When will my ducks be ready to go outside?

[lizzyGSR]

I have two pekin ducklings that will be five weeks old tomorrow. They are getting their adult feathers but don't have all of them yet. When will my ducks be ready to go out full time? The highs here have been in the 60's or 70's, usually with some wind, and the lows have been in the 40's.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Lizzy,

Mine were 6 weeks old when they went out and they are doing great! Just make sure that they have protection from the elements (somewhere to snuggle up away from the wind). How are they doing with the heat lamp? The week before I took mine out, I had the lamp completely off so they were used to the day/night cycle and were used to no direct above heat.

I'm in Kansas as well. If you haven't already, you should join us in the Kansas forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/248925/consolidated-kansas/

 

[So cal chickens]

I live in california but i put my ducks out at 3 wks. they have a shelter with shavings to lay on at night. they seem warm enough.

 

[Apyl]

I'm in wisconsin and mine went about by 2 weeks old. They are now 6 weeks old for my Pekin, 5 weeks old for 2 of the Mallards and 3 weeks old for 5 of the Mallards. My coop has a heat lamp in it to provide a little extra warth during the night. We've had 20 degree weather this past week with no issues.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Thank you all for your responses!

I guess I probably should have mentioned that my duck house isn't finished yet. I've got a temporary fence (you can see the very edge of it on the right side of the picture) put up that they can go in during the day when they're being watched (I don't trust my dog alone with them quite yet). They'll have to wait to go outside 24/7 until after the duck house and run are finished, which hopefully won't be too much longer as we need to start building pasture fence.



For my house, I'm imitating this house as best as I can.

 

[Apyl]

Thank you all for your responses!

I guess I probably should have mentioned that my duck house isn't finished yet. I've got a temporary fence (you can see the very edge of it on the right side of the picture) put up that they can go in during the day when they're being watched (I don't trust my dog alone with them quite yet). They'll have to wait to go outside 24/7 until after the duck house and run are finished, which hopefully won't be too much longer as we need to start building pasture fence.



For my house, I'm imitating this house as best as I can.

With your house not being done, I personally would not leave them out overnight. You would be enticing a predator with a free dinner. Age wise their old enough, you just need to finish thier area and your good to go.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Apyl - I wasn't planning on leaving them out unsupervised as at all until their house & run are finished. As I said, I don't trust our dog. I want something more secure to leave them in before I trust them being outside unsupervised with our dog. However, I've only been leaving them out when the temps are in the mid-70's and bringing them back in as soon as the temp dips below that. I was asking because I work from home and could supervise them being outside for a good portion of the day in their temporary pen but wasn't sure the temps were warm enough for that (highs of 60 degrees today).

 

[tweetysvoice]

Good luck in training them to use a ramp or stairs! I can't for the life of me get my ducks to use one. Might have to train them with peas (which I'm sure they'll hate

hehe) That house looks amazing though! My ducks hate to be inside their house. I believe that they stay outside (in a secured double layer run) most of the time. It's rare to see them sleeping inside their house.

Highs of 60's would be absolutely no problem in letting them play outside, btw!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Ramps and stairs are both easy to train the ducks to use. It takes 3 days to a week as adults and they get the hang of it.

Lizzy, if you goto home depot or lowes and get a package of deer netting or bird netting to put across the temp fence it would help you for daytime outings and the worry of arial predators.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Bird netting... Hmmm... Why didn't I think of that? I don't have a Home Depot or Lowes close by (not within 2 hours' drive, maybe even farther than that). However, I do happen to have some on hand, thanks to a generous neighbor. Thanks for the idea! I might have to try that! My biggest worry is our dog. He is a Lab (a bird dog) and watches the ducks like a hawk. The fence is only temporary and I'm afraid it wouldn't stand up to him if he decided he wanted to get the ducks. Thus why they'll be supervised until their permanent housing is complete.

I plan to lock my ducks up in their house at nights. That way I can sleep easy knowing they're safe.