Day Nineteen

They are getting very attentive and have already learned not to chew on my arms anymore and they come to me individually when I call them by name!

I am amazed at how intelligent my little girls are! They are easier to train than puppies! Their bodies are getting thicker and they are getting more feathers starting on their wings and breast. They also each have a cute little tuft behind each eye on both sides of their head. It makes them look very cuddly! They eagerly jump into my lap now when I open their enclosure. They are getting so big I had to replace their coffee cup with a quart size tall Ziploc storage container.

I decided it was time to get them a smaller watt bulb for their heat source. I went to the store looking for a regular 60-75 watt incandescent bulb (I started with a 250 watt red infrared brooder bulb, then switched to a 125 watt clear infrared brooder bulb which I have used until now). Then I saw a 60 watt black light bulb intended to heat reptile habitats at night and it occurred to me that they would probably get a lot more sleep and adjust better to outdoor life if it were dark at night. I'll see how it goes.

Day Seventeen

I taught them to jump into my lap today. They think it is marvelous fun!
Aren't they sweet!

Today I went to the farm store and bought some chopped alfalfa cubes for them. I soaked them in warm water for about 7 hours until they broke up and were soft. Then I offered it to them in a mixing bowl and they loved it! I left the water in of course and it was a very exciting treat for them. I also boiled them an egg and chopped it up into fine pieces and they loved that.

I had noticed that during my work week they had again become hand shy so I peeled back the hex netting today and enticed them to climb out on a towel in my lap. Ariel did it almost right away, but Juno is a bit bigger and needed some help getting over the side of the pool. They seemed to love the cuddle time and stayed until they got hot each time and then jumped back into their pen. I plan to do this as often as possible when I am off work and every day when I get home when I am working. The bigger they get, the more difficult it will be to handle them unless they are very tame!

Day Sixteen

My morning greeting!


I awoke this morning expecting a horrendous mess in their new pen, but to my delight they seem more content. I only had to spot clean their litter and change out their food and water. It was amazing!

They seem to be liking their new feed and are eating like the fluffy little pigs-in-bird's-clothing they are. I mixed in less of their old feed today. The new feed smells so sweet and good and is a much darker color than their old feed. It almost reminds me of molasses.

We have been having rain all week and the grass is growing as fast as they are. I plan to find some dandelions to chop up for them tomorrow. Greens are such a good thing to feed them, and dandelion is free and nutritious!

Day Fifteen!

They sure have grown! I had to start using the jar atop their feeder yesterday because they are eating so much so fast.

Here they are enjoying their new enclosure.


Today I realized they were way too big even for the 50 gallon tub I had for them so I moved them into the kiddie pool and put hex netting around it to keep them from jumping out. I use an old art easel to hold their light (its really stable). They seem much happier already. They don't seem to need the amount of heat all the books say they do at this age. They seem to avoid the light and don't act cold at all when away from it. If they continue to act this way I will remove it entirely next week.

I've been having to give them a bath in the tub every day since last weekend because they get so filthy throughout the day. I've never seen such mess makers! Interesting thing is this morning They started making their first quack attempts ( or that's what it sounded like). Their voices are really changing.

I went to the Tractor Supply on my lunch break today and got them their 15% protein DuMor Grower/Finisher feed. It smells wonderful and is a different color than their old feed. Right now I am just mixing about 1 part of the 15% with 2 parts of the 20% and 1 part Oat Meal. The lower protein should slow their growth down to a healthy level.

Day Thirteen

Day number 13 and growing strong!
Here is Ariel preening after a much needed bath.
Juno's cute little duck butt! Look at those feathers growing!

I let them have a romp in the tub again today when I got home while I cleaned their room. I have started placing their water containers in a broiler pan lined with paper towels and this nearly eliminates the wet litter problems I had been having. The only problem with it is its a little harder to get in and out of their pen without spilling it, but the lack of wasted litter is well worth the extra trouble.

I have their heat set at about 82 and they seem perfectly content. Next week I will lower it to around 77 and then they probably won't need it anymore. I think they were getting too hot and they avoided the light. I can't wait till they don't need it anymore!

