starting baby ducks

[cassie]

I will be getting a few baby ducks with an order of chicks this spring. Can I start the ducks with the chicks or do I need to separate them from the beginning? Can baby ducks use the same type feeders and waterers as baby chicks or do I need something different?

 

[The Wolf Queen]

Im gonna hatch ducks this year as well. I would also like to know

 

[ConchRepublic]

We use chick feeders... although for 5 ducks we had to go to a 1 gallon waterer after about 2 weeks... they splash it EVERYWHERE.

 

[hunterjumper999]

hi...welcome to duckdom...

I'm sure someone else has a better set up but this is what i just set up for tomorrows ducklings

I reccomend stopping by a feed store and getting a rubber feeding bucket, some hardware cloth and pelleted equine bedding.

DUcklings are very very messy with their water, so you can do what I did and try to cut down on the mess.

Last year for clean outs of the pool i did:

(with 8 ducklings)

week 1- changed pellets daily in feeder, cleaned pool twice
week 2- changed pellets every 2 days ( they get better with the water) and bedding every 3.
week 3- change pellets every 2 days and bedding every 2.
week 4 - MOVED into the cage! becasue Mamas tired of cleaning !

 

[dancesWchickens]

Ducks are waaay different from chicks in their needs. I picked up 2 baby ducks at a feed store after the proprietor told me I could keep them with my chicks, but it didn't work out that way at all. Unlike chicks, ducklings need constant attention from "mom", which you will be if you get ducklings, and will cry heartbreakingly unless they are with you constantly. They have absolutely no interest in chicks and will follow you around endlessly. We didn't have the fortitude to let them suffer, so we gave in and kept them next to us as much as possible. One of our ducklings died very quickly, but the other survived and became our family "dog" until a possum got it one night (she was trying to get back into the house with us, and escaped from her outdoor cage). My kids took our duck for walks on a leash to the frozen yogurt store, etc. It's really like having a puppy around - they are amazingly cute but need a lot of attention. A year later I still think about getting another one - in the house, as a family pet, with diapers - but I always decide not to do it because of the insane amount of care involved in keeping a duck indoors. Their ability to poop cannot really be underestimated. We clocked ours by feeding her blueberries and watching for the unmistakable end result - I kid you not, it was slightly over 2 minutes from entry to exit.

As far as nuts and bolts: baby ducks eat duck starter (which looks like chick starter but I guess is a different formula). They drink from a dish, not a nipple waterer, and make a fantastic mess when they do. They will carry their crumbles and drop them in the water to moisten them, then spray the resulting slurry in all directions as they suck it up. Very funny when they are small, but a huge mess when they get bigger. I spent a lot of creative energy trying to figure out how to keep food and water separate. In short I think you will have trouble keeping ducklings together in a brooder with chicks both for the emotional health of the ducks, and for food and water issues.

Good luck!

 

[Soccer Mom]

Definitely start them seperately. The ducklings are very dirty and have slightly different needs than your chicks.

The basics: I've always fed mine chick starter. That advice about the medicated feeds being toxic is based upon old meds that are no longer in the feed. Plain old chick starter is just fine. Ducks must have water to eat. Don't waste time trying to keep the food and water seperate. They will take their food to the water. If they eat without access to water they can choke and die. Just resign yourself to cleaning waterers twice a day when they are little. I use the very same food and water dishes when brooding my ducks and chicks.


They will splash and make a mess, no matter what you do. Just part of duckie ownership. They are messy babies in the brooder. Heck, ducks are just messy in general, but they are so cute and entertaining that it more than makes up for it.

I've never found my ducklings especially needy, but then I'm usually brooding in groups of 10-20. If you want to experience a needy baby, try brooding geese. You really ARE momma!