Our first duckling

[EdgeofAsheville]

Our sole survivor from our Welsh Harlequin ducks. It’s a girl!
I’ve never raised a duck before so any advice appreciated.
We have 2 sweet two week old Silkies. Is it ok for them to share a brooder after this little one recovers?

 

[sourland]

You can do that although ducklings can make quite a mess. Another option is to provide a mirror for 'companionship'.

 

[nchls school]

Our sole survivor from our Welsh Harlequin ducks. It’s a girl!
I’ve never raised a duck before so any advice appreciated.
We have 2 sweet two week old Silkies. Is it ok for them to share a brooder after this little one recovers?

Yes, but as the duckling grows it will make the pen wet and messy; with fouled drinking water. It would be better to raise the duckling with the chicks so it does not imprint on you. I've experimented with this and my duckling was able to make the transition from chicken to ducks and is now part of the duck flock. A duckling imprinted on humans will not associate with ducks when it matures; thinking itself some weird human being.

However, you will need to devise a way to keep drinking water clean as the duckling and chicks grow.

 

[EdgeofAsheville]

Yes, but as the duckling grows it will make the pen wet and messy; with fouled drinking water. It would be better to raise the duckling with the chicks so it does not imprint on you. I've experimented with this and my duckling was able to make the transition from chicken to ducks and is now part of the duck flock. A duckling imprinted on humans will not associate with ducks when it matures; thinking itself some weird human being.

However, you will need to devise a way to keep drinking water clean as the duckling and chicks grow.

We’ve done some research on keeping the water clean by putting it on a paint tray with a grated covering. Fingers crossed that cuts down on the mess.

 

[EdgeofAsheville]

At what age does the imprinting occur? Can I take her on little supervised visits with her parents? Like in a neighboring pen on a warm day? I am worried about her being a lonely duckling with poor duck identity. I’ll try the mirror thing too.

 

[nchls school]

We’ve done some research on keeping the water clean by putting it on a paint tray with a grated covering. Fingers crossed that cuts down on the mess.

That may work. If you can elevate one end of the brooder a bit with the water on the lower end, the higher end will stay drier. This is what I do so that there is a dry area for the babies.

 

[nchls school]

At what age does the imprinting occur? Can I take her on little supervised visits with her parents? Like in a neighboring pen on a warm day? I am worried about her being a lonely duckling with poor duck identity. I’ll try the mirror thing too.

Imprinting occurs shortly after hatching. The duckling will accept chicks as brooder mates. Ducklings grow much faster than chicks reaching their full sizes and complete feathering between six and eight weeks. Here in TN I keep ducklings indoors for the first month then it's outside with the flock after the first month.

 

[EdgeofAsheville]

Imprinting occurs shortly after hatching. The duckling will accept chicks as brooder mates. Ducklings grow much faster than chicks reaching their full sizes and complete feathering between six and eight weeks. Here in TN I keep ducklings indoors for the first month then it's outside with the flock after the first month.

Wow ok great! I was not looking forward to having it indoors for too long.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Your duckling will need to be fully feathered before going outside for good. On nice days take the little one out so it starts getting acclimated. I had a Muscovy who hatched 2 ducklings killed one and was trying to kill the other when I found it. Of course, I brought him inside and kept him in a brooder he imprinted on me but had no problem accepting the ducks outside or vise versa because I took him out daily to be around the other birds. This duckling hatched in June so big difference between now and then but we can still have some nice days when you can take her outside. . He is now 10.5 yrs old and even though he has females he is still my boy.
Congrats on the little one it's so cute.

 

[EdgeofAsheville]

Your duckling will need to be fully feathered before going outside for good. On nice days take the little one out so it starts getting acclimated. I had a Muscovy who hatched 2 ducklings killed one and was trying to kill the other when I found it. Of course, I brought him inside and kept him in a brooder he imprinted on me but had no problem accepting the ducks outside or vise versa because I took him out daily to be around the other birds. This duckling hatched in June so big difference between now and then but we can still have some nice days when you can take her outside. . He is now 10.5 yrs old and even though he has females he is still my boy.
Congrats on the little one it's so cute.

That’s my biggest fear. How old were the ducklings when the attack happened? We will definitely be introducing them cautiously.