Best for ducklings?

[Nero70002]

Hi, I was just wondering what the best items you have found to use for ducklings are. Most likely ones you can buy online, like on Amazon. I’m looking for the best duckling food, brooder plate, feeder & waterer, and maybe what setups to keep ducklings in until they are old enough to go in something else outside are. Are there any waterers for ducks on Amazon that they can stick their beaks in? I’m getting ducklings in a month and I want to prepare, I already have chicks, and have had chickens before.

 

[nuthatched]

Most dux people I know use mazarri (sp?) water fowl feed, it's some if the best.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Ducks can't use nipples for watering. I manually fill a couple 5 gallon buckets each day (2 gal would be better, so I had to dump less) and I also have some "automatic" dog watering bowls and stock floats to fill other containers. The buckets, and the automatic floats attached to short boxes (think car battery box sized) both ensure there is plenty of depth for adult ducks to dip the whole beak for cleaning. Dog bowls are deep enough for ducklings.

That said, I have some gravity fed watering cups in the back that fill from my rainwater tote which they can and do use. Basically, you have options.

I feed wet mash in a plastic gutter. Makes a great feeding "bowl" if you have a lot of ducks.

I use the same heat plate for my ducks as my chickens - no changes there. Same brooder set up, too.

Food? Find a reputable all flock/flock raiser. I know they don't disclose how much niacin is in them, but several BYCers over the years have contacted Purina and Nutrena about theirs, and the numbers were high enough to support duckings. I'm sure Kalmbach (I don't care for their feed for lots of reasons, but nutrition isn't one of them) has adequate numbers for ducks as well, and is popular wiith many here whose opinions I trust. and keep a jar of store brand nutritional yeast (I get "Great Value" from Walmart) around just for hatchlings, and add a tiny amount to their feed at the first sign things aren't going perfect.

Finally, ducks little legs aren't great. Go to the dollar store, get some cheap towels with some texture. Put them on the bottom of their brooder box to keep them from slipping around. You want enough that you can change them frequently, bleach the $__+ out of them (literally), and not feel bad about throwing them away when they become threadbare.

Hope that helps

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

For ducklings the thing I found best for watering is plastic containers
I use butter ones start with smaller and work to the bigger as they grow. They need to be able to dunk their heads to keep eyes and nares clear
I cut holes in the lid so their heads can get in but babies don’t fall in get wet and cold then die ( this does happen ) I do provide a chicken water dish till about day 5 as the little beak grows fast and then needs the deeper dish. But provide both from day the start
I can’t get duck feed where I am so I use chicken feed and add nutritional yeast 1 tbs to 1 cup feed. Not all ducks need the extra niacin this way but it doesn’t hurt to have it and if they do develop low niacin it can lead to big issues and not being able to walk. Much easier to prevent then cure the issue
When my ducks are bigger I use 3 gallon buckets for water and clean 2 times a day
When feeding any treats you need to provide chick grit in a separate bowl. I leave a bowl out at all times and they use as needed
Also having a medical kit ready and on hand is a must. This way you don’t scramble late at night to find what you need to help a duck
I have more for my ducks then I do myself
At about 4 months I add a bowl of crushed oyster shells
My girls started to lay about 4.5 months and this way they were prepared before they start to lay
I use a grower finisher as I have drakes in my flock that don’t need layer feed

 

[Nero70002]

What are stock floats and which brooder plate do you recommend? Also any suggestions for specific things to add to the medical kit?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

What are stock floats and which brooder plate do you recommend? Also any suggestions for specific things to add to the medical kit?

I think there is a list on here
@HollowOfWisps or @Miss Lydia may know how to get to it
I can list all I have so far later when I can get down to the cabinet
@BelovedBirds may also know where to find the list

 

[HollowOfWisps]

With so many variables when it comes to duck care I don't think there truly is a "best" or one way to do things across the board for every flock. That being said, with having ducks for years I will list below what I have found to be the "best" when it comes to my flock's needs.

