Saxony Duck Thread!

[dotknott]

Hi @lisah63

Congrats on the hatch! You're going to want to make sure they have an unmedicated starter feed and you may need to supplement niacin with brewers yeast or b3 pills.

Saxonies are a heavy breed and those little legs can definitely struggle under their heft.

Ducks also need to be able to dunk their heads in water, so a traditional chick waterer isn't really an option.

If you've brooded chicks before you should be fine. There's not too much different. Same basic temperature and bedding requirements.

I keep mine indoors for an absolute minimum of 2 weeks. Longer if the weather is still cold. Even though they go outside they still have a heat lamp in their house since nights can be a bit hit or miss. I keep the heat lamp on a dimmer so I can do my best not cooking them.

 

[AxolotlLove]

Super cute ducks everyone! I love those saxony girls, so pretty! I love the drakes soft grey heads too. Sadly, of the breeds I have in my flock, saxony is not one of them. I want some though! Maybe next year...

 

[KanaKukkula]

Wonderful to see more interest in Saxonies; and we can all learn from the experience of others. I wonder if anyone has experience with raising other duck breeds, to compare them. We are setting our first hatch of Indian Runners--will be Interesting to see how they compare to hatching Saxonies. We've had Runners for years, but haven't hatched any.

 

[boosterpacksmom]

I just picked up a saxony drake this morning. He was born April 2015 and he's so gorgeous

 

[dotknott]

@boosterpacksmom omg you can't just post that and not share pic! C'mon!

Anyway we had a hatch this weekend of 7. They're currently in the brooder with the duckling from the previous hatch that wasn't gaining weight.

And one from a few hatches ago:

 

[boosterpacksmom]

this is him. we haven't named him yet. found him on craigslist. once we got him home we realized the he had bumbles on both feet. granted all he cost me was a total of an hour of my time total to go get him so i'm not complaining. at least i think these are bumbles. i'll post a pic of him and the "bumbles". hopefully bumbles and not something more serious. tried to call a vet but of course the wildlife vet around here that could help is closed for the holiday today.

 

[AxolotlLove]

Awwww poor guy! Hope that clears up soon!

 

[boosterpacksmom]

I'm going to try to drain them tonight or tomorrow. He's had a rough day and i don't want to put him through too much in one day but it needs to be taken care of. I also went out and got antibiotics someone recommended I'm going to start him on because it's so bad. If I chicken out and still don't do it by Wednesday im taking him to the clinic. Either way he's going to get the care he needs and has obviously been denied for a while.

 

[KanaKukkula]

Duck in a cup! How cute is that. Thanks for posting.

 

[dotknott]

Goodness he's still so small! My drake is a beefcake in comparison.