Caring and Keeping Ducks As Pets

 

Caring and Keeping Ducks As Pets

If you have thought it through, and you are sure about getting ducks, you will need to know where to purchase them. There are literally hundreds of good hatcheries where you can purchase them. I purchased my ducks from a hardware store that is supplied by a hatchery. I think this is the easiest way to obtain ducks. If you live in a rural area, check your local hardware or farm store if they have this option. If this is not possible, here are some reputable hatcheries.

I recommend purchasing ducks around the start or middle of spring. This is the ideal time to raise ducks because the weather and temperature cycles during this time are most natural to them. I also recommend that people find a good avian veterinarian before they purchase their ducks. This is so that if they have a duck emergency, they are not rushing around trying to find one. However you obtain your ducks, be sure that they are healthy on arrival to your house. Check that they are lively, energetic, and that they eat and drink normally.

Making a Brooder

Before you have obtained your ducks, you will need to make a brooder. This is what you will raise your ducklings in. I recommend setting up your brooder in the living room so that everyone can keep an eye on them.

Raising ducks is a fantastic experience. You will get to see up close what you usually would only get to see in the wild. If you raise your ducks from day one, they are guaranteed to imprint on you. This means your ducks will recognize you as their parent and will follow you around and chirp loudly for you when you are gone. Imprinting happens within the duckling's first or second day of life, and lasts until they are about eight weeks old. By eight weeks, the tight bond between a duckling and its parents is mostly gone. At this point, a your ducks will view you not as their parent, but as a part of their flock.

The First Few Days

After your brooder is set up and your ducklings are in, what to do next? Well, first you must make sure that your ducklings are eating and drinking. On occasion, ducklings have trouble finding their food and water. To solve this, gently take each one of your ducklings and dip their bills in the water. Usually they find their food on their own, but if they can't, put some food in your hand and feed it to them.

If you are wondering when to turn the heat lamp on and off, look at your ducks. Do they appear to be huddled together or shivering? If so, turn the lamp on. Usually if your ducklings are more than twelve hours old, they won't need it on constantly. Within the first few hours you bring them home, turn the lamp on for about fifteen minutes and then off for an equal amount of time.

People often ask me how often you can pet or pick up your ducklings. Ducklings are somewhat fragile within their first few weeks, but if you are careful, you can pet them within the first day. Holding a duck may seem a bit difficult at first, but eventually you will get used to it. Just be very careful of their head, legs, and wings.
Even within the first day, you will need to clean your duckling's brooder. The constructing a brooder page that I mentioned above explains how to do this. It is extremely important that you keep your duck's brooder clean and dry. Healthy living conditions are necessary when keeping ducks, and also necessary throughout their whole lives.

So by now, your ducks have been eating regular duck feed for a few days. Did you know that ducklings also enjoy eating baby spinach? In fact, the first time you give them this treat they will eat it voraciously. For ducklings, be sure to chop it finely. Truthfully, ducks of any age greatly appreciate chopped spinach. For dabbling ducks and ducklings, put the baby spinach in a bowl of water. This is so the dabbling ducks can filter the spinach through their lamellae (bony platelets acting as duck teeth).