Release the Quacken!
Those of you that follow us on social media already know that we “did a thing” a few months ago.
Cathy always wanted to be a duck mom, so one day I surprised her by pulling up at TSC to pick out our newest Gauntt Farm members.
Our silly feline and five bunnies have all been rescued by showing up on our doorstep; with the exception of Jackson, who was brought to us. Never did we purposely seek out our pets, until now. Having a pair of waddling, tail feather shaking friends could only add to our adventures.
Odd Pair Out
After choosing the most “odd” looking pair, we were ecstatic about what lay ahead.
We knew very little about ducks and highly recommend thoroughly researching before purchasing your own.
Having the bare necessities, we knew we would have plenty of time to get them a coop and run built.
REALITY CHECK!
These creatures grow like wildfire!
Meet Syngin (black-left) and Sunshine (yellow-right).
Their water bowls became too small almost overnight, and they outgrew their first box in just a couple of weeks.
The blue water dispenser on the left was deep enough initially, but by the end of the week they needed a deeper bowl to allow dunking their heads.
Prone to Sinus Infections
This is critical knowledge! Ducks must be able to dunk their heads in water deep enough to allow washing off dirt, dust and whatever else on their face. Cleaning out their sinuses is of utmost importance and therefore need a bowl deep enough to dunk all the way to their eyes. Ducks are notorious for developing sinus infections that can prove to be fatal, and it doesn’t take much for them to become infected. We learned that the hard way with Sunshine; who early on developed an infection (even though they had access to deep enough water).
Like Toddlers
Having ducklings is literally no less difficult than having a toddler; every move must be monitored. They will get into things they have no business getting into.
Shortly after Sunshines lengthy recovery, Syngin was foraging near our pool. The perimeter of the pool was lined with old weed liner, and while he was there he accidentally aspirated “something”. To this day we are not sure what exactly it was, we only know it was scary enough to bring him running towards us, gasping for air. Eventually he hacked enough to clear his throat and off to the vet we went. According to X-Rays he did not aspirate a solid object (thank goodness); but suspicion was he at minimum sucked in some dirt.
After a tumultuous few weeks for both Sunshine and Syngin, I am proud to announce they are both doing well. Their entire health issues from the beginning is enough for a separate article; so be sure to sign up for email notifications.
In search of an Emergency Vet
Running in circles in the middle of the night looking for an emergency waterfowl veterinarian is super frustrating. Every Vet ER stated they will see all species of animals, but too many are not familiar with exotic animals; i.e. bunnies or waterfowl. One emergency clinic even advised us that the veterinarian would have to do a lot of google research to treat Syngin, and referred us to a more specialized clinic.
Any time you bring a pet into your home, be sure to know which veterinarians and emergency clinics are available to you.
Lessons learned – Passing it forward
#1. Do your research!
#2. Monitor like toddlers!
#3. Educate yourself on their ever changing dietary needs!
#4. Make sure you know where to go for more information; i.e. special social media platforms, as well as brick and mortar stores.
#5. Know veterinarians and emergency clinics available for your particular breed of animal. Just because they will see “all species”, doesn’t make them knowledgeable in all areas. Even vets have their specialties!
#6. Have plenty of appropriate space for them to thrive in. Free ranging is not an option for everyone, so make sure they have plenty of room to be happy in.
#7. If your animals are outside, day and/or night, be aware of local predators and how to prevent your babies from becoming prey.
A few items to get you started
Here are a few items you may need to get started with your ducks/ducklings
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Food, Water and Supplements
At first these types of dispensers will work just fine; just pay attention to your babies. Once these get too small for them you will be able to tell. Their bills will become too big to fit into the feeder holes, and the water dispenser won’t be deep enough to dunk their faces in.
Again, this is an important part of keeping a duck/ling healthy.
Not sure what type of feed to bring home with the new Quackers? Just ask the place you are purchasing them from what they have been feeding them. Try to stick with the same food, and if it does not have the appropriate measurements of minerals and vitamins, be sure to switch them gradually.
Two important parts of the ducklings diet are Vitamins & Electrolytes as well as Brewers Yeast.
As the name suggests, this is packed with V&E to help keep your ducks and chicks well hydrated; especially during these sweltering days.
Loaded with B vitamins as well as Niacin, this is a very important part of your ducks diet; especially meat bird breeds (i.e. Peking and Muscovy). Whether or not you are raising yours for meat, the Niacin in this supplement is very important to ensure proper bone growth. Due to their enormous weight gain and rapid growth, weakening of bones can have detrimental effects on your quacker.
Newborn ducklings’ environment needs to be between 85°F to 95°F, with a measured decrease over time; until they are gradually weaned off the heat lamp. Need for heat lamp varies depending on time of year and location.
Some owners swear by the good ole, tried and true heat lamp; while others prefer the heat plates for their flock.
Heat Plate
Heat Lamp
Bulbs for the Heat Lamp
Beat the heat with some fun outside activity!
Ducks are absolutely hilarious to watch during their normal day to day activity; but add some water and sprinkles for an extra good chuckle!
Or if you prefer square shapes like myself –
Our babies absolutely love their 12″ x 48″ pool to dive and do “zoomies” in.
Before you go, check out some other sections you may be interested in –
Want to learn more about our little Farm?
Welcome to Gauntt Farm Antics!
Check out our Recipe page here!
For one of our funniest stories so far check out Tigger’s unfortunate hairball experience!Hairball Havock!
We hope this article was informative and you are enjoying our website. Feel free to leave comments or questions.
Until then,
Toodles!
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