# Going to get baby ducklings soon and new to owning ducklings



## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

Hey, ya'll!!!! 

I am planning on getting some ducklings soon and was wondering how to care for them. I am getting 2 or 3 of them and they will be housed with my full-grown 13 or 14 chickens.
I would like to know from you guys on how to care/raise baby ducklings, I am planning on using them for eggs(if they are girls), so I would love your guy's feedback on this! 


Thanks, ya'll, and happy farming!!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How fun! Good luck with them!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)




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## Lil Boogie (Mar 24, 2021)

I thought it said bucklings 😂


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Wild Bug Ranch said:


> Hey, ya'll!!!!
> 
> I am planning on getting some ducklings soon and was wondering how to care for them. I am getting 2 or 3 of them and they will be housed with my full-grown 13 or 14 chickens.
> I would like to know from you guys on how to care/raise baby ducklings, I am planning on using them for eggs(if they are girls), so I would love your guy's feedback on this!
> ...


I raise ducks. Baby ducks don't need as much heat as chicks. They are nasty little things and they grow fast. Try to put a tray under the water because water will be everywhere if you don't. Also the need duck feed not chick feed. The wrong feed can cause leg problems. One mistake I hear a lot of is putting them in the water to soon. Without their mama they have no oil on their feathers, so if you do put them in water before they feather out, the water shouldn't be to cold and no longer then 10 minutes at a time. They will need to be dried off after swimming til they have their feathers. One more thing, Drake's can kill chickens so if you have boy ducks don't put them with your chickens. The will try to mate your hens and cause prolapse that will kill them. Good luck!

When they do start to lay eggs you will find them first thing in the morning. Ducks lay in the dark, between 3am to 5am.


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## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

Ducklings must be the cutest baby animals! I love them and miss them. We raised Anconas for eggs and pest control (I think they helped with ticks) with our chickens and fed them the same feed for years and never had issues. Our animals have a lot of roaming space too though so they forage plenty and are more interested in insects than grass and grains. Ducks would hang out together and chickens would hang out together but they all got along together great.

We always reminded guests not to chase them...not sure what it is about kids thinking that's fun for anyone. Their legs are much more delicate than a chicken and people need to be reminded to handle them differently/carefully. They are great mothers but we had to keep them separate while brooding or there was trouble when one clutch hatched and they other would abandon their nest. Once some eggs got around freezing for a couple days around 3 weeks and I couldn't get my hen to sit again. I borrowed a styrofoam cooler incubator and all 16 hatched! Hardy little fuzzballs!

If we had too many drakes we'd harvest a few and make duck confit...sooo delicious. And duck eggs are my favorite soft boiled with just salt. YUM!

What breed are you getting?


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## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

littleheathens said:


> Ducklings must be the cutest baby animals! I love them and miss them. We raised Anconas for eggs and pest control (I think they helped with ticks) with our chickens and fed them the same feed for years and never had issues. Our animals have a lot of roaming space too though so they forage plenty and are more interested in insects than grass and grains. Ducks would hang out together and chickens would hang out together but they all got along together great.
> 
> We always reminded guests not to chase them...not sure what it is about kids thinking that's fun for anyone. Their legs are much more delicate than a chicken and people need to be reminded to handle them differently/carefully. They are great mothers but we had to keep them separate while brooding or there was trouble when one clutch hatched and they other would abandon their nest. Once some eggs got around freezing for a couple days around 3 weeks and I couldn't get my hen to sit again. I borrowed a styrofoam cooler incubator and all 16 hatched! Hardy little fuzzballs!
> 
> ...


we aren’t sure yet. this is our first time going to get ducklings/ducks


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## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

double j said:


> I raise ducks. Baby ducks don't need as much heat as chicks. They are nasty little things and they grow fast. Try to put a tray under the water because water will be everywhere if you don't. Also the need duck feed not chick feed. The wrong feed can cause leg problems. One mistake I hear a lot of is putting them in the water to soon. Without their mama they have no oil on their feathers, so if you do put them in water before they feather out, the water shouldn't be to cold and no longer then 10 minutes at a time. They will need to be dried off after swimming til they have their feathers. One more thing, Drake's can kill chickens so if you have boy ducks don't put them with your chickens. The will try to mate your hens and cause prolapse that will kill them. Good luck!
> 
> When they do start to lay eggs you will find them first thing in the morning. Ducks lay in the dark, between 3am to 5am.


when should i start putting them i water? and what set up should i use when they are chicks? when should i move them with my hens?


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Wild Bug Ranch said:


> when should i start putting them i water? and what set up should i use when they are chicks? when should i move them with my hens?


You can put them in water now, you will just have to dry them off because they have no oil til they feather. And you don't want to leave them unattended in the water for no longer then 10 minutes at at time. Without oil the water will soak them and they can give out. 
I would wait til they feather out to add to your hens. Your hens are going to chase and peck at them so I would put some brush tops in the pen so they can hide under it.


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Wild Bug Ranch said:


> we aren’t sure yet. this is our first time going to get ducklings/ducks


Are the ducks the mama to the duckling? If so then forget everything I said about the water. Lol. The mother duck will oil her babies so they can swim without getting wet.


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## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

double j said:


> Are the ducks the mama to the duckling? If so then forget everything I said about the water. Lol. The mother duck will oil her babies so they can swim without getting wet.


no i will most likely just be getting ducklings


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## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

double j said:


> You can put them in water now, you will just have to dry them off because they have no oil til they feather. And you don't want to leave them unattended in the water for no longer then 10 minutes at at time. Without oil the water will soak them and they can give out.
> I would wait til they feather out to add to your hens. Your hens are going to chase and peck at them so I would put some brush tops in the pen so they can hide under it.


 when will they feather?


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Wild Bug Ranch said:


> when will they feather?


6 to 8 weeks


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## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

double j said:


> One mistake I hear a lot of is putting them in the water to soon. Without their mama they have no oil on their feathers, so if you do put them in water before they feather out, the water shouldn't be to cold and no longer then 10 minutes at a time. They will need to be dried off after swimming til they have their feathers.


This is an interesting bit of trivia and completely contrary to my uninformed preconceived thinking.
So many questions come to mind. 
Does the mom actively grease the ducklings or does that happen just through contact when they are under the mom?
Do ducklings not need to be able to dunk their heads in the water?
I'm guessing that dunking the ducklings in canola oil is not a solution.


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Not real sure how they oil them just know they do. They do need enough water to dunk the bill, whole head doesn't have to be dunked. I use chick waters and there's no way the whole head is Dunkin it that. 
I have never tried to oil a duck myself lol, so wouldn't know.


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## fivefeatherfarm (11 mo ago)

I'll add some more random tidbits - 

When you start to give them some outside time, make sure you're always present until they're almost adult sized because hawks love young ducks.
Niacin is so important! chick feed doesn't contain anywhere near enough which is what you'll likely be starting them out on as its small. I supplement by breaking open niacin capsules and putting the powder in water or sprinkling on food, others use brewers yeast but I don't go that route as I want to make sure they're getting enough.
When the babies are little, I like to use a cake pan, put a grate on it and set their water dish on top of that. It helps control a lot of the water waste into that pan so that it doesn't get all over the bedding.


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