Are you considering having ducklings at home? Do you have a pond in the garden and would you like to see these precious little animals as pets? Have your ducks had eggs and you don’t know how to care for the young?
Ducks are very beautiful animals that bring harmony and life to any space. Although it is true that there are people who have these animals at home, the ideal thing for them is that they be raised in an open, safe environment and in nature (it can be in a garden with plants, a pond, etc.).
If you want to learn how to take care of ducklings, pay attention to the following article where we are going to teach you everything you need to do so that your ducklings grow up healthy and strong, in a totally safe environment.
A home for the ducklings
If we are talking about some ducklings just hatched, you should know that around 24 hours after they are born and they have seen the new environment, we will have to move them to an incubator. Our homemade incubator can be something as simple as a large plastic container (those used for storage), a sturdy cardboard box, like a large glass aquarium.
Our cardboard box or container must be very well insulated and not have too many holes, neither on the sides nor on the bottom of the box, the ducklings will need to be warm.
You’ll want to line the inside of the box with some towels or wood chips (never use any kind of slippery material like newspaper). Keep in mind that ducklings do not yet know how to walk well and they wobble, so they could slip during the first weeks after birth and hurt themselves on slippery surfaces such as plastic or paper.
At the top of the box or container you should install an incubator lamp. You can get it at any grocery or hardware store. Newly hatched ducklings need a lot of heat for the first few weeks of life so they can get used to the air and environment outside of their eggs.
Put a 100-watt bulb in your brooder lamp, as it will provide just the heat your ducklings need. You should also make sure that when placing the lamp it leaves an area without lighting, so that the ducklings can cool off if they are very hot.
You should also make sure that the light bulb is not too close to the ducklings, as they could overheat and if they touch the light bulb they could burn themselves. If your box or container is too low, you can help yourself with some support, such as wooden blocks to use as a support to put the lamp.
Your work with the incubator lamp is not done yet. Once it is in operation, you should check it periodically to make sure that the lamp is still securely attached and that the ducklings are getting the amount of heat they need.
Look at how the ducklings behave to regulate the intensity of heat and the voltage of the lamp. For your ducklings to be well and comfortable, they must be warm and still. If you see them scattered around the incubator and having trouble breathing, then your ducklings are overheated. But if, on the contrary, they are all huddled together under the lamp, it is because they need more heat, then you should lower the lamp or put a higher voltage bulb.
Once your ducklings have grown a bit make sure they need less heat. If they stop sleeping under the lamp, you can change it for a lower intensity one.
Food and water
Of course no duckling could survive without food and water. To give them water, put a very shallow bowl, so the ducklings can drink water and clean their nostrils, but they are not in danger of submerging in the water and drowning. (If you think your bowl is deep enough you could put some clean pebbles inside). You must give them clean water every day, because if the ducklings drink dirty water they could get sick.
As for food, you should know that the ducklings will not eat anything during the first 24 hours of life, since they still have the reserves of the nutrients that they absorbed while in the shell. Then they can gradually eat feed or small balls of special food for ducks that you can buy at pet stores. Serve them food in a plastic bowl and put it in the incubator too.
If you see that your ducklings are having a hard time swallowing, try adding a few drops of water to the food to make it easier for them to swallow. You can also incorporate a little sugar in their water during the first days, so you will help them give them energy.
If you have encountered a case of a weak duckling, you will need to feed it poached duck egg yolk, as these ducklings still need to feed on essential nutrients from the shell before they can start eating dry food or other food.
You must ensure that the food and water bowls are always clean and full so that the ducklings can get nourishment and drink water whenever they need it.
Once the first 10 days have passed, you will be able to feed them with growth pellets, which are similar to feed but are a little larger.
At 16 weeks after being born, your ducklings will be adults, so they will be able to eat food for adult ducks.
You should always feed your ducks special food for them. We already know that ducks like bread, but this is not good for their health. Yes, you can give him some vegetables and fruits, but the feed must continue to be his main meal.
The food for ducklings and chicks is not the same, so do not give this food as it does not have all the nutrients necessary for your duckling to grow healthy. Of course, do not give your ducklings any type of medication or medicated food, as you could damage their organs.
To swim
Ducklings love to swim, they might even jump into it right after they are born, but they are still very fragile, so you should never let them swim unattended. You can start by making them a small shallow pool with a container, if it has a part with a kind of ramp much better for your ducklings (like a paint roller tray).
You shouldn’t let them swim for too long, as they can get cold. As soon as the swimming time is over, dry them with a towel and put them back in the incubator. If you think they are too wet you can put an electric blanket covered with a towel and let the ducklings lie on it for a few minutes.
Once they are adult ducks they will have all their waterproof feathers and you can let them swim alone. It will depend on the type of duck you are raising, but in general the full feathers will have come out between 9 and 12 months of age.
