Pekin Duck Club!

[BullChick]

No, nothing wrong with hearing peeping long before they hatch.

 

[Lsuchica86]

Hi everyone, im new to thise site and well please forgive me if im doing this wrong. Im not sure if im supposed to hit reply or start a new thread.

Anyway last friday my husband bought me two pekin ducklings and i have no idea how old they are. Im guessing about 15 days old, i did a little googling. Im new to raising ducks..hope i can get the hang of this all. I already have my fatherinlaw b....ing about how ducks are messy. Fyi we live on their land.
Within the next two weeks ill be building them a house and pen. Im still trying to get some ideas on what and how i want it.
I have a few problems with the yard... The list as follows

Mother-in-law feeds about 30 stray cats ...which shed stop cause she gets possums every so often.

The cats bring fleas to the yard. Ive never been somewhere where they jump on me just by standing in the grass. Ive been spraying but the past month its been raining alot.

When it rains the yard holds water esp if it rains hard for 10+ minutes.

They want the ducks in the backyard and i wanted them in the front being i hardly go in the back plus itll be easier to drain their lil pond into the front ditch.

Theres a chain link fence in the backyard that has school kids on the other side. I dont want them feeding or hurting my ducks.

Anyway thats a few problems im facing.
I know ill be building an above ground pond...possibly with a deck...or an gravel path up to the water. I somewhat know what i want for their house but im trying to decide how big i want to make it. I'll probably set up a gutter on the house to try to detour rain water away from their pen. Also plumbing for the pond to detour the water as well.

Do fleas affect ducks? How do i keep them off them? Any ideas? Ill continue spraying the yard when the weather permits. Also yall think ill have trouble with the stray cats going after my ducks?

And how do i go about learning if my ducklings are too hot? I took the lamp off them today cause they were just sitting by the water and for what little i know i think they were panting. Not sure what that looks like when ducks do it...

 

[MandyJ]

Hi everyone, im new to thise site and well please forgive me if im doing this wrong. Im not sure if im supposed to hit reply or start a new thread.

Anyway last friday my husband bought me two pekin ducklings and i have no idea how old they are. Im guessing about 15 days old, i did a little googling. Im new to raising ducks..hope i can get the hang of this all. I already have my fatherinlaw b....ing about how ducks are messy. Fyi we live on their land.
Within the next two weeks ill be building them a house and pen. Im still trying to get some ideas on what and how i want it.
I have a few problems with the yard... The list as follows

Mother-in-law feeds about 30 stray cats ...which shed stop cause she gets possums every so often.

The cats bring fleas to the yard. Ive never been somewhere where they jump on me just by standing in the grass. Ive been spraying but the past month its been raining alot.

When it rains the yard holds water esp if it rains hard for 10+ minutes.

They want the ducks in the backyard and i wanted them in the front being i hardly go in the back plus itll be easier to drain their lil pond into the front ditch.

Theres a chain link fence in the backyard that has school kids on the other side. I dont want them feeding or hurting my ducks.

Anyway thats a few problems im facing.
I know ill be building an above ground pond...possibly with a deck...or an gravel path up to the water. I somewhat know what i want for their house but im trying to decide how big i want to make it. I'll probably set up a gutter on the house to try to detour rain water away from their pen. Also plumbing for the pond to detour the water as well.

Do fleas affect ducks? How do i keep them off them? Any ideas? Ill continue spraying the yard when the weather permits. Also yall think ill have trouble with the stray cats going after my ducks?

And how do i go about learning if my ducklings are too hot? I took the lamp off them today cause they were just sitting by the water and for what little i know i think they were panting. Not sure what that looks like when ducks do it...

Check on backyard chickens site for instructions on raising ducklings. That is your best bet. They are messy! I'll tell you that. I am raising 5 ducklings myself. Mine are a week old. Don't know if you can determine their size by the photo.

We live out in the country and have fleas and ticks in the wood I am sure, I have never seen any on our dogs but I put flea stuff on them so they don't bring them in the house. You might try diatomaceous (sp) earth the food quality. I know it works for keeping other bugs away it clogs up their breathing parts and kills them.

If the ducklings are too hot they will move away from their heat and pant. They open their mouths just like a dog and breathe very fast. Get a thermometer to put in their cage to see how warm they are. You should start with 95 degrees and go down 5 degrees each week. If they are 15 days old their temperature under the heat light should be 85 degrees or so. If the ducklings are huddling together and making a lot of noise they are cold.

Don't put them in water unless you are with them, they will sink! I didn't think ducklings would sink but they will. Their down doesn't have oils on it so it just absorbs the water. They can be in water but just watch them closely. I don't put the water any deeper than they can stand on the bottom. They will raise their feet and swim if they want.

Good luck with your family issues, can't help you there!

I highly suggest you read the BYC article, it is a really good one and will give you tips.

Good luck!
Let us know if we can help. I am by no means an expert but I know a little!

 

[Amiga]

Hi everyone, im new to thise site and well please forgive me if im doing this wrong. Im not sure if im supposed to hit reply or start a new thread.

Welcome! Fine to add to a thread, sometimes making a new one gets more attention.

Anyway last friday my husband bought me two pekin ducklings and i have no idea how old they are. Im guessing about 15 days old, i did a little googling. Im new to raising ducks..hope i can get the hang of this all. I already have my fatherinlaw b....ing about how ducks are messy. Fyi we live on their land.

