Chicks and ducklings

[NeverHadANickname]

Help please!

We have planned for a long time to get some chickens, maybe some ducks. We have done a lot of research on keeping them, the area they need, the coop etc.

My impulsive DH turned up last night with chicks and ducklings and it turns out the part we havent looked in to is how to keep the babies at first! We just wanted to make sure we could manage it long term. So I am in desperate need of some advice.

The ducklings seem very scares but the chicks like to be held and dont want to be put down. Should we be touching/holding any of them? When should the chicks and ducklings be put together? They are in the house at the moment so they said we didnt need a heat lamp but I put a hot water bottle under a corner of the chicks box and they like that. The ducklings I think are a bit older.

Anything else we should know while they are so little? I feel so unprepared for ones so little and want to get it right.

Thank you.

I keep ducks (don’t know anything about chickens though). How old are the ducklings? Lots of useful info on this fb group m.facebook.com/groups/152199394890059?group_view_referrer=profile_browser

Thank you for your reply. I am honestly not sure. He probably didnt ask enough questions. I have attached pictures.

That link didnt work. Do you know what the group is called and I'll search for it.

Thank you for your help.

My first ducks were three weeks when I got them and went outside straight away - duckhouse, small run, water feeder, chick crumbs and crushed defrosted peas. Yours look younger so I’d keep them indoors/in a heated place for a week or so yet. You’ll be able to tell their sex at around three months, then it’s vital that you have at least a 1:3 ratio of drakes to hens (female ducks). Ducks and hens live together fine. Ducks ducks & ducks is the fb group name.

I have found the Facebook page, thank you. I didn't realise you needed a male. Will be interesting to see what we have! They seem so scared at the minute so hopefully they settle in and have a great life with us.

You don’t need a male, all female or all male are fine, it’s just that if you have both sexes you needs a few females to each male because the females can get hurt or even killed if over-mated. Besides the drakes awful insistence in the mating period keeping ducks is great fun. You’ll also need to give them some water to paddle in at this stage and keep making it deeper as they grow. And when they’re a bit older they’ll need to have a fresh bucket of water each day, near their food, deep enough to dunk their whole head in. Ducks love water. And mud! Though they generally don’t like to be held. What breed of duck are they?

Ah I see, thank you. I will put a bigger water dish in with them. Annoyingly, it says the breed of chicken on the box but not the ducks, it just says ducks. I might call where he got them from.

I have checked and the ducks are Khaki Campbell which I think is funny because it looks to be a British breed, I am British but now living in America 😂 the chicks are Leghorn for anyone who can help with those.

How old are the chicks? They will need a heat lamp or similar for around six weeks. Feed chick crumb and water.

I don't know how old they are. The place told us we didn't need a heat lamp but we lost 2 chicks overnight! We were so angry. DH complained that we were given wrong information so it doesn't happen to others. We have a heat lamp now and they are doing much better.

The ducks are loving their bigger water dish to play in. The chicks are super friendly.

Are they still fluffy with short legs and rounded bodies or are they taller with feathers? As a rough guide unless they have mainly feathers they still need heat. Sorry you lost two.

Thank you. They are still quite fluffy but seem to have grown and got stronger even overnight. I have taken a couple of photos but will get better ones later. They are much happier with the heat lamp.

Aww cute, I guess they're about 7-10 days old, definitely still need heat. Glad they're doing well :)

They will need to be under heat or inside next to a radiator until their adult feathers are through. This can take 8 weeks or more for ducks. Introduce the ducks to water - even now they will enjoy a swim in a paint tray but dry them off after!

Thank you both. I am happy to have them inside as long as neccessary. The ducks have a bigish water dish they like playing in. DH has talked about putting them in a shallow bath for a little while to see how they do so we are see how that goes. They are all going through so much water and food. I'm hoping to introduce some natural food at some point too. 🤞 they all look to be doing well. The black chicks are feisty.

I can't believe how fast they are growing! The chicks have feathers now on their wings rather than just fluff. The ducklings and chicks have also started escaping their old tubs so we have moved them to their new home which will hopefully do for a few weeks until we can move them outside. We put the shed up yesterday that we are converting into a coop and need to get the fence up next weekend probably. It is so nice seeing them every day but they eat SO much 😂

Aww cute!