Pekin Duck Club!

[Ren2014]

Thanks for the replies! I just moved their food outside for now and will put it back in with them at night and will try the ramp thing again once they are bigger. I'm not sure the degree of the ramp but the highest part is about 6in off ground. Plus I have it lined with the rubbery shelf liner for extra traction

on giving them 24hr food and water. And thank you for the great idea of using rubbery shelf liner. I 'barricaded' our ramp this evening and herded the ducks so they had no choice but to go up. Lots of slipping even with rungs for footing but they made it. I now have the shelf liner on it and can't wait to see how it goes tomorrow night.

Hello!!! I have two Pekins (Qwakrs and Chz) they are soooooo much fun to watch! I got them at TSC on 3/5/14 and to say they "grow like weeds" is an UNDERSTATEMENT of epic proportions!!! They are very skittish around all people and aren't very friendly with the 6 chickens they live with (all bought at the same time) but kept in separate brooders per instructions from the TSC employees. I think one of them is a boy (he honks) and the other is a girl (she squeaks/whistles but doesn't honk). Even though I have heard of people keeping their chicks and ducks together, I am considering separating them and giving them their own space .... but if I do it will be awhile.
I am told patience and consistency is the best with ducks ... but my two HATE to go into the coop at night and I don't know if it's they are too "top heavy" to walk up the ramp .... but they act like it's impossible, so I have to gather them up and put them in the coop!

So far, only my ducks like to eat treats as well as their food .... they like mealworms and "fancy" birdseed. I LOVE them and so happy to be a proud Pekin owner (even if they don't care for me too much) !!!!

LOL, definitely an understatement about the growth. I read somewhere that seeds are not good for ducks, be careful. Make sure you have grit for them just to be safe. Like you, I LOVE all my ducks even though they only like me when I have treats.

Here are some pictures of my pekins ( I believe they are all pekin). The first picture is our little Flower. She is 11 days younger than our 3 older babies and is currently being kept with 2 little mallards. I love the way her head looks when it's wet. The other two pictures are of our big babies (Tilly, Bert and Nugget) first time exploring outside for a few minutes. They really didn't like it. Hopefully we have another nice day soon so we can try it again. I am not sure why Tilly has a pink beak and the other two have orange beaks. I thought maybe she was not a pekin, but it appears they are all getting white feathers. So time will tell. I was hoping to get at least 1 buff, so it would be easier to tell them all apart.

CUTE! I love the wet head look also.

A
add me

there isn't an official current list but welome

I was wondering the same thing about when to switch food! Did I miss the reply to this?? Mine are currently on Dumor Chick Starter 20% (un medicated) which says for chicks and ducks till 10weeks. BUT I have read different things online, like ducks should be switched to grower/finisher (Dumor is 15%) at 3 weeks, also read 5 weeks.

This is from the Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks
Feed
Ducklings should have feed available 24/7 for the first 2 weeks. Ducklings should be fed starter feed with 18-20% protein for the first two weeks. This can be in a crumble form or a mash. Mash should be wet to make it easier to eat. If mash is used, it must be replaced several times a day to prevent spoilage. They can be given chick starter, duck/waterfowl starter, broiler starter, or turkey starter. Care should be taken when feeding a higher protein level feed as physical damage can result.
For many people, duck specific feed is not available. Many people have good results feeding starter or a feed developed for all ages/species. Layer feed should NEVER be given to growing ducklings as the calcium level is too high and can result in damage or death.
An ideal protein feeding schedule is given in the table below. Again, this is not always a possibility for many people.

Age

0-2 weeks

2-8 weeks

8-20 weeks

First egg
Protein level

18-20%

16-18%

15-16%

16-18%

Add me too Please!!

 

[Mrs.H]

on giving them 24hr food and water. And thank you for the great idea of using rubbery shelf liner. I 'barricaded' our ramp this evening and herded the ducks so they had no choice but to go up. Lots of slipping even with rungs for footing but they made it. I now have the shelf liner on it and can't wait to see how it goes tomorrow night. LOL, definitely an understatement about the growth. I read somewhere that seeds are not good for ducks, be careful. Make sure you have grit for them just to be safe. Like you, I LOVE all my ducks even though they only like me when I have treats. CUTE! I love the wet head look also. there isn't an official current list but welome This is from the Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks Feed Ducklings should have feed available 24/7 for the first 2 weeks. Ducklings should be fed starter feed with 18-20% protein for the first two weeks. This can be in a crumble form or a mash. Mash should be wet to make it easier to eat. If mash is used, it must be replaced several times a day to prevent spoilage. They can be given chick starter, duck/waterfowl starter, broiler starter, or turkey starter. Care should be taken when feeding a higher protein level feed as physical damage can result. For many people, duck specific feed is not available. Many people have good results feeding starter or a feed developed for all ages/species. Layer feed should NEVER be given to growing ducklings as the calcium level is too high and can result in damage or death. An ideal protein feeding schedule is given in the table below. Again, this is not always a possibility for many people.