Here are links I share when people say ducks are messy. I kept eleven ducks in the house for three months (long story), and while it was some work, once I got the hang of water management, life got much easier. And the house never smelled bad.

Within the next two weeks ill be building them a house and pen. Im still trying to get some ideas on what and how i want it.
I have a few problems with the yard... The list as follows

My alarms go off when I read "spraying." Ducks and ducklings are right down there in the grass, eating the grass and the soil. If there are poisons in the yard do not put the ducks there. Period.

Anyway thats a few problems im facing.
I know ill be building an above ground pond...possibly with a deck...or an gravel path up to the water. I somewhat know what i want for their house but im trying to decide how big i want to make it. I'll probably set up a gutter on the house to try to detour rain water away from their pen. Also plumbing for the pond to detour the water as well.

Do fleas affect ducks? How do i keep them off them? Any ideas? Ill continue spraying the yard when the weather permits. Also yall think ill have trouble with the stray cats going after my ducks?

Stray cats go after ducks. The ducks will need a secure pen, day and night.

Please do not spray the yard with poisons that will harm the ducks. Ducks are not bothered by fleas, to my knowledge. I asked my vet about that.

And how do i go about learning if my ducklings are too hot? I took the lamp off them today cause they were just sitting by the water and for what little i know i think they were panting. Not sure what that looks like when ducks do it...

You can get a little spring thermometer to put in the bottom of the brooder. At 15 days, they need to be around 75F to 80F. Overheating can be fatal.

 

[Lsuchica86]

If i keep them in the backyard think itd be ok to spray the front for fleas? I also have a 7 month old yorkie. The yard drains back to front so i wouldnt think itd get back there...
I was thinking about rabbit wire for the pen... And somehow blocking the schools side off. Thanks for the info and links im going look through them.
As for the temp they seem to like 64° during the day and around 70 at night. I take the lamp off during the day.
Any suggestions on taming them? Ive been hand feeding them and trying to play but they seem scared. Im guessing from the guy at the feed store. He sucks at catching them

 

[Luvduck]

Try special treats, my ducks liked lettuce when I first got them, make sure it's in small bites though, also holding them is good, petting and talking nicely helps. Good luck

 

[Lsuchica86]

I feel stupid now, i been putting lil bits of lettuce in the cage and i pet them but dont really hold them. When i take one out by himself they both start crying. Ill have to sit down and start showing them they can trust me.



Would something be wrong or bothering them? I noticed one looks bald where his wing meets his body. Promise last question for a while haha

 

[MandyJ]

I feel stupid now, i been putting lil bits of lettuce in the cage and i pet them but dont really hold them. When i take one out by himself they both start crying. Ill have to sit down and start showing them they can trust me.



Would something be wrong or bothering them? I noticed one looks bald where his wing meets his body. Promise last question for a while haha

Don't feel stupid, how do you get the answer if you don't ask?

I announce myself when I come into their room while walking up to the cage. They are quiet until I announce myself, then they all 5 say HI!!!! jump up and start moving around. Just put your hand down in their enclosure and leave it still. Put some treat in your hand (mine love chopped up green peas), they will come over to investigate and crawl all over your hand. Eventually they will let you pet their heads and chest. So far mine don't like their backs stroked.

If you are wondering if something is wrong, watch them. Is one pecking on the other (bald spot)? But remember they only have down NOT feathers, mine have little spots where the down is thinner than at other spots, that may be what you are seeing. If they are hot they will move away from the heat source (be sure they have enough room to get away from the heat) and will be panting, if they are cold they will be huddled together under the light tweeting a lot. Mine are pretty quiet when they are in their box, that is unless I come in the room then they can get LOUD!

Hope this helps, hang in there, it really isn't hard, just a lot of work!!! But it IS worth it! LOL
M

 

[duckies1230]

There is a bucket next to the spigot that has been sitting there since last fall. With it being filled with water, then snow, then rain the water in there is to the top. While picnicking with Duckling this morning, I noticed that the chickens will perch on the side of the bucket to drink. Even though I only have a small property, they obviously prefer to not have to go inside the coop to drink. Plus, who doesn't like to drink out of a "special" cup? I felt bad that the ducks couldn't drink from it.
While playing with the fencing for the duck run, I put the large barrel on its side to spill out the water. There is also a plastic tub from the hospital inside. This means that there is a two or 3 inch puddle of water to play in, and then a whole tub of water to drink from or play in until the pool is put out.
Chilling with the chickens

Half an hour later when I walked away from the barrel

@duckies1230

thanks so much for posting these, I haven't been on BC things are hectic around here and now we are all sick too!!!!

I never win. I was just about to msg you to ask about them and then I saw this!!!! It made my day. Any fertile eggs? Are you still wanting more ducks? Tsc has ducklings now, I can't even go into the store. Lol. Hope everything is good for you and duckling!!!

 

[BullChick]

No fertile eggs. I missed out on the Pekin at TSC Wednesday. Mail order/ebay isn't working out either. However, I do have a quack dealer that may be able to get some to me very soon!
Duckling has been pointing out poop piles the last few days! Between poop and sticks, she has been having a blast outside!
I'm sorry that you're sick! Duckling and I had the flu two weeks ago. It was oh so much fun trying to deal with that alone!