Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 And they *do* have egg teeth when they hatch :D Here is a picture of one hatching. You can see it's little bill sticking out.:laugh: Naptime! My daughter's favorite: meet Boris. First swim. We learned that they need to be introduced to water quickly or they will be afraid of it later. They were unsure at first, but eventually began to enjoy it--jumping in and out, and just standing and squatting in it! They're cute. Anybody want a duckling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 How precious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 They're so cute! I'm lovin the swim shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I wish I had a pond! Too cute. The courts, in my area, just upheld the right of folks to keep chickens as pets. Dh & I are leaning towards doing this next spring, if $ gets better. My youngest will be ecstatic. Thank you for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 First swim. We learned that they need to be introduced to water quickly or they will be afraid of it later. Interesting. 25 years ago when we incubated duck eggs we were told by experienced people(so they knew what they were talking about, right ? ;) ) to not let the ducklings in water until they were feathered and were preening themselves. The rationale was in the wild the mother's oil glands would provide enough oil to protect the ducklings, without that oil the water would saturate the down to the skin and chill the ducklings, possibly even letting them drown. We followed that instruction and never had a problem with the ducklings being afraid of water later. They took to it like....like ducks to water.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Interesting. 25 years ago when we incubated duck eggs we were told by experienced people(so they knew what they were talking about, right ? ;) ) to not let the ducklings in water until they were feathered and were preening themselves. The rationale was in the wild the mother's oil glands would provide enough oil to protect the ducklings, without that oil the water would saturate the down to the skin and chill the ducklings, possibly even letting them drown. We followed that instruction and never had a problem with the ducklings being afraid of water later. They took to it like....like ducks to water.:001_smile: I'm glad you had that success! We had the opposite problem. We bought some that were terrified of water! :lol: And I recently read that they need to get in the water quickly. I'm glad yours did well, even though were older. Maybe it depends on the ducks. I was careful to not let them be in the water too long. I replaced the damp bedding, and they of course had the heat lamp close to them to warm back up. I also made sure they had warm water to get in. They seemed to do well. I won't let them be in for very long at a time. I was thinking this morning that they don't have that 'water proofing' right now, because they don't have their mamas with them. Thanks for the info. I feel better since you told me that; I don't feel as much pressure to get them in the water frequently. I want them to get in the pond, but it is a bit of an ordeal to swim them right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Tracy, I can't see your pics to see what kind of ducks you have. We only raised Pekins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 They are a mix; most of the eggs were given to us by a friend. They told us what they were, but I forgot. Magpies maybe? And possible Blue Swede? It was fun watching them hatch--we didn't know what was going to come out of those eggs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 They're adorable. Love the photos! Tell Boris 'hi' from us. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret in GA Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 We have ducklingss, too. They are my favorite farm animal ever-- so funny. I can't imagine a duck not liking water. You can't keep ours out of it--they get in their drinking water and mess it all up. Ours are Indian Runners. Jenny in Atl, you don't need a pond. Our ducks do love water, but they don't need it. We don't have a pond... they just waddle around and eat bugs. And make me laugh. Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 And they *do* have egg teeth when they hatch :D Thank you! Anybody want a duckling? Yes! They are adorable. Especially Boris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Interesting. 25 years ago when we incubated duck eggs we were told by experienced people(so they knew what they were talking about, right ? ;) ) to not let the ducklings in water until they were feathered and were preening themselves. The rationale was in the wild the mother's oil glands would provide enough oil to protect the ducklings, without that oil the water would saturate the down to the skin and chill the ducklings, possibly even letting them drown. We followed that instruction and never had a problem with the ducklings being afraid of water later. They took to it like....like ducks to water.:001_smile: This is correct. No duck could ever be afraid of water! Funny! They take to it as naturally as one would imagine, no matter how old they are introduced to it. A duckling should not be put in water to swim until they are older and can retain body heat. They could get chilled and die. It is true that the mother coats her ducklings with oil from her glands that they have yet to develope. This oil prevents the water from soaking to the ducklings skin and chilling it. It also helps with bouyancy. We never let our ducklings in water until they are about 4 weeks old. It is safe to do it younger if it is very warm weather and you make sure they are warm and dry after. Have fun with them! We raise 4 breeds of duck and we love them! You can see pictures on out blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 This is correct. No duck could ever be afraid of water! We must have gotten a batch of s-t-r-a-n-g-e ducks last year then. :lol: Of course, if anyone gets ducks that won't go in the water, it would be us! :D It took them so long to go in! And then they wouldn't go out very far. We used to stand and watch the pond, "HEY! Look how far out the ducks are!" lol. Hopefully these ducks will like water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 It also helps with bouyancy. We never let our ducklings in water until they are about 4 weeks old. It is safe to do it younger if it is very warm weather and you make sure they are warm and dry after. Hmmm...now what should I do? I don't want more ducks that hate water. But I don't want to chill these. Decisions decisions.:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 (edited) Tracy, I'm thinking your ducks last year were imprinted with you(or your family) as their mother. They probably would have jumped right in the water if you had gone in first. We incubated Pekins from our own breeding stock, and put them with the older ducks as they grew, so when they were old enough to go in the water without worries, they followed the other ducks. Edited May 29, 2009 by OHGrandma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Hmmm...now what should I do? I don't want more ducks that hate water. But I don't want to chill these. Decisions decisions.:001_huh: You already said you made sure they had dry bedding and a heat lamp. If you provide those things and don't leave them in the water long enough to get chilled, you'll be OK letting them play in the water some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 We have ducklingss, too. They are my favorite farm animal ever-- so funny. I can't imagine a duck not liking water. You can't keep ours out of it--they get in their drinking water and mess it all up. Ours are Indian Runners. Jenny in Atl, you don't need a pond. Our ducks do love water, but they don't need it. We don't have a pond... they just waddle around and eat bugs. And make me laugh. Margaret Yes, we raised ducks when I was a kid. In the summers we used to set up a wading pool for the ducks to enjoy... when it was time to refresh the water, we just dumped the dirty water in the garden. I cannot for the life of me remember how old they were when we introduced them to water. I know they were still small but maybe not still fuzzy. Now that we're in a rural area, we don't have ducks! LOL. Our neighbor has a lovely pond with lots of ducks and geese, and I doubt we could entice ducks to stay here with us for very long when the neighbor's house is so much more appealing. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Jenny in Atl, you don't need a pond. Our ducks do love water, but they don't need it. We don't have a pond... they just waddle around and eat bugs. And make me laugh. Margaret But do they lay eggs? Could I get both? We only have an acre in a subdivision (blah). Lots of issues with cats & foxes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 They do lay eggs! We love duck eggs.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Oh they are sooooo cuuuuute!! hehe My daughter would LOVE those little ducks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherLynn Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 My kids are loving your pics! Now they want to grow them. We live on a ranch right now, but will be moving soon. Hopefully we'll be somewhere where we can have some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyndie Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 So cute!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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