duckduckSPIDER
Chirping
- Aug 3, 2020
- 20
- 30
- 66
My duck passed yesterday while we were out of the house. It was very sad since her partner, a pekin, was with her dead body for hours until we got home and realized what had happened. Immediately, I looked for a new duck to adopt so Popcorn, our surviving duck, wouldn't have to be alone for too long. No female ducks available at the animal shelters or on craigslist so we decided to order one from a hatchery which we have never done before. Our previous ducks were rescues we adopted locally. Since Metzer farms has a 2 duck minimum...we ordered 2. Having never cared for ducklings that young (our oldest duck was about 4-5 weeks when we got her) I'm not sure how to go about it. It was the beginning of lockdown when we got our first ducks and we had a lot of time to be with them. From the beginning of the duck journey, we agreed I would be the primary caregiver to them. My husband works from home and owning ducks has been pretty low maintenance for him. They forage around the garden while he's home and he loves them but he didn't sign up to do all the dirty work. Since its a big yard with lots of plants and hidden corners I wouldn't want the new ducks to have independent access to the yard until they are about 7 weeksd old. I work in an warehouse (we are an online store working out of a shared art studio/flex space) and others have brought their dogs with them. We used to have two cats living here full-time. I know it wouldn't be a problem with my co-workers if I brought them to work...but is this crazy? I imagined having them in a big tub by my desk with a heat lamp and handling them a lot while I worked so they got used to me. Then I would bring them home and have them sleep inside. In the mornings before work and the evenings before sundown I could supervise them outside while they got to know our big girl, Popcorn. On the weekends when I have more time at home, we spend all day in the garden anyway so it would be easy to have them exploring with Popcorn while we're around. Then little by little, they would feel more comfortable with eachother and the ducklings would eventually be big enough to sleep outside with Popcorn.
To those who are more experienced with raising ducklings, does this idea make sense? Are there major elements of raising ducklings that I'm not considering here? Would Popcorn be ok sleeping alone until the little ducks are old enough to be with her? Should I bring her to work too or would that be too stressful (knowing her, it seems like that would be more stressful than staying at home in her usual environment). Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. I just want to do what's best for these birds.
To those who are more experienced with raising ducklings, does this idea make sense? Are there major elements of raising ducklings that I'm not considering here? Would Popcorn be ok sleeping alone until the little ducks are old enough to be with her? Should I bring her to work too or would that be too stressful (knowing her, it seems like that would be more stressful than staying at home in her usual environment). Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. I just want to do what's best for these birds.