Raising and caring for ducklings

[onaharley]

Here is what use....1tablespoon to 1 cup of feed. You can find it in the baking isles at most food stores!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@onaharley please share your feeding and watering station here. Or give your link to your thread.

 

[onaharley]

@onaharley please share your feeding and watering station here. Or give your link to your thread.

Yes I forgot to post this. Here is a video. I took a dollar store shoe tote and cut a big wide u shape out of one side, so the ducklings can get to the water. The tote will catch the water that spills over. I placed a puppy pee pad in the tote to absorb the water.***please note that I just found out that this not really a good idea because the pee pads contain a gel that is toxic if the ducks happen to rip open the outer layer and eat the insides. I am not home during the day to watch if this happens, so I have removed these from the brooder***.At tractor supply they have these cups that have hooks on the back and they slip right over the edges of the tote. The cups come in a set of 3 for 3.99.
When I get home I will take better pictures and post.

 

[ChickenRelatedUserName]

Phew, just read all 72 pages of this thread. Is there a way to change the user settings to allow more posts per page?

Also, there is some great advice in this thread. I would encourage people NOT to use milk jugs for waterers though. The plastic in milk jugs is porus and the lipids from the milk get trapped in the pores and cannot be cleaned out. This allows a risk of things turning rancid on you. I've learned this from researching long term water storage techniques, so I'm not sure on the time scale, but since it didn't take milk long to go bad, it probably doesn't matter.

 

[onaharley]

Omg!!!! Can I go back in time please?!? I just watched my BLTs video and I just melted a little

 

[ChickyNicky05]

What age are ducklings able to go in water? We brought home 2 ducklings yesterday about a month old and I have left out a shallow bin of water for them today while I am at work - should I have someone go and remove it? I had read that they would be okay with a small "pool" (it's one of those trays for starting seeds full with about 2 inches of water) but now after reading this thread I am worried that no one is home to dry them off after they swim... They are very scared of us as it is and I'm not even sure I could catch them to dry them off.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Where are they being kept? 2" with month old ducklings should be fine as long as temps are nice an warm if they are outside. They need to be able to get in and out of their water source because they can get water logged and drown.

 

[ChickyNicky05]

Where are they being kept? 2" with month old ducklings should be fine as long as temps are nice an warm if they are outside. They need to be able to get in and out of their water source because they can get water logged and drown.

They have a long half covered run and the water is at the end in the sun. I think I'm going to have someone remove it at some point today though because even though they were able to get out of it fine yesterday I am now feeling a bit paranoid that there isn't a ramp for them to get out, they have to step out of it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Always go with your gut.
But be sure to come back and post pics we would love to see them.

 

[ChickyNicky05]

Always go with your gut.
But be sure to come back and post pics we would love to see them.

I took an extended lunch to go home and check on them! They were both alive and hiding in the back of their run. I put an umbrella over the run because it is so very hot today in MA! Here is a picture of when we first brought them home yesterday - I don't have any pics yet of their home but will post when I get the chance! They're names are Launchpad and Gosalyn (from Darkwing Duck). Unsure of their sex yet, both are only chirping. They sort of look like they are trying to hiss sometimes, but nothing comes out (they open their beaks for a few long seconds). Hoping for girls though!