Quick question: ducks are 4wks....questions about putting them outside

[cjeanean]

Okay, I know I gotta wait a little longer before they can go outside, but I don't know exactly how long....I've raised 2 ducks already but it was over a year ago and I don't remember how long we had to wait before putting them outside. Is it the same rule as with the chickens, 5 wks or when they get all their feathers??? Cause if I gotta wait till they get all their feathers our house is gonna smell like waterFOUL for forever!!!

The other concern is this: I have a kiddie pool out with my other ducks, and I'm wanting to know if I gotta worry about the young ducks drowning when I put them out. Thanks!!!

Christina

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

Ducks are tough! I put mine out in early June in Vermont when they were only a few days old. For maybe a week after that I brought them in at night. They've been out ever since. At this time of year, if you get them used to cooler temps gradually over a few days, they should be fine!

 

[cjeanean]

LOL, I figured they were pretty tough, I had 100% hatches from mine even when I helped when I shouldn't have

I just don't want them to drown. They're getting *some* of their feathers right now, on their backs where their wings are and on their tails, but that's about it. They're fat little devils, though, that much is for sure!!! The 2 that I want to put outside are 4 weeks old yesterday. Should I wait till they get all their feathers??? I'm so sick of them being in the house! It's been getting pretty chilly overnight, mid 50's to low 60's. And I know they're gonna freak out on the kiddie pool.....I remember learning with my first ducks that if they swim without a mom before they get all their feathers that they'll get waterlogged and drown....

 

[Violet22]

I don't think the problem is with drowning so much, it's getting chilled. The person's advice I have been following with my ducklings says that at 6-9 weeks they can have access to swimming water, but to make sure they can get in and out easily and also that they can dry off, because until 16 weeks they are prone to get chilled.
It's usually 100+ here during the day, and I was told it would be okay for them to swim during the day, but at night if they temps really dropped to keep them out of it at night so they wouldn't get chilled.
I am sure there are many other ways of doing it, and all are fine, this is just the advice I was given.

Mine are 5 weeks old now, and I hope to get their pen done in the next couple of days and get them OUT of my house!!
If I ever get ducklings again, I will have the pen done before I get them and they are going outside no later than 2 weeks. I'll do it in the summer when it's hot, but never, never, never again will I have almost full grown ducks inside again!

 

[Soccer Mom]

At a month, they should be fine swimming during the day, just as long as they can easily get in and out of the water.

Mine always leave the brooder at two weeks. They go outside and live in the coop for another week and then start getting privleges in the run (supervised). Usually by a month, they are outside all day.
I love them, but they are M E S S Y !

 

[CityChicker]

You have to sort of go by how your own outside set-up is and of course, the weather. Mine are generally outside full time by a month or so. The size of the group they are in makes a difference too though.

In most cases and in decent weather, I think they can go out during the day (and be swimming also) by 3 weeks (sometimes even 2-2 1/2 weeks. Waterfowl grow to maturity very fast. At 9 weeks, they are 95% fully grown. I have never had a duck at that age get chilled. If anything, the heat is more dangerous by that time than the cold.