Thinking About Getting Ducks, Looking For Advice Please!

[QuackSpeak]

Okay, full update now..
We didn't actually buy that much, only chick feed and grit. We didn't like the feeders and waterers they sell at TSC (Our former ducks spilled all the food out of the feeder and it didn't seem like they liked the waterer). They didn't sell brewers yeast, we'll be buying that online. We did dust off our old heat lamp and bulb - it works! And we have little tin pans for feed and water.
We're going to buy a brooder tomorrow at Home Depot.
We didn't have to buy substrate, as were using paper towels and if that fails, we have shavings in the basement. We're pretty much all set!
In other news. We walked into the pet store (For brewers yeast) and almost came out with a hamster! Lol we are very animal oriented.

 

[WalkerNom]

@QuackSpeak - Oh I'd give anything to have parents that liked animals just as much as I do! And people wonder why I spend so much time with my grandmother...I think she's the only one in my family that does.

What kind of hamster was it?? I'm more partial to mice, but I've had hamsters and they were all fun (except the dwarfs).

On another note, why is brewer's yeast so hard to find??? I had to get a feed store to order it for me (and I'm hoping it comes in before the ducks!). Maybe I should order some online just to be safe rather than sorry.

 

[QuackSpeak]

@QuackSpeak - Oh I'd give anything to have parents that liked animals just as much as I do! And people wonder why I spend so much time with my grandmother...I think she's the only one in my family that does.

What kind of hamster was it?? I'm more partial to mice, but I've had hamsters and they were all fun (except the dwarfs).

On another note, why is brewer's yeast so hard to find??? I had to get a feed store to order it for me (and I'm hoping it comes in before the ducks!). Maybe I should order some online just to be safe rather than sorry.

My parents love the animals, but it is mostly me doing the work. My dad falls in love with whatever I bring home, and my mom threatens to cook them. She's joking, lol...

She pretends to just tolerate the animals, but I've seen her playing with the pets when we weren't looking. I'm sorry your parents don't like animals as much as you do. I think I'd die if I had no pets (Joking, because I currently have no pets

).

He was a short-haired hamster (One of the big ones). We've never had a little hamster, they just seemed too nervous. The hamster in question was soo cute! He was a really really light brown, with a band of splotchy white around his middle (The brown was so light it looked a lot like the white). He had a pink nose, and just seemed really cute and active. He ran a lot on his wheel, and then slept stretched out on top of his house like a little dog.

I know! It's so annoying; we're thinking of ordering the yeast online. While we were at the pet store, we found brewer's yeast... in tablet form

. I'm not sure we'll need it though, because we got food made for ducks, chicks, and turkeys, and it says on the lable that it includes niacin supplement? I'll ask about it on the Duck thread.

 

[WalkerNom]

@QuackSpeak - My mom is basically like yours when it comes to my pets. I know she really loves them but she'll never admit it. I'm the same as you, I couldn't live without an animal.

You're talking about a Syrian Hamster! I had one and it was by far the best hamster I've ever had! They're super sweet (usually) but then again I got her when she was really young.

You might want to check out your food because I believe chick feed has niacin in it too but not enough for ducks (that's why it needs to be supplemented). And careful if you buy niacin tablets for dogs/cats because it usually has garlic in it and that's not good for ducks or dogs/cats for that matter!

I'll wait to see if I get a call from the feed store tomorrow (they probably get their shipments on mondays) and if not, I'll order some myself.

 

[QuackSpeak]

@QuackSpeak - My mom is basically like yours when it comes to my pets. I know she really loves them but she'll never admit it. I'm the same as you, I couldn't live without an animal.

You're talking about a Syrian Hamster! I had one and it was by far the best hamster I've ever had! They're super sweet (usually) but then again I got her when she was really young.

You might want to check out your food because I believe chick feed has niacin in it too but not enough for ducks (that's why it needs to be supplemented). And careful if you buy niacin tablets for dogs/cats because it usually has garlic in it and that's not good for ducks or dogs/cats for that matter!

I'll wait to see if I get a call from the feed store tomorrow (they probably get their shipments on mondays) and if not, I'll order some myself.

