Pekin Ducks

[Jadecinadr96]

Hi all! Was wondering if someone could answer some of my questions.

My Pekins seem to be almost 3 weeks old.(from photos I have seen). I attached one here of them. Feathers are coming in fast - and you can tell they are slowly turning white now

They eat their feed, and drink their water. Seems like they are going through water like crazy which I know is good / normal.

At any point am I suppose to remove the feed out of their area and just keep the water? Or do I feed them the feed always and let them have access 24/7?

I have been giving them some treats, blueberries - lettuce - tomatoes - etc. They LOVE it.

The "bigger" one which we are thinking is a male seems to love the treats more than the "smaller" one who we think is a female. They both have personalities - one enjoys being picked up more than the other, etc. They quack/squeak when we leave the coop every night. They LOVE being outside for short periods of time. They love the sunshine and digging in the dirt for bugs. lol.

At what point can we remove them from the heat lamp and let them roam in our large coop / outside? We have a wonderful "outside fenced" area attached to our coop which is good for when they can be outside all day (with access to inside the coop) so we can have a kitty pool, etc.

If we do have a male and female, (which we don't know for sure until their quacks develop more) do we have to worry/be excited about babies?

When will they start laying eggs?

Thanks in advanced. Any advice/tips for this age Pekins and going forward is much appreciated.

PS. We also have 10 chickens in a separate area of the coop. They are doing great - we just feed and provide water to them, they seem happy.

 

[Cayuga momma]

At any point am I suppose to remove the feed out of their area and just keep the water? Or do I feed them the feed always and let them have access 24/7

I don't remove water and food at night until they are in the coop and atleast 3 months old.

At what point can we remove them from the heat lamp and let them roam in our large coop / outside? We have a wonderful "outside fenced" area attached to our coop which is good for when they can be outside all day (with access to inside the coop) so we can have a kitty pool, etc.

Depends on your night temps, but usually by 8 weeks.

If we do have a male and female, (which we don't know for sure until their quacks develop more) do we have to worry/be excited about babies?

Unlikely, Pekins are not usually the type of duck that goes broody.

When will they start laying eggs?

In 6+ months depending on their age and when daylight hours are less.
(At their age there is a good chance they will start laying before winter)

 

[chickens really]

With Pekins you can remove feed and water at night at an early age. I'd lower percentage of feed too because they grow so fast. At 4 weeks switch to a Grower finisher feed.
Definitely fruits and veggies are good for all ducks too.

 

[Jadecinadr96]

Hi there, i have a question:

We have an extra large chicken coop - however the inside has concrete floors. Any suggestions: Do we put down chopped straw? Pine shavings?

Then the outside fenced in part: do we put sod down? sand? regular dirt?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[quackiemama]

I use the large pine shavings for a deep bedding in the duck house, I also use it in my run, but we didn't have grass just a muddy mess. When I clean out the shavings from teh duck house they go out into the run and fresh shavings in the house. I just keep a rotation going. Scoop out a little (alot) of poop every morning and so on and so on. Some others use other things but this just works for me and my terrain.

 

[Jadecinadr96]

I use the large pine shavings for a deep bedding in the duck house, I also use it in my run, but we didn't have grass just a muddy mess. When I clean out the shavings from teh duck house they go out into the run and fresh shavings in the house. I just keep a rotation going. Scoop out a little (alot) of poop every morning and so on and so on. Some others use other things but this just works for me and my terrain.

Awesome, thank you. Yeah - I was not sure as right now there are alot of weeds, mixed with some grass and alot of mud. I might keep it as is for now - just so a full clean and rake back there. Then take the pine shavings and dump them outside.