Day Eleven

Ariel Loves to lay in my hand as she nibbles at my arm. Juno is more shy, but also likes to nibble my arms and especially my fingers and wedding ring.

Day eleven marked their fist brief excursion outdoors. They are still small enough to squeeze between the slats in our picket fence, so we had to watch them closely. It was 70 degrees, so I didn't let them stay out too long, but boy were they excited! I can't wait till they are bigger and can hang out with us while we work in the yard.

Tomorrow we are completing the predator-proofing of our yard so they will have the run of everything except the driveway. I blocked the last two "holes" today with small mesh hardware cloth that is very sturdy, and tomorrow we will be placing a two foot addition to the top of our four foot brick wall at the top of the yard. This is necessary because the ground on the other side of the wall is taller than the ground on our side and dogs could jump down into our yard pretty easily if motivated. In fact, one small dachshund mix down the road has gotten trapped inside our yard twice by doing just that. The fact that he can't get back out tells me that that is our remaining weakness. I plan to lock them into their sleeping house at night anyway, for extra safety.

Day Nine

Here they are playing with their marbles. They seem to splash less water out and put less stuff in when the marbles are there.

Here are my girls snuggling after their evening romp and feeding frenzy!

I can't believe my girls are already ten days old! I am amazed at how big they are. I had to go to the feed store yesterday and get them a 1 gallon size waterer because they were splashing/drinking their quart size in about 3 hours. It has a deeper pan too and they like that. I put some marbles in the trough to entertain them. They seem to like shinny things.

Today I went to the Tractor Supply to get them some more wood shavings but they didn't have the ones I got before in stock. I wound up getting some cedar bedding at Wal-mart, which was a little more expensive but smells really nice. The chicks seem to like it better and enjoy playing with the larger pieces. It doesn't seem as absorbent though, so I will try to get the wood shavings next time. Hopefully they will be in stock by the time I need more.

While I was at the store, I noticed they had some chicks for sale and a sign was up stating that per Tennessee state regulation they couldn't sell less than 6 chicks at a time. I don't know if this is a new law or not, but lucky for me the guy who sold me my chicks either didn't know about it or didn't care. I think it seems strange. They were out of ducklings, but had some baby chickens, which were in poor health, and one was in the process of slowly dying while a helpless comrade looked on in obvious confusion and dismay (they were the last two in that bin). I can't stand to see animals treated like that. It made me mad and I wanted to say something but my husband said they wouldn't care anyway and encouraged me to leave. I wish I had said something, but he was probably right. They wouldn't have cared.

Day Seven

Ariel enjoying a deep drink from the teacup I added so they could dunk their head all the way under the water. I learned that this is how they keep their eyes and nose clean.

Here they are enjoying their new 50 gallon brooder box.

They have grown so much I decided to get them a bigger brooder box when I got home from work this evening. The old one was just too small. They seem to be thoroughly enjoying it!

Day Five

This picture was actually taken yesterday evening. I think it is remarkable how much they have grown in so little time! Compare the photo below from today:



Wow, my little girls sure are growing! I got them a kiddie pool to play in while I clean their brooder box. I placed a shallow broiler pan in the center with about an inch of water in it that they love to wade in. Ariel (the mallard) especially likes to run through it as quickly as she can before darting in circles round and around the pan. The day I got the pan it had a bug in it, which she chased down and promptly ate. Way to go Ariel!

Juno (the Cayuga) is now starting to outgrow Ariel who at first was slightly bigger. I am curious how quickly their sizes will differ since Juno will grow up to be about twice the weight of Ariel. They seem to get along splendidly and hate to be separated even for a second.

I have been handling them every day since Saturday in my lap where they cuddle and especially like to take turns putting their head under my arm. They like nibbling on my fingers and wedding ring, and they try incessantly to eat the hair off of my forearms. It really tickles. I think they like the attention, and have started to come towards me when I enter their room. They don't spook nearly as bad when I pick them up now as they used to.

The Basics

FOOD:

I have found it very difficult to find consistent information on the proper diet for a pet duck. Most of the sources I've found agree that a 20% protein, non-medicated chick starter for waterfowl or game birds is appropriate for the first 2-3 weeks and then switching to 14%-16% is better.