Yeah, Syrians! We've had two, and they were the best little guys! So cuddly. Unfortunately, I think I'm allergic

. Don't tell my parents lol. We had allergy tests, and they said that I wasn't allergic to anything they had tested me for, like cats dogs etc - but I was allergic to something, they just didn't know what. Guess they didn't test for hamsters

.

Yeah, we'd decided against buying the yeast in tablet form - it did contain garlic, thank you for the warning. We didn't want to have to crush it up so much, and wasn't sure if we would even be able too. Didn't want to choke the ducklings. I'll check the food to see if I can find out how much niacin it contains.

Hope your feed store calls!

 

[WalkerNom]

@QuackSpeak - Oh that sucks! I don't think I'm allergic to anything. Although in the spring everything gets covered in pollen and my eyes tear up and my nose runs a little.

I'm hoping they call too, I paid for it but it's just a little mom and pop shop...they could have easily forgotten to add it to their order lol.

 

[QuackSpeak]

@QuackSpeak - Oh that sucks! I don't think I'm allergic to anything. Although in the spring everything gets covered in pollen and my eyes tear up and my nose runs a little.

I'm hoping they call too, I paid for it but it's just a little mom and pop shop...they could have easily forgotten to add it to their order lol.

Has your feed store called yet?

We set up the brooder in my room yesterday

. So now we're pretty much all set, except for the brewer's yeast. Nine more days!

 

[WalkerNom]

@QuackSpeak - No not yet I'll have to call and see what's up.

That's great! Did I ever ask what/how many ducks you ordered? I still have to take out a shelf where the brooder is going in my room (not much work tbh), I've gotta work on what I'm calling the "Stay-Dry" Platform (basically this), and just the ol' wash/dry supplies.

Everything else is at my grandmother's because I've gotta go there to get them! She's retired and always home so I had them sent to her post office in case for whatever reason I wasn't able to go get them myself.

Did you order the brewer's yeast? What are you using for your brooder?

 

[QuackSpeak]

@QuackSpeak - No not yet I'll have to call and see what's up.

That's great! Did I ever ask what/how many ducks you ordered? I still have to take out a shelf where the brooder is going in my room (not much work tbh), I've gotta work on what I'm calling the "Stay-Dry" Platform (basically this), and just the ol' wash/dry supplies.

Everything else is at my grandmother's because I've gotta go there to get them! She's retired and always home so I had them sent to her post office in case for whatever reason I wasn't able to go get them myself.

Did you order the brewer's yeast? What are you using for your brooder?

Three ducks

. A WH, Blue Swedish, and Cayuga. I had basically the same idea, with the Stay-Dry platform (Good name). I may skip on the hardware cloth, and just have their water dish in a small pan? We'll see. It turns out that we have to buy more stuff: A thermometer, another C-Clamp (For holding up the heat lamp; we don't want it to fall down...), and I think something else? Oh yeah, Brewer's yeast!

We're going to order the yeast tm, I think. Hopefully. For my brooder: We bought a big, big Rubbermaid tub - it looks sort of like something a horse would drink out of! When the ducks grow up, we'll build a ramp and put it next to their kiddie pool for them to swim in, because it's deep and looks like they'll have fun in it. We were going to put paper towels in it or maybe those puppy pee pads, bc they're more absorbent.

Gtg, English teacher's talking...

 

[WalkerNom]

@QuackSpeak - Called the feed store, they said the brewer's yeast should be in tomorrow, which is great! One less thing I have to worry about! :3

Ooh yes, now I remember I did ask you that, I think I'm loosing my mind with everything going on right now :b Those are all really cute ducks.

I'm thinking instead of putting the hardware cloth on the top of the lid I'm gonna put it on the bottom and secure it with zip ties (sharp edge inside the tub). I'd like to minimize the amount of time they're standing on the wire since I know with other animals it can cause cuts and that can lead to bumble foot. And since I'm only worried about the water now I may even cover the wire with that stuff you line drawers with. That way they've got a softer surface and the water can still get through. I wish the kind we had was a different color, but that's just me being picky.

I think I know what you're talking about, my grandmother has horses and she has one for them to drink out of lol it's not that tall though. That will make an awesome brooder. Why aren't you using shavings? I bought the puppy pee pads to use for the first couple days just until I know that they're eating/pooping okay lol then after a couple days of being monitored I'll switch to shavings.