Posted in Homestead Barnyard
Raising ducks- Part 1
Ducks are a wonderful addition to the homestead, if you have the water necessary for them. They need more than water to drink to be healthy and happy. Ducks prefer to dip their bills in water to moisten their food as they eat. And they need water on their feathers to keep them clean and bug free.
Getting ducks from a hatchery is as easy as getting chickens from the hatchery, in fact, sometimes easier – the minimum is less for day-old ducks than for day-old chickens.
To me, baby ducks are much cuter than baby chickens. Not taking anything away from chickens, but those webbed feet and those fattish bills are just “to die for!”
However, raising them is just a little bit more difficult than raising chickens. They are hardy, but their water requirements are a bit more complicated, but not THAT much more. Their cute little beaks are not made for those cute little waters that fit on the quart jars, so they need water mostly in a flat surface. Even at a day old, they prefer to get their food wet when they eat. You need to figure out a way to get them water without having your pen totally immersed in liquid goo.
Ducks, by their very nature, love to get into water. But a deep dish will not work, because the day-old ducklings will not be able to remain afloat in deep water. It takes a while for their “flotation devices” – waterproof feathers – to develop. There is nothing funnier or sadder than seeing a baby duck in a pan of water, with his head stretched to stay above and the rest of his body on the bottom of the pan. And if the water is too deep and you are not there at the right time, you may be devastated to find a duckling floating face down in the water!
So, what to do? You need a shallow pan – a cake pan works – a round one, if you have a few ducklings, an oblong cake pan or if you have more ducklings. You will want to put a large clean rock in your pan to keep the ducklings from tipping it over, as they will want to climb in, if possible.
As your ducklings get bigger, you can actually put a “swimming pool” in their pen, if possible. However, ducks are famous for pooping in the pool. So you have to change the water and wash the pool often. A pool can be as simple as a dish pan with a ramp for them to climb up.
