debbiedoobs Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Hi, I have bought a little house for them and have decided on getting some khaki campbell eggs to hatch my own. I already have chickens but know nothing about keeping ducks. Do we feed ducklings chick crumble? We feed our silkies pellets with mixed corn and veggie pieces, is this what I feed the ducks? Or do I need to get them different food? We will be putting them a little pool in their area for water, but do I need to also give them water to drink from? Do they need grit? Can they jump or do they need steps and ramps? I'm presuming they just lie down at night, so what bedding do they need? Any help would be much appreciated, thanks, Debbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hi Ducks are really easy to keep but very messy also with hatching your own you need to think about excess Drakes they are as hard to rehome as cockbirds as come breeding season they are sex pests but quiet its best to only have one Drake with as many girls as poss honestly if it was me I would buy sexed 8 week old Ducklings but its upto you .They eat unmedicated chickcrumb from hatch until 4 weeks then move onto grower pellets then at about 15 weeks layer pellets they like pasta,lettuce,corn,peas as treats and in their house a thick layer of shavings with a layer of straw on top they need a water bowl deep enough to dunk their heads so they can keep their nostrils and eyes clean and mine just swim in kids paddling pools leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiedoobs Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks Leanne, I was getting the eggs to hatch because I know someone already with ducks who I can get them off. I don't know of any breeders but will have a look online to see if I can get some sexed ducklings. How old do they need to be when they go outside into their run? Do they need to be under a heat lamp at 8 weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Depending on time of year I have reared day olds in a rabbit cage in front of the radiator they are quite hardy and not like chicks they are outside by 6 weeks and not on heat you may have to wait as most Ducks will only just start coming back into lay so people will be loading their incys now leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiedoobs Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 That's great, thanks for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiedoobs Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 I've been searching online for sexed ducklings and I'm not winning, can anyone help with suppliers in the northwest please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiedoobs Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 So today I have got myself 3 little 4 weeks old khaki Campbell girls! They are absolutely adorable... I'm loving them already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 That's good news were these vent sexed ? khaki boys always get green head as they get older so easy to tell you have a Drake leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbiedoobs Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Yeh I think so. Asked for 3 girls and she got them for me. They're a bit scatty but come over to have look being nosy. I'd heard they were messy but my god they really are! Do you feed you adult ducks twice daily or do they have food all the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Hi yes they are messy they just all have feeders left down all the time they eat on and off all day leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahato3 Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I tend to let them out between 7-00 and 7-30 am and it is extremely rare for an egg to be laid. There is never a regular time that she appears to lay. I have tried keeping them in the smaller inner run but they just paced continually..... As previously mentioned the first day I kept them in all day with no egg at all, the next day in the small trug, today back in the water I left the trug in as I was worried that they would not be able to dip and dive at all for a large part of the day, I kept going out to see if she had laid but nothing until quite late in the day...... My only option seems to be to reduce their water container size even further but given that I have no idea when she will lay from one day to the next it seems a bit cruel..... I wonder if I simply have to give up completely on the idea of many edible duck eggs so far I have successfully collected 1 egg the remaining 8 have all been fished out of the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
