Ducks that have just hatched from their shells need a warm and safe environment to grow strong and healthy. If you are able to provide a safe shelter and provide plenty of food and water, your cute and adorable ducklings will soon be able to walk and swim on their own. Find out how to create a comfortable place for your ducklings, give them the food they love, and keep them out of harm's way.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Making a Cage
Step 1. Find an empty box to make a cage
About 24 hours after the ducklings have hatched from their shells and have begun to acclimate to their surroundings, you can move them into the coop. You can use a plastic container or a large glass aquarium, or a sturdy cardboard box to make a cage.
- The box you choose should be tight, because the ducklings need a warm environment. Do not use a box that has a lot of holes in the bottom or the sides.
- Line the bottom of the box with wood shavings or an old towel. Do not use newsprint or other slippery materials. Ducks can't walk upright for several weeks after hatching, so they can easily slip and get injured when walking on slippery surfaces such as plastic or newsprint.
Step 2. Install the lights in the cage
Ducks need a warm environment for several weeks after hatching, until they get used to the cold air outside. Purchase a cage light at a pet feed or hardware store and attach it to the top of the cage.
- For starters, use a 100 watt bulb. For a new born duckling, this light should be enough to warm it up.
- Make sure there is a part of the cage away from heat sources (lights), so the ducklings have a place to cool off if necessary.
- Be sure not to mount the lights too close to the ducklings. This could overheat your ducklings, or if they touch a lamp, your ducklings may catch fire. If the cage you are using is not too tall, raise the lamp with a block of wood or other sturdy support.
Step 3. Check the placement of the cage lights
Check the placement of the lights periodically, to make sure the ducklings are getting the warmth they need.
- The heat and power of the lamp must be changed according to the behavior of the growing ducklings.
- If the ducklings often clump together under the lights, chances are they are cold. We recommend that you position the lamp closer, or replace it with a lamp with a higher power.
- If the chicks are spread out on all sides of the cage and their breathing sounds heavy, they are probably overheating. You will need to remove the lamp or replace it with a lower power lamp. A comfortable duckling should feel warm and appear calm.
Step 4. Adjust the cage lights to the growth of the ducklings
As the duckling grows, the heat it needs will decrease. Turn up the cage lights to reduce the heat in the cage when the ducklings are no longer sleeping under them.
Part 2 of 3: Feeding and Water
Step 1. Provide plenty of water in the cage
Place a shallow bowl of water deep enough for the duckling to dip its beak in, but not so deep that it can completely submerge its head. Ducks often clear their nostrils when they drink, but if you give them a bowl of water that is too deep, your ducklings may throw themselves in and drown.
- Change the drinking water and clean the bowl every day to prevent your ducklings from getting sick from drinking dirty water.
- If you're concerned that the duckling's drinking bowl is still too deep to use safely, add pebbles or marbles to the bowl to make it safer.
Step 2. Feed the ducklings
During the first 24 hours after hatching, the ducklings will not eat, because they are still absorbing the yolk nutrients in their eggs. After that, the ducklings can start to eat duck feed in the form of a fine powder that you can buy at animal feed stores. Buy a plastic feed bowl, fill it to the brim, then place it in the cage.
If the duckling seems reluctant to eat, try adding a little water to the food to make it easier to swallow. You can also add a little sugar to the drinking water for a few days after hatching as a source of energy for the ducklings
Step 3. Give the egg yolks to the ducklings that look weak
Weak ducklings may need more egg yolk nutrients before starting to eat duck feed. Give a little mashed egg yolk until the ducklings start to want to eat the duck feed.
Step 4. Provide ducklings around the clock feed for the ducklings
Make sure your ducklings can eat at any time. Ducks should eat whenever they feel hungry, because their growth is very fast in this stage. Ducks also need water to help them swallow their food, so keep a bowl filled with water at all times in their coop.
After about 10 days, the ducklings begin to eat feed in the form of pellets, which contain the same nutrients as powdered feed, only larger in size
Step 5. Switch to adult duck feed
When the chicks start to grow up, around 16 weeks, you can feed the adult ducks.
