The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yep ring teal ducklings are a good bit smaller, and the main thing is the are black and silvery white, not yellowish like mandarins and wood ducks are.


Lisa, you are welcome, this is why I wanted to start it, to help new folks out learning about them all.

 

[KansasKid]

The eggs where all the same size color.

But these ducklings don't have that yellow tinge to them.

 

[exoticduckluvr]

oh poor babies

 

[destinduck]

Kansas those are 2 ringed teal babies. Like Exoticduckluvr said the eggs are smaller ,more oblong and white. Sorry about the lost ones but those live ones are " lookin good" Really good pics.

Oh yeah also I never worried about the internal pip only the external pip and once mine break thru I will give them a good 24-36 hours to make that circle cut and if there not out by then I will make the top circle cut but still let them get out on their own. If I open to check on this I will mist them with warm water so no shrink wrapping . When they pip they are breathing and if they cant get out of the shell after I remove the top cap I have found most of them dont make it anyway. I also see that there is yolk sacs on your two. Thats why I also never take them totally out of the shell. ALOT,alot of people rush the hatching. Most healthy ducklings will bust out on their own no help needed at all. And unfortunately a very few will die. I hope this helps you in future hatching. Shawn PS ENJOY THEM NEW BABIES

 

[Riffecreek]

Got a pair of Black Bellied Tree ducks coming in the near future!!

Any Suggestions on getting them settled in quickly so I might be having babies this year from them??

Also, I read that they can't stand real cold weather. We don't have real bad winters (like up north) but do have some colder spells that last a couple weeks.. Any tips on winter housing?? I Would like to make sure NOTHING happens to them!

 

[destinduck]

Congrats Riffecreek, They should be fine as long as they have some hay on the ground or shelter. The treeducks can handle the cold . It is just the feet that can get frostbitten is the main problem. Give them ground boxes and a raised box 6IN hole opening and some ground cover. And if you dont get babies spring sometimes you get them in late summer and fall. And thereis always next year

 

[waterdog]

Quote:
We kept them here in Michigan for many years they do alright in the cold as long as they have open water 24/7 and like destin said a shelter with straw the only problems we ever had was frostbitten feet but we can go for weeks here with below zero temps at nite and high temps of 10 degrees and we only ever had a couple get frost bite.

 

[HottentotTeal]

Quote:
I have 2 Hottentot Teals that are from a fairly hot climate and i built a 2 foot sight barrier around the base of the aviary that was recommended by several people on the forum and I also lay down pine straw in areas they like to loaf.

It doesn't snow enough to cover the ground in my area and we actually had several cold fronts where it was in the low 20s for a few days in a row which is not typical here, this past winter and they were fine.

I put tarps to cover the 2 sides that got the most wind as well as the top of the aviary, 3 sides covered in all.


The breeder i bought them from lives in Tennessee and it snows quite bit there and she said they actually do pretty good and would just recommend a few hay bales or something like that to act as natural wind breaks for them. She also uses straw so i would recommend a spot or 2 of that as bedding or something to get them off the frozen ground if they aren't winter-hardy.

I also covered up my pond so that it wouldn't freeze. (well it froze anyway i imagine, just never uncovered it until it was in the 40s) They liked to sleep in the pond at night and i was afraid they would get frozen in there.

 

[destinduck]

Had my first common shelduck egg today. I was cleaning the pens and pressure washing the kiddie pools and she layed it where the pool sits so I put it in their underground nest barrel

5 manderin pairs are going off and the apricot woodies and one of the fulvous hens layed their first egg today. AHHH ...spring!

 

[Riffecreek]

I was told to always stay away from wet hay because of mold.. Guess pine straw or regular straw would be better??