A Complete Guide to Raising Ducklings for Beginners

Here is a complete guide to raising duck and ducklings for beginners. On a homestead, ducks are a common animal to keep. Many folks prefer their ducks above their hens! Being one of such folks is my hubby. He frequently remarks that he wishes we had begun with ducks. We've been raising ducks for a while, so I thought I'd create a beginner's guide on rearing young ducks.

Ducks have wonderful personalities and are a lot of fun. Hearing their cheep cheeps develop into full-blown QUACKS is one of the nicest things. Duck eggs are equally as delectable as chicken eggs and may be consumed.

In some ways, keeping ducks is simpler than keeping chickens. It's simpler to house duck. Since they sleep on the ground and lay their eggs there, they don't need nesting boxes or roosts. They are more cleaner since they prefer not to urinate close to where they sleep. In the morning, my duck will leave the coop to use the restroom. She definitely tries to refrain from doing it in her coop!

A Complete Guide to Raising Ducklings for Beginners

Ducks may cause a mess in their water supply, though. more so while they are young. Ducklings that are only becoming used to the water love to splash, kick, swim, and rush around knocking over such water sources!

You could become tired of cleaning after a few weeks of water splashing and pouring everywhere! When you are raising newborn ducks, it is a daily task. Just keep in mind, duck mother, that this stage won't last more than four weeks.

I think the most crucial thing to do first is to make sure you have everything the ducklings will require. Although young ducks don't require much, there are a few things you should know.

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Niacin – A Vital Nutrient For Ducks

Please close carefully since this is one of the most crucial things you should understand about parenting newborn ducks. I've seen comments from hundreds of folks who had no clue they should be providing their ducklings a niacin vitamin supplement in forums and other places. So allow me to describe what it is and why they require it.

Niacin is a vitamin that is sometimes referred to as vitamin B3. It aids in the growth of young ducks. Lack of niacin can cause ducklings to develop splayed legs, bent legs, or a wry neck.

Niacin is often only present in sufficient amounts in starter or growth diet for ducklings. However, it might be challenging to locate duckling food. Stores don't generally carry it.

Therefore, make sure your newborn chickens have access to a reliable source of niacin. Here are a few ways to supplement your ducks' diet with niacin. I'm included the item I usually purchased when my ducklings were little. Brewer's yeast is the name of it. It has a considerable amount of niacin in it.

Ducklings may easily get niacin. Niacin requirements for ducklings are 70mg per kilogram of diet, according to Duck DVM. Usually, I add the right quantity to their crumbly feed. I've found that to be really effective in the past. No one was niacin deficient, and it was quick and simple!

What Should I Feed Baby Ducks?

Because ducklings develop so quickly, it's crucial that you not only pick the right food but also make sure they always have access to both. Unlike laying ducks, which require more calcium, ducklings do not. For the development of eggs, calcium is crucial. However, because the ducklings and chicks aren't yet producing eggs, it isn't given to their food.

0 to 17 Weeks

Therefore, duckling feed might be costly and difficult to get. I'll provide links to a few Amazon suppliers. Duckling starter/grower is another name for duckling feed.

However, if you can't afford it or if you're keeping a mixed flock of chickens and other fowl, you could only want to use chick feed, such as flock raiser, which is one of my faves, or chick starter/grower. Just keep in mind that with these choices, ducklings will require a niacin or brewer's yeast supplement.

It's also crucial to remember that ducklings SHOULD NOT consume pharmaceutical feed.

After 18 weeks

Usually, ducks begin laying between the ages of 18 and 22 weeks. Egg-laying ducks require more calcium. Extra calcium is present in adult duck diet, which is crucial for the development of eggs.

You can use a flock raiser, duck feed, or chicken layer feed to feed ducks.

Do you want to know what a duck eats?

Grit - Pebbles Or Sand

Big or tiny, ducks and chickens equally require some sort of grit. Due to the lack of teeth in ducks, grit aids in meal crushing.

Smaller grit grits are required for newborns. For them, you may purchase baby chick grit. It will assist them in pulverizing their meal. If you frequently feed them food other than crumbles, this is extremely useful.

We don't have a green yard since we live in Florida; we have sand. We actually occupy a sandbox. This means that I never need to give my hens or ducks grit.

Water

Ducks require water. In addition to drinking water, they will also require a pool.

Ducks enjoy sticking their heads under water. It aids in keeping their nostrils clean. If you're raising chicks and ducklings together, you could allow them access to a small bowl of water under your supervision for a short period of time each day or even many times.

Ducks frequently create a mess! When they are young, ducks may be rather naughty, toppling the water supply and playing in it. Quack!

Make careful to wipe up any spills and to replace any wet litter with dry items after removing the wet ones. There are several illnesses that birds might contract when it's wet.

Can ducklings swim?

Ducklings don't develop waterproof feathers until they are roughly 4 weeks old, which is vital to remember. Ducklings will frequently swim with their mother, but if you're raising newborn ducks yourself, there are a few things you should be aware of.

