The Duck Pond - Brooding ducklings

Rearing Ducks

Once you have successfully hatched the ducklings, you have to be their mother.

Hatching the ducklings is only the first step. Now you have to provide all the things that the mother duck would give them if they had been hatched naturally.

Ducklings can be brooded artificially in roughly the same way as chicks. Ducklings will need heat a shorter period of time though, as they grow quicker than chicks. Obviously, the required floor space will increase more quickly too.

Any small building, garage or shed can be used to brood small numbers of birds. The area should be dry, well lit and ventilated and free from drafts. Cover the floor with about 6 inches of absorbent litter material, such as wood shavings, rice hulls or peat moss. It is important that the litter remains dry as dampness is a problem. Sound management will mean the removal of wet litter and frequent addition of clean, dry litter. Be sure litter does not contain mould.

Infrared heat lamps are the best source of heat for brooding small numbers of ducklings. Use one 250-watt lamp for 30 ducklings. Such heat lamps provide radiant heat to the birds under them and since the air isn't heated at all, the room temperature isn't very important.

When using hover-type brooders, brood half as many ducklings as the rated chick capacity. Ducklings are larger than chicks in size, so it may be necessary to raise the hover 3 or 4 inches. Have the temperature at the edge of the hover 85F to 90F when the ducklings are introduced. Reduce it 5 to 10 degrees each week.

Confine the birds to the heated area with a chick guard for the first 3 to 4 days. Corrugated cardboard or paper is ideal for this. Observe the birds to gauge their comfort. If too hot, they will move away from the heat and if too cold they will crowd together and on top of each other under the heat source and will chirp noisily.

High temperatures results in slow feathering and poor growth. The heat may be needed for 5 to 6 weeks in colder weather, while in summer only 2 to 3 weeks. By 4 weeks of age, the ducklings should be feathered enough to be outside except in very cold and wet weather. Protection from predators is a prime concern when the ducklings are allowed outside.

In the past, feeding ducklings was a tiresome task, with mashes needing to be carefully mixed to particular recipes to ensure a balanced diet. As with adult duck food, special preparations for ducklings can be bought which provide a balanced diet for your babies. These are usually in crumble form with an added medication called a coccidiostat, which helps prevent worms and scours in ducklings. Feeding shell grit to your ducklings promotes strong bones, so is a valuable supplement.

Give your babies plenty of fresh, cool drinking water. Provide this in shallow dishes that the ducklings cannot get into to wade, however they need to be able to fully immerse their bills in the water, so make sure the containers are adequate for this.

Finally on water, ducklings are very prone to hypothermia, just like chicks, so it is important that all water containers have them means by which the ducklings can escape. Strips of hessian sacking hung over the sides, by which the babies can pull themselves out, pieces of brick in the water onto which they can clamber are but two methods to protect the ducklings. Without such devices, many ducklings will drown, often in very shallow water. If ducklings are hatched and brooded by the mother duck, they will gain valuable oils from her plumage which helps make them more water resistant, however those hatched in incubators or under hens do not have access to these oils so are far more prone to waterlogging, even in a relatively light shower of rain. Such ducklings find it difficult to float in the pond and can drown quite quickly. If you find waterlogged ducklings, you may need to intervene and artificially dry and warm them to prevent chilling and death. Generally speaking, if the duckling is active and preens itself, then it is doing okay, however if it is standing and shivering and making no attempt to help itself, then your assistance will be required. You can warm such birds in a saucepan over very low heat on the stove. Obviously you will need to lay a towel or some other cloth in the bottom to prevent the bird being scorched. Another good way is to hang a 100W light bulb in a cardboard box and place the youngsters under the lamp. It is surprising how quickly a seemingly almost-dead baby bird can be revived by a little warmth.