Age 0-2 weeks 2-8 weeks 8-20 weeks First egg Protein level 18-20% 16-18% 15-16% 16-18%

Thanks for the info and chart! Perfect! Hope the shelf liner works out for you!

 

[cprocup]

Hi All! I just got 4 new ducklings, 2 Pekin and 2 Rouen. The Pekins are Bubba and Elvis, and the Rouen are Turbo and Junior. They already want to follow me everywhere and know when treats are coming their way. We are having a never-ending winter up here, so they are currently living in my office in a kiddy pool as they are growing like weeds! I am looking forward to building them a pool/pond outside, and a custom enclosure so they stay happy and healthy. I got them for pets, but am looking forward to eggs of any of them happen to be female!! They LOVE bathtub time and they sure gave me the "whats for" when they missed their bath yesterday!

 

[newducklings]

I got a pekin and two ancona ducks about two or three weeks ago and the pekin pants at night. I have no idea what is wrong with he/she. The anconas dont pant but the pekin does. The pekin is bigger and fatter than the anconas. But I make sure they are not to hot but he still does it and im very worried about him/her. Does anyone know what could be wrong. I make sure they clean their nostrils out and get baths and clean their pin everyday. And have to constantly get then more water so it always gets cleaned. So I just dont know what could be wrong with my pekin.

 

[asteele01]

I have 4 pekins and 1 of them in suddenly a lot fatter and has also started panting. I have also been worrying about him, but my husband says it's probably because he is fat. I have noticed since day one day he has always been the one that shivers when he is cold and pants when he is hot. The others never do this. They always have fresh water, food and I had more pine shavings when I notice they are wet and cover the poop. I clean the brooder every other day. The three larger are almost 3 weeks old and the smaller pekin is 1 week old (she is currently in with 2 little mallards so she doesn't get picked on by the older ones). I would just keep an eye on him, check to make sure he doesn't feel too hot when he does pant.

 

[quakingtons]

@Mrs. H I haven't gotten a reply :'( guess we will have to google it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I got a pekin and two ancona ducks about two or three weeks ago and the pekin pants at night. I have no idea what is wrong with he/she. The anconas dont pant but the pekin does. The pekin is bigger and fatter than the anconas. But I make sure they are not to hot but he still does it and im very worried about him/her. Does anyone know what could be wrong. I make sure they clean their nostrils out and get baths and clean their pin everyday. And have to constantly get then more water so it always gets cleaned. So I just dont know what could be wrong with my pekin.

You need to always know what the temp is in your brooder and they have to have a way to get out from under the heat. If all else looks good, eating ,drinking pooping normal and eyes look clear and no discharge coming from nares then your Pekin maybe too warm which can be hard on it's health too.

 

[Amiga]

Mrs. H I haven't gotten a reply :'( guess we will have to google it.

quakingtons, what was the question? I have had a very busy week - looked back a few pages do not see your post.

 

[quakingtons]

@Amiga its not your fault, we all have lives haha Hello everyone. I am a new pekin ducklings owner and I have done a lot of research on my babies before to be prepared, I was wondering if anyone could help me with a timeline on when to switch foods, move to a bigger home and when can I leave them outside to live in my backyard? I would also like some pointers on how to build a nice, comfortable, safe house for them in the back. I need pointers on these things because even though they're a week old they are growing so fast and I want to be ready. Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

@Amiga its not your fault, we all have lives haha Hello everyone. I am a new pekin ducklings owner and I have done a lot of research on my babies before to be prepared, I was wondering if anyone could help me with a timeline on when to switch foods, move to a bigger home and when can I leave them outside to live in my backyard? I would also like some pointers on how to build a nice, comfortable, safe house for them in the back. I need pointers on these things because even though they're a week old they are growing so fast and I want to be ready. Thanks!

You are right on target!

I switched foods between 2 and 3 weeks from starter crumble to grower, and then discovered that the grower is a grower-maintenance. Once everyone started laying we went to a layer feed, and I keep them on that all year because a number of my runners and buffs seem to really need to bank up the calcium - I supplement with 23% calcium gluconate during laying season, which is about 6 or 7 months a year.

Living outside - first, security!!! Sturdy structures with hardware cloth over any openings for night time. I have coated chain link underneath the day pen to prevent digging under, and 2"x3" coated woven wire across the top, in addition to the vertical fencing. At night they are in a pen in the walkout basement. When their house was outdoors I had two strands of electric fence around it.

Then there is temperature. Ducklings need (give or take a degree or three) 90˚ F first week, dropping 5 degrees a week till the brooder is the same temperature as the rest of their world.

Our duck house - the first one - is a double-walled plywood structure with a Dutch door for my convenience, and a pop door to a porch covered top bottom and sides with half inch metal hardware cloth. That opens to the Day Pen.