Young ducklings must dry out in a timely manner. It's not a good idea to let them swim if it's chilly. They could become too chilly as a result of this and die.

Make sure you provide them access to a heat source so they can dry their feathers. It's really hot where we are since we reside in Florida. Even at the height of summer, the newborn ducks had no trouble air drying.

They require monitoring around water, so keep that in mind as well. Fatigue may be fatal!

Second, maintain the water level somewhat low to prevent weariness. As a result, individuals can swim or practice swimming while still being able to get up afterward.

Remove them from the water and turn off the water supply if they appear to be exhausted.

Finally, I wouldn't advise providing them with a constant stream of swimming water. only a few minutes every day.

We gave the ducks a little pan of water to swim in. I've owned this old pan for a long time. I had no intention of continuing to use. Another option is a bathtub, but only for a short while, and never leave them alone! especially since they can't get out of a bathtub and could drown from exhaustion.

Somewhere on Youtube, you may have spotted the video of a newborn duck playing in a pan of water. Take note that she can still stand up and that she is well-supervised. You may watch the video again by waiting for it to cycle through if you missed it the first time.

Heat Lamps

Ducklings could require a heat source. The babies are normally kept in a smaller brooder for the first week or two. We provide them with heat whenever they require it using a little desk lamp with a reptile bulb.

Your brooder should be large enough to fill in some of the area that the heat lamp is not illuminating. This provides space for chicks and ducklings to escape the heat if it becomes unbearably hot.

When my ducklings were young, I observed that they need less heat than the chicks did. They didn't huddle as much as the chicks did, and they would sleep considerably farther from the light. So remember that.

You want to turn down the heat each week. additional info on heat lights. Although this page is about young chicks, it contains a wealth of knowledge that also applies to ducklings.

Symptoms of Too Much Heat

Note that ducks are overheated if they are panting, drinking a lot of water, not playing, and not eating. Consider purchasing a bulb with a lower wattage, relocating the light farther away to lower the warmth, or enlarging the brooder. especially if you are rearing more than five ducks at once!

More ducklings being raised implies the brooder will be warmer. Even just their body heat could be rather strong. Therefore, give ducks plenty of freedom to escape the heating source and an extra-large brooding area.

Better Heating Techniques

It is not necessary to use a heating light. In fact, safer heaters are now available for chicken coops, duck coops, and newborn chicks. These are now widely used instead of hazardous combustible heat lamps.

Brooders

These days, the market is flooded with brooders. I'll list a handful that I found on Amazon below. Choose a strategy that will work for you. Just so you know, while we were raising numerous chicks and a few ducks, we used the black plastic container.

The black plastic bowl was our initial choice, but five ducklings are too dirty! He chose to relocate them to a swimming pool. It's a sizable kiddie pool, not the largest, but enough. I'll shortly be posting some images. They need to be edited before being uploaded to the website. This requires a ton of work!

Duck Coop

Your ducks will eventually grow large enough to live outside in a separate coop. You might decide to keep them in a cage with hens or other birds. Just watch so that they don't sleep in or get pooped on. Their health may suffer as a result.

A duck coop has to be well-ventilated and large enough for the ducks to expand their wings when being groomed.

Ducks don't require roosts as chickens do since they sleep on the ground.

Will Your Ducks Fly?

Most domestic ducks are not able to fly. Pekins and other common ducks cannot fly. They weigh too much.

They are lighter and DO have the capacity to fly for certain other breeds. Read more at Do Ducks Fly for details on this.

Duck's eggs

Ducks should begin laying between 18 and 22 weeks of age. Make sure to replace their food to adult duck chow, chicken layers, or flock raiser once they begin to lay eggs. These meals are for adults and include calcium, which is essential for the development of eggs.

Duck eggs taste great. Some claim they taste better and are creamier than chicken eggs. I'll be honest; I never noticed it. They are usually larger than the standard chicken egg, though.

Additionally, duck eggs are higher in protein than chicken eggs. They are thus excellent for baking!

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Image: thehipchick.com

Daily Care Activities for Baby Ducks

You should make sure the food and water are replenished up in the morning.

Remove any messes that have accumulated over night. Remove any dripping items, then gather some feces. Change with new litter.

Spend time with the ducks throughout the day if you want them to be sociable. Additionally, it's a good idea to periodically check on them to make sure everyone is acting normally.

A lot of chirping might be a sign that anything is awry. Insufficient heat, excessive heat, lack of food or drink

You should periodically check to see whether they still have food and water.

I like to check on things at night before I go to sleep. Everyone appears content and healthy, and the food and water are also full.

Takeaway: Raising Ducklings for Beginners

Keep chickens and ducklings apart.
It should not be drugged.
Ducklings Have Specific Needs for Protein.
Greens and a lot of duck treats are good.
Ducks Make Incredible Foragers.
Their bedding must remain dry.
Heat lamps Are Not Required As Long As Chicks!

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