The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi Friends, with great sadness i have to tell you that the Sharp Dressed Drake took his last breath shortly before noon. He spent his final hour sitting on my lap cuddling his head under my hand, as he did last year as a duckling. He slipped away peacefully and i promised him that i will bury him side by side with the Black Swedish Duck.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hey all -- our little and not-so-little ducklings are growing up faster than I can find the time to build Duck house II - return of the duck house. I'm working on it but it takes me a while.

Two are now 8 weeks old and 8 are 4 weeks old.

For 10 days or so they have all been going without food overnight, just water.

Is it safe to stop the water as well? (9 pm - 6 am) - bearing in mind that in their day space they have fresh water every day, sometimes twice a day. Night temperature is about 20 C / 70 F.

Thank you!

My ducks have access to food and water 24x7x365. The only rule is that there is no food or water in the duck-house itself. When hungry or thirsty, Duck has to get up and walk into the duck-run. The equivalent of humon, sleep-walking to the fridge in the kitchen. No cookie crumbles in the bed permitted!
As for the temperatures, even the four week old ducklings would enjoy the fresh air of a 20° summer night after a hot day outside. For Ducks and ducklings heat is more challenging than cold, with the exception of the first two weeks of their life. If you observe ducklings growing up, you will see them piling up when they are young, forming a rag when a bit older and finally sleeping close to each other but separated. That's the moment when they can deal with cool summer-nights.

 

[Supercow]

What I'm seeing (unrelated to temps) is that while they are fluffy they are like a single organism. Then they get feathers and with that, they also become individuals. It's been an interesting thing to observe.

 

[Supercow]

Hi Friends, with great sadness i have to tell you that the Sharp Dressed Drake took his last breath shortly before noon. He spent his final hour sitting on my lap cuddling his head under my hand, as he did last year as a duckling. He slipped away peacefully and i promised him that i will bury him side by side with the Black Swedish Duck.

Oh man Very sorry to hear that. We haven't yet had such a situation (newbie duck owners) and it's hard even to think about it. And if I do I'm sure it doesn't come close to experiencing it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Anyone with runners or Perkins in Virginia or within 2 hours?

@CrystaBub is in Virginia.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi Friends, with great sadness i have to tell you that the Sharp Dressed Drake took his last breath shortly before noon. He spent his final hour sitting on my lap cuddling his head under my hand, as he did last year as a duckling. He slipped away peacefully and i promised him that i will bury him side by side with the Black Swedish Duck.

Very sorry

 

[Luv Ducks]

Hi Friends, with great sadness i have to tell you that the Sharp Dressed Drake took his last breath shortly before noon. He spent his final hour sitting on my lap cuddling his head under my hand, as he did last year as a duckling. He slipped away peacefully and i promised him that i will bury him side by side with the Black Swedish Duck.

So sorry to hear this Frank. I know you tried your very best to save him. He had a good life with you.

 

[Jenbirdee]

my group of 3 @7 -8 week olds are now living outside and at night they are crated in duck manor.

my 2 @2 weeks old are -I think- cute combinations of their Mom and Dad - ( Cayuga & Fawn-white Runner , respectively)

 

[Jenbirdee]

Very sorry

so sad Frank I saw there were bad storms in your state and i thought of you- it must have been so hard to not be able to get home before the storm. so sorry @WannaBeHillBilly

 

[Luv Ducks]

my group of 3 @7 -8 week olds are now living outside and at night they are crated in duck manor.
View attachment 3876962
my 2 @2 weeks old are -I think- cute combinations of their Mom and Dad - ( Cayuga & Fawn-white Runner , respectively)
View attachment 3876965View attachment 3876966

Sooooo precious!!!!