[poppy]

Dear All,

Just a quick update and query. The ducklings are growing well and are happy. I've had them a week now, and they are just over two weeks old. They go swimming daily in a big tub, and yesterday and today they've spent a bit of time in their run on the lawn.





I have a question about wood shavings. Currently I use straw as their bedding, but I am able to get shavings more easily for the future. I have read that they may eat shavings and it will cause problems. However, on a DVD I watched about keeping ducks, their ducklings were kept on shavings. Will the ducklings soon learn that the shavings are not edible once they have tested them?


 

[jameslindsay]

Hi Poppy, they look so grown up already. I think one book/person will tell you one thing and another something different. I always keep my ducklings on a towel for the first week and then they go onto straw. However, I'm sure many pictures I have seen with chicks -  they are on shavings, so what's the difference with hens to ducks???

[northfifeduckling]

Aren't they gorgeous!
When I had my first lot of ducklings 2 of them died and we had mixed the hay bedding with an underlay of shavings. I don't know if that contributed to their early demise but would not try it again, just in case. I think chicks do have a slightly  different digestive system, maybe it's not so bad for them.

[The Relic]

they are looking tasty alright

[catomell]

Hi - thought I'd add something re the shavings query - I always start all my ducklings and chicks on shavings - so they go onto shavings as soon as they come out of the incubator. Generally, they stay on the shavings until they are off heat, and then they move onto straw. The ducklings will nibble at the shavings, but I have never seen any actually ingest them, and have never had any deaths that I wasn't expecting (by which I mean, I generally expect those who have had particular difficulty in hatching to die within 24 hours!) as a result of using shavings!!
Also, in response to an earlier query - I have had two natural hatches using broody pekins, but the rest of my duck hatches have been from the incubator. Having said that. currently my incubator is chock full of chicken eggs of various breeds, and I have a broody lohmann sitting on ten runner duck eggs - I'll let you know how they get on!!

[poppy]

I'm pleased to say the ducks are doing fine with the wood shavings. It's easier for my to get the shavings so I will stick with them for now. The ducks now have a good size patch of garden fenced off for them, along with their house and run. Just in the process of looking for a bigger tub for them to swim in. 

The ducks are rapidly getting feathers and are looking a little on the scruffy side at the moment. They are looking like proper ducks now, they don't resemble the tiny little ducklings that they were only 3 weeks ago!

I have found that they love finely chopped lettuce, I'll called them and they can't get to me quick enough!!!! Without the lettuce in my hand they aren't so keen on me though!! How fickle they are!!!! Are there any other tasty things they could be having?



4 weeks old



 

[jameslindsay]

Great pics. They do grow so fast it's amazing. Lettuce seems to be the only thing that my ducklings have ever eaten. However, the last lot I hatched I gave, once about 5 weeks old, little bits of bread and they loved it. Some say that bread is bad for them but I know other hatches that I never gave bread to while young do not eat bread once they are grown, if that makes sense?

[northfifeduckling]

I'm so glad that last years' ducklings most likely then didn't die from eating shavings! I felt horrible after someone had said that might have been the cause.
your pics are delightful, poppy!

Yes, James, I am surprised how different the eating habits of our older ducks are from the ones that were raised by you. they love chickweed (great!) but wouldn't touch cucumber or boiled potato peelings, which the older ones take in seconds. The older drakes don't take pellets, but the young ones do. I suppose that bread is a no no for wild ducks in particular as they then don't eat more nutritious foods (beasties) if they are full up on bread people feed them. Don't think it matters for domestic ducks. I don't give them much of it as we just don't get much going stale.