Feed: I have tried I think just about every duck feed out there including spending $50+ on a single bag of feed. I check my flock over weekly, in the warmer months I am usually outside for hours every day so I am always watching and I hatch ducklings every spring. I take note on how my ducks respond to different feeds in regards to weight, physical health, physical appearance and egg hatch quality. At the end of the day my ducks have done by far better on Kalmbach's Flock Maker. Their feather quality in particular is by far the best and I seem to have less nutrient deficiencies at hatch (more common for a breed I raise). It also has a higher niacin content than many other duck labeled feeds including Purina and Manna Pro.

Supplements/Extras: My ducks do not seem to do as well on the rock like oyster shells that you find at tractor supply and I have noticed a decline in shell quality when using it. However, the gray flaked oyster shells that Scratch and Peck sells they do very very well on. I have no shell quality issues when they have access to it. For vitamin supplements I keep Poultry Cell on hand. I have seen it do wonders for ducks (ducklings in particular who are struggling). I also keep Durvet's electrolytes on hand because it also contains niacin, Durvet's B complex for niacin deficiencies and I am a huge fan of Bene-Bac probiotic paste for gut issues.

Feeders: I currently just use large ceramic dog bowls for my adult flock. I use the extra small cat sized ceramic bowls for ducklings. I like how easy they are to clean out particularly when I wet their feed for mashes and that they are heavy so they don't get tipped.

Waterers: For my adult flock I just use multiple 2 gallon buckets I get from tractor supply. They also have access to a small pond I had dug out for them. For duckling waterers for the first week I use small ceramic ramekins that are about the size of a sauce cup. After that they are usually big enough to drink out of the gallon jugs I cut holes out in the sides and fill up. I take a cooling rack with a baking sheet and put their waterers on top. This past year k started taking the rubber drawer liners with the larger holes and set that on the cooling rack for extra padding. I have been really liking that set up.

Bedding: In the past I used pine shavings, but for the first week I lay puppy pads over the shavings so they have a more solid surface to get their legs under them. I keep the shavings under the puppy pads because I brood out in a barn that sits on a concrete slap so I like the extra padding. If you are brooding inside you could just throw down puppy pads or towels without anything underneath.

Heat/Brooder Plate: So far my favorite brooder plate is from Premier 1. One thing to note is that many brooder plates heat through contact so the ducklings need to be able to physically touch the plate with their backs. I set my plate at an angle so the back is low enough for them to touch and I set the front up higher so they can adjust how close they need to be to the plate accordingly. Another thing I will add is that the amount of chicks/ducklings per plate size is about as exaggerated as the numbers you can supposedly fit in a pre-fab coop. So for a plate size that says it can fit 10 chicks I would say 6-7 ducklings max.

For first aid that is duck specific (full first aid link provided below):

-Neoprin Duck boots for foot injuries (crazy K farms has good ones)

- 1" wide vet wrap makes it much easier to wrap a ducks foot.

-I really like Tweezer Guru brand tweezers. They have a nice sharp point and good edge which makes it much easier to pull off bumbles. I haven't even used a scalpel for bumbles since switching to the Tweezers Guru tweezers.

-Small dog sized toe nail clippers. Makes it easy to cut ducks toe nails without causinf fractures throughout whole nail.

I think there is a list on here
@HollowOfWisps or @Miss Lydia may know how to get to it
I can list all I have so far later when I can get down to the cabinet
@BelovedBirds may also know where to find the list

I believe this is the link you were referring to?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-for-a-first-aid-kit-updated-8-01-2020.1150128/

 

[BelovedBirds]

I think there is a list on here
@HollowOfWisps or @Miss Lydia may know how to get to it
I can list all I have so far later when I can get down to the cabinet
@BelovedBirds may also know where to find the list

I'm not sure where to to find it either
But currently I have:

Calcium gluconate
Vet RX
Vetericyn
Nutri drench
Activated charcoal
Blood stop powder
Vet wrap
Duck shoes
Niacin supplements
Triple antibiotic ointment without pain relief
Epsom salts
Drawing salve

I also keep paper towels on hand next to my box, they come in handy.

I do actually need to do a little restock and get a couple things. But those are some of the important things. I started getting everything together while they were babies, and this first aid kit has served me well!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

where do you get the shoes from.

 

[BelovedBirds]

where do you get the shoes from.

I got mine on ebay, it was just from someone who made them themselves- not the best quality but they work, so there for emergencies