I ordered 3 KCs and 2 Pekin lady ducks from Ideal this morning. a fox breached our perimeter last night, and took my daughter's white blue swedish duck. I know the fox has babies, and it got really brazen, and took the duck at 3 in the afternoon! So anyway, she is devastated, and I am replacing it with a pekin, but had to order 5 to make the minimum order. so i got 2 pekins, to hedge our bets, and 3 Kcs because they're so pretty, and I might want to sell eggs at some point. so anyway, I am awaiting my confirmation email, to give me a date. We've never had baby ducks from a hatchery before, our other ducks were raised by their mother... who we ended up giving away because she was a biter... we got the mom and the babies as a package deal... so anyway, what to I need, and need to do to get ready for these babies? I know I need a tub, piddle pads, a light, and some kind of food.... what kind of food? What else do i need to know? THANKS!!!
I found very good information in Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. There are also many sites online that were helpful. Make sure you feed NON-MEDICATED food and that the ducks have constant access to drinking water. Keep the litter dry - not easy. Ducklings from a hatchery won't have oils in their feathers (that ducklings raised by a duck would have), so don't put out a basin of water, or let them go into a body of water until they are older (perhaps five weeks). Good luck!
