# A Few Questions about ducklings?



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I posted last Thursday about getting the little trout Runner ducklings, 2 were 5 days old & the 1 I helped break out of the shell.

My first question is how long do you feed them the duck starter?

When can they go outside with the big ducks? They are all in the house right now but hope to move them to the garage tomarrow as the nights will start staying in the 40's & 50's & days up in the 70's to 80.
Will they still need the light on when it's the really warm days?

Also the little Bugger is lonely I think, he wants me to carry him around with me all the time, he's in a box by himself since he had hatched so much later than the other 2. I tried putting it in the tote with the 2 older one's but they were beating up on him & I worried about him getting hurt. He is probly a fifth of there size & acted a little scared so I took him back out.

How long till I can put him with the other 2?

Otherwise all of them seem to be eating good & acting like normal little ducklings.
Thanks for your help.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> how long do you feed them the duck starter


?

http://www.liveducks.com/care.html



> Ducklings need starter feed with 20-22% protein for 3 weeks.
> Adolescents do best on 16% protein.
> Adult ducks need 16-18% when they are laying and 14-16% if they aren't laying. A/P Lay mash is excellent for adult ducks.
> 
> Too much protein can cause a condition called "Angel Wing" where the feathers on the wings protrude upwards. Too little can cause nutritional deficiencies and serious health problems. Cracked corn is a popular and inexpensive food for ducks. It contains half of the protein a duck needs to stay healthy.





> When can they go outside with the big ducks?





> &#8226; Duckling Notes: When ducklings first hatch, and for the first couple of weeks, they are perfectly fine in a large cardboard box with a newspaper lined bottom, and a layer of old clean towels for traction (to prevent a condition called "splay-leg", sometimes called "sprattle leg"). Provide a heat source, such as a 60-100 watt light bulb, higher than they can reach, and in a corner so they can adjust their position under it as their body temperature changes. One or two ducklings will have trouble keeping warm without Mom, so this is important. If you have several babies, they will huddle together and stay warmer. As they get older they will need less heat and *when fully feathered in about 4-6 weeks you can remove the heat source*. Once they outgrow their box, put them in a large pen or cage with small openings between the bars that they can't get their head or wings caught in. Never leave ducklings outdoors in cold weather or allow them to remain wet. For 3-4 weeks they need steady warmth 24 hours a day


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I'd think you can try the little guy again, its ok if they pick at him some, seems normal, but if they really go after him, you'll have to try again in a few days. You can put them in the garage in some sort of brooder with a heat source when they are little if you can keep them out of drafts and from getting too wet. I'd wait until the little one is at least a week old (here I wait until they are two weeks before they go into the brooding set up in the duck house - its not heated, but double walled and not drafty). 

A lot of that you will have to experiment a bit with your own set up. Watch to see they accept the smaller one before you leave them unsupervised, they should eventually and he will be closer in size to them as they all get older. Watch to see they look comfortable - not all huddled up or flopped out trying to get cool. Be sure they have plenty of clean dry bedding. You may be able to take them out days and bring them in nights for a while. I don't know what sort of temperatures you are having or weather or facilities, so it's hard to know. Ducklings are pretty tough and common sense works fine.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

The instructions you find on the internet are, imo, extremely conservative. I have NEVER, not ONCE, kept a heat source on my ducks (or chicks, for that matter) for 4 weeks, let alone 6. Truth be told my heat lamps for in-the-house brooded ducklings have never been on for more than a week. Usually just a day or two. We keep our heat set at 62-64 degrees F. Like Granny said, common sense works just fine. If they're piling on top of one another they're cold, if they're splayed out on the bottom of the brooder they're too hot. All of mine also swim from day one (or darn close). I put not warm, but not cool water in the bathtub, grab a magazine and watch them play. Dry them gently with a towel when they're done and put them back in their brooder. 

This time of year, weather permitting, I let all babies out to play in the sunshine for most of the day. When it starts to cool in the late afternoon/early evening, they come back inside get a fresh bowl of food and settle in for a nice quiet night. 

The biggest thing with putting them out with other ducks is their size and how much pecking/picking they're going to endure. I do not allow adult birds and babies to roam together, I wait until they're at least adolescent aged and sized so they have a chance to hold their own against the others (or at least run away). 

If you literally helped the smallest duckling hatch I would wait a while before putting him in with the other two -- and make sure in the meantime he's getting good solid feed and water. Generally, birds who were assisted in hatching are not as hardy in their early days and weeks and may need a little extra coddling. I wouldn't subject him to the pressures of being introduced to two bullies just yet. If you do however, I would do it at night. After they're asleep. Just be around to monitor for a while until they wake up to him the first time so you can see how it goes.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Sounds reasonable, olivehill, one note is that ducks don't really sleep much more at night than at day, so introduce them when its convenient to watch them would be my thought. I do use heat, they seem to like it, but quite a bit less than usually recommended.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks for all the info & help everyone. I am moving them to the garage tomarrow of course in 2 different totes for now till the little bugger gets a little bigger, maybe they can talk to each other through the totes & that may help them get used to their little peeps, right now the little guy is in a box on my kitchen counter & the 2 bigger ones are in my laundry room. It's supposed to be close to 70 degree's tomarrow & 80 Thursday & friday & I believe the nights in the high 40's to 50's but I'll bring them in if needed. 

Granny Carol, I'll probly bring the little guy in at night & will make sure they all have the light on them too. 

I'll just keep trying the little guy with the bigger ones every couple days & see how it goes. They all eat very well, the duck starter I got is 20% protein, plus I have been giving them romaine lettuce & a mashed up boiled egg & milk mixed together the other day, they loved that. Then they got to play in the bath tub while I cleaned out their brooder/tote. The little one didn't get a swim just yet.

I'm already planning on some type of smaller pen inside the big duck pen where everyone can see each other but the aduldt ducks can't peck at the little one's till they are bigger.
But I'll wait a few weeks for that & make sure the weather is going to be somewhat stable warm temp.'s first.

Thanks again everyone, Everyone is always so helpful here!


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