Guess what those are???
That would be our 6 new ducklings! This spring we've decided to raise 6 baby ducks until they reach a mature enough age to fly away (on their own.) I decided we'd journal how this went since it is our hope to raise 6 little bantam silkie chickens when they are ready (currently on a two month backorder.)
Day 1- Saturday March 30
We opted to buy 6 straight run ducklings, unsexed. We made the decision earlier on but decided to wait until Easter to pick them up so this felt like an "Easter weekend" event. We built a makeshift brooder of large deep totes with a heat lamp. For the first week, we'll use soft shelving matting to line the bottom of the totes then switch to wood chips.
We noticed that baby ducklings poop- A LOT. First day in, I cleaned the brooder twice in 8 hours time. They are too scared to let us handle them. We'll respect that. As we feed them we know they will warm up to us as ducklings are super social creatures.
4 of them are 10 days old. 2 of them are 6 days old.
Day 2 Sunday March 31
Today the kids all got to handle the ducklings, one by one. They are warming up to us slightly and we noticed they already LOVE the water. We are cleaning the brooder once every 12 hours and feeding them several times a day. On suggestion of a friend who raises ducklings, they suggested turning the shower on lukewarm water and pointing it towards the wall of our shower. The ducks that are brave enough would run under the water. We did this as the brooder was being cleaned and much to our surprise the ducks LOVED the shower! They ran under it, drank it, played in it for several minutes until their totes were ready for them. We pulled them out, used the 'duck towel' to gently dry them before putting them back in their nice warm brooders. For now, they will stay in our bathroom. Oldest 4 age : 11 days Other 2, 7 days.
Day 3- Monday April 1st
The ducks like us! If someone goes into the bathroom, they chirp at us wanting attention. We are constantly watering them and still cleaning the brooder every 12 hours. At the time of this writing, we are preparing to clean the brooder, feed, and let them have a few minutes in the shower. The kids are enjoying watching them grow and I already feel like this has been an enchanting experience in responsibility and watching the ducks grow. It seems like they've doubled in size in the few days they've been here. Oldest 4 age: 12 days Other 2, 8 days.
Everyone is healthy. We had been warned 1-2 might day in the first days home due to stress/disease/etc but so far they are all doing great!
TBC :) I hope to update once every few days as they grow!
The first three days have been a success.
