buy them- or were they shipped with an order of chicks from a hatchery?? I have seen people post that they have had chicks shipped - but never the other way before.

You will find they eat heaps more than the chicks- and make so much more mess- but they are so worth it. They need a water container that they can get their heads into so they can clean their nostrils an faces - but apart from that- the general care is pretty much the same as chicks.

 

[fishnet1971]

they came from TSC. Seem to be just full of energy, eating well, making a MESS of their waterer. (But of course!). I had ducks growing up and stuff, just have never raised them. So far they are just a little bundle of joy. My husband absolutely LOVES them. he is not an animal person. He puts up with my chickens, but wouldnt hold them if he had to.

 

[dumb_cluck]

Make sure you feed them game bird starter crumbles. It contains the niacin that ducks need.

 

[goldfinch122]

ducklings have natural oils

they dont need a bath until 4 weeks because if you give it a bath so young its natural hair oils will
be washed out

and when the duck grows up its fur will be slightly older

 

[gofasterstripe]

I put my babies in the bath every day, to get them clean and frash. Peas, give them lotos of Peas...they will love you for it and you can use it as a training aid. I throw handfulls of peas in the bath with them so they can go diving..plus it gets their heads clean.

Congrats on your new babies.

 

[FenDruadin]

You've gotten great advice so far. They are adorable! Niacin has been touched on, but I'd like to reinforce it: They'll need more niacin than most chick starter feeds will provide. Lack of niacin can lead to shaky legs, disability in the legs, and eventually death. Fortunately, it's easy to give them enough, and you have several options--choose what works best for you.

1. Buy a bag of game bird feed (as with the chick feed, make sure it's UNmedicated). Mix the game bird feed 50/50 with the chick starter. Game bird feed is closer to the right nutritional profile for ducks than chick feed is, but it's too high in protein, so you mix it up to bring the protein down. This is the method I use and it works great for me.

2. Buy niacin gel caps at the pharmacy (NOT the flush-free kind). Break a 100mg tablet into a gallon of water and give that to the ducklings in their waterer. It's important not to overdose on this.

3. Feed them Purina Flock Raiser. I've had mixed results with this. Dave Holderread is the nation's leading expert and he recommends and uses this, but I have heard enough stories of niacin problems in ducklings raised on this that I'm a little leary. Still, Holderread is usually right about stuff, so he's probably right about this too.

4. Buy brewer's yeast at a baking, beer-making, or healthy food store. Mix it in the food--dosage is not terribly important, just kind of sprinkle it on there. If legs look weak, increase dosage. You can't really overdose on it.

Ignore the label on your chick feed. It contains niacin, just not enough. It may say that it's for "waterfowl" "ducks" or "all poultry," but usually it's not. Some ducks may do fine on it, but others will display deficiencies, so it's best to be on the safe side.

Good luck with your babies. They're adorable!!

 

[FenDruadin]

P.S. Baths are fine if you enjoy giving them to them. I've always given mine baths at a young age and they do fine. Their oil glands will mature as they begin to feather out, and at that point they'll begin to be a bit more water-proof. But in the meantime, as long as you make sure they can get dry and warm, they enjoy the water and it won't do them any harm. Enjoy!