Swimming

[duckking]

Hi, for the past 3 day i have been letting my 7 day old mallard and my 7 day old rouen swim for about 3 minutes. can i let them swim longer and when do they start producing the oils so they wont get water logged?

 

[1-duckling]

I let mine swim around that young too. If it's a bit cool out I just dry them off with a towel and/or put them back under their heat lamp. The wild ducklings are out swimming around 24 hrs of age and mom just keeps them warm like we use the heat lamps. Not sure about the oil thing, but seems like when they are producing oil they take their little beak and rub their back near their tail and rub themselves.

 

[Amiga]

Letting them swim will stimulate their preen glands and preening behavior earlier than if you don't. But it is difficult to say exactly when they will be oily enough not to get soaked. My runners were able to at least wade since they were two days old, and they began preening after their first swim. Still, I brought them back into a clean, dry warm brooder so they would not catch a chill.

I suggest letting them swim till they seem tired, watching them constantly. Mine only were in for up to five minutes until they were over two weeks old. Then up to ten or fifteen, and so forth. But watching them has been key for me. When they stop splashing so much and just start to stand around (most of them) was when we went back to the brooder. Those who did not immediately begin to preen, I wiped off with a clean dry washcloth.