I found it nearly impossible to find diets specifically for waterfowl, but I found an unmedicated "Chick Starter/Grower" that was labeled for chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and quail that had 20% protein at a local Tractor Supply store. It is made by the Purina company for Tractor Supply under the brand name "DuMor" and cost $6.59 for a 20lb bag. It says on the label that it can be used for ducklings up to 10 weeks old, but it is my understanding that this is aimed at birds intended for meat. Such a high level of protein can cause medical problems if fed too long, and should be avoided in pet birds.

They have another formula called "Poultry Grower/Finisher" that is 15% protein and is labeled for use in poultry and waterfowl. That is the diet I plan to start switching them to at 3 weeks of age. When they reach 10 weeks of age, I'll start supplementing their feed with scratch grains, and of course by that time they will be old enough to forage in my yard as well. If they do turn out to be girls, I'll give them a laying feed once they start laying eggs.

WATER:

I use a small bottle-style automatic chick waterer, which I find they foul very quickly. I change it two to three times a day, depending on whether I'm working or at home. I find that they put things in the water on purpose so they can chase them. It seems to be their favorite game! It doesn't do any good to change it more often than I do because they literally foul it up within ten minutes. It does help prevent bacteria from catching hold to change it at least morning and night. I use straight tap water for them. I was afraid filtered water would be more prone to bacterial growth.

BEDDING:

I use wood shavings I bought at the Tractor Supply. Its super cheap and absorbent, and the chicks seem to enjoy playing with it in their water dish.

MISCELLANEOUS:

I feed them using one of those aluminum chick feeders with the little holes all around that you can screw a mason jar onto. I don't use the jar since I have only two ducks and I change out their food each morning. I find it works better than the open dish I used the first day because they have a much harder time pooping in it, and two days in a row now they have been completely unsuccessful!

Ducks need grit. I use the granite chick grit from the tractor supply for them. I offer it in a tiny ceramic hamster bowl I got at Petsmart next to their food dish. You can mix it into their feed, but I prefer to offer it separately and they take it as they need it with no problem.

I also got them some Benebac bird paste from work. It is a pro-biotic for birds and reptiles which is helpful for intestinal health. It is recommended during food changes and stressful situations.

The First Four Days

This picture was taken the morning after I got the ducklings from the feed store (03/13/2009). I believe they were 1 day old when we bought them, which would make this their 2nd morning.

This picture was taken Saturday 3/14/2009 in the evening.

This Picture was taken Sunday 3/15/2009. Day Number 3 since they hatched!

This is day #4 for them (03/16/2009). They are growing so fast! Pretty soon they will need a bigger play pen!


So begins my journey into the joys of Duck ownership. I had long wanted to keep a small flock of chickens, but after doing some research I decided that a couple of ducks would be much easier to care for and do all the things I wanted my chickens to do even better, i.e., eat bugs and slugs in my garden, lay eggs and be friendly pets. I am completely new to duck ownership and found much fewer websites etc. to guide me compared to chickens so I decided to start this blog to help those thinking of owning ducks decide if it is right for them and pass on the information I gather from experience and the few resources I've found.

To begin with, I wanted two Cayuga females. Ordering them proved problematic since most hatcheries wouldn't ship less than 10 chicks at a time and most were not sexed. There was a shipment expected at the farm store down the road on Friday the 13th, but they were straight run also. Lucky for me I work in a veterinary hospital and I was able to find out that the penis in ducklings can usually be palpated without the invasive procedure known as "vent sexing". I had to work that day so I instructed my husband on where to feel for the tiny lump that would indicate a boy and hoped for the best. I think he got it right but we won't be absolutely certain until they get their adult feathers. Either way, I'll be happy with them, though I am really hoping for duck eggs!

And, as you probably noticed from the photos, the farm store had a shipment of mallards come in at the same time as the Cayugas and they had them all together in the same pen. My husband therefore wound up getting one of each. I told him it was a happy accident, and will make it much easier to tell them apart. I think mallards are beautiful, but about half the size of the Cayugas and not as good at laying eggs. He doesn't plan on eating the eggs anyway, so just as well. Mallards are excellent foragers!