Step 6. Do not give food other than special feed for ducks
Many human foods, such as bread, do not contain the nutrients that ducklings need, some of which can even make the ducklings sick.
- Even if the duckling likes foods such as bread, this food is not suitable for him.
- Ducks can eat thinly sliced fruit and vegetables as a snack, as long as you make sure that their main diet is duck feed.
- Do not give chicken feed to ducklings. The nutrients contained in it are not in accordance with the needs of the ducklings.
- Never give medicated feed to ducklings. This kind of feed can cause organ disorders.
Part 3 of 3: Raising Ducks To Be Healthy Adult Ducks
Step 1. Help the ducklings swim
Ducks love to swim, and chicks can start learning to swim one day after hatching if you let them. However, don't let the ducklings swim alone. The body of the newly hatched duckling is covered with fine, impermeable feathers, and its body is still too weak to swim alone at this stage.
Step 2. Make a small swimming pool from an old paint tray
An old paint tray can be a great place for ducklings to learn to swim. You can watch the ducklings up close, and the slope of the paint tray resembles a slope so the ducklings can safely enter and exit the water.
- Don't let the ducklings swim too long or they may catch a cold. After swimming, gently dry the ducklings, then return them to their cage to warm themselves.
- You can also place the ducklings on a heating pad lined with a clean towel for a few minutes.
Step 3. Let the adult ducks swim unaided
When the duck's body is completely covered with water-resistant adult feathers, you can let it swim unsupervised. Duck adult feathers are usually perfect when they are 9-12 weeks old, depending on the breed.
Step 4. Watch out for older ducks
Be sure to keep an eye on the ducklings at all times while their plumage is immature and still learning to swim, especially when they are swimming in outdoor pools. Older ducks may also swim in the same pond and may try to drown or kill smaller ducks.
Step 5. Keep the ducklings away from predators
Ducks, especially young ones, can be a target for predators. You can let the ducks play freely as they mature, but be aware that occasionally the ducks may be preyed upon by other animals. You must try to protect the ducks from their predators.
- If you are caring for ducklings in a garage or barn outdoors, be sure to keep other animals away from them. Wolves, foxes, and even birds of prey can hurt ducklings if you're not careful.
- Ducks that are kept indoors should be kept out of reach of dogs and cats, who may try to attack or hurt your ducklings.
- After you can move the ducklings from a small cage to a larger cage, make sure that other animals cannot enter the cage.
Step 6. Don't get too close emotionally to the ducklings
It may be tempting to sleep with a cute and adorable duckling, but if you get too close, the duckling may think of you as its mother. In order for your ducklings to grow into healthy and independent adults, just watch them play with each other, but don't get too involved in them.
Step 7. Move the duck to a wider area
Once your duck has grown so big that it can't stay in its cage, move it to a dog kennel or shed equipped with a door opening. Feed the adult ducks and let the ducks spend the day swimming and playing in the water in the pond. Be sure to take him back to his cage at night to avoid being attacked by predators.
Tips
- Do not try to give berries or grapes to ducklings.
- Do not give onions, wild or domesticated bird feed, and any kind of bread as food for ducklings. You can feed the ducklings, peas, corn, chickpeas, lima beans, cooked carrots, boiled eggs, tomatoes, crickets, worms, minnows, grass, milk and turkey as food for the ducklings.
- Once your ducks are able to swim in a pond or other water source, you can give them some floating fish food or dog food. Replace the duck's regular diet with high-quality, non-medicated poultry feed, which is usually available at most pet feed stores.
- If your duckling is sick, find a solution immediately by contacting a veterinarian or reading sources on the internet.
- If you have other large pets such as dogs or cats, keep the ducklings away from them.
- Rub the ducklings gently because the bones are still very fragile.
- Provide enough space for all your ducklings. Just imagine you have to be crammed into a new house? So, give enough free space for all your ducklings.
- Even if your duck is an adult, keeping it away from predators is a good choice.
Warning
- Always keep clean water near the food, because ducklings cannot swallow food well without water.
- Never leave ducklings outside alone, as predators can hurt them.
- Never allow your ducklings to swim unsupervised.
- Never give medicated poultry feed to your ducklings!
- Never leave ducklings unattended for the first day after hatching.
