How do you care for a duckling?
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Question by ascalila: How do you care for a duckling?
I am looking after a duckling until it is big enough to go outside with a flock of ducks and not be eaten by a cat (like its 5 other siblings were). I am currently feeding it cat food and keeping it in a large cardboard box with a covered hot water bottle, a blanket, food, shallow water, and a 60 watt light above for warmth. I have been told chicken mash or starter mix is the best food where can I get this from? I am able to get royal canin or hills dry cat food for free, is this good food? I know someone who feed a diet of mainly cheap canned cat food and their duck lived but the feathers grew twisted. I asked at a pet shop and they said I should just take the duckling to the local botanic gardens and it will fend for itself (its about 3 days old). I asked at a vet clinic and they reccomended bread and milk, I know that bread is too salty and milk is bad for birds ( they actually admitted that they didn’t know if the ducks raised on this formula surived to adult hood)
It is 44g
I got the duckling from a tame flock its not a wild one. The flock is owned by the manager of the cattery I work at, one of the other workers is from the only animal rescue/shelter in the area, and I can try to get advice from her, I am experienced at looking after animals as I am a vet nurse.
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11 Responses to How do you care for a duckling?
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Don’t try to raise it yourself, but take it to a wildlife rehab place if one is around you. Most birds grow up crippled due to malnutrition. I know, because I used to work in a wildlife rehab center and watched all the poor birds come in that could never live in the wild because the well-meaning but ignorant people fed them an incorrect diet.
If you can’t find a wildlife rehab place anywhere, then at least call one and get specialist advice on how to care for a wild duck. It will probably not be able to be a wild duck and always remain tame.
charmedchiclet
July 22, 2013 at 11:30 am
let it swim in bath tub or the sink they love it. starter food is best and make sure you keep it warm all the time .
taby
July 22, 2013 at 12:17 pm
I have found the following very helpful in dealing with ducks:
In a heavy gage skillet, brown the duck in a mixture of 1/2 cooking oil and 1/2 butter using a moderate heat, after 15 minutes sprinkle some of the Port wine from the figs over the duck. Continue adding port at frequent intervals for 20 to 30 minutes until all the wine has been used. Transfer duck to a roasting pan. Add a tablespoon or two of water to the skillet and scrape droppings, and then pour it over the duck. Place the figs around the bird, add the veloute sauce (see below) and cover the pan. Braise in an oven, preheated 400-F (200-C) oven for 60 minutes, basting frequently.
Place the duck on a platter, put the figs around it and pour the degreased cooking liquid over them.
Bryan _
July 22, 2013 at 12:43 pm
I know one time we had an owl that fell out of a tree at our house- we called the game and fish, and they said that we should feed it mash- made with corn meal and water, until they could come pick it up in a week or so… We had to feed him with a syringe. They ended up rehabilitating him and releasing him into the wild again…
Jenn .
July 22, 2013 at 1:15 pm
You can get mash at a feed store for animals or alot of tack shops carry it too. Look in the Phone book under livestock. If you can find duck or goose food pellets, you can mash them yourself or just add water till they get soft. I’m surprised the vet clinic you called couldn’t help……..is there another one you could call? Ive raised lots of ducks and geese from right out of the incubator…….they are sooooooo cute. Never tried cat food? Make sure it has water but just barely cover the bottom of a dish with water, I have seen them drown :’o( . You are doing just right with the light bulb. If you have a wind up alarm clock that ticks, wrap a towel around it and put in the box, they love it! Good luck!
nice
July 22, 2013 at 1:29 pm
As another poster said, chicken starter is available at the feed store. DO NOT feed it the medicated form, ducks will over eat this kind and kill themselves!
Cat food is NOT proper food and will harm it. Go buy proper food in the morning.
Christie D
July 22, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Continue to do what your doing for this duck although i would take him off the cat food and give him proper duck food.
Contact a duck breeder and ask where to buy proper duck food.
LAUREN E
July 22, 2013 at 2:16 pm
You describe the twisted feathers when the duck was fed on cat/dog food. This is called angel wing and is caused by too much protein in the diet.
What the pet shop said about the duckling fending for itself at the botanical gardens is wrong. The duckling needs heat, protection and food. If you leave it in the botanical gardens (even when it is an adult) it will die.
Your duckling NEEDS non-medicated chick starter or it will not grow properly. You can learn more about caring for ducklings on this excellent page at http://feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingDucklings.html
It says:
Brooding
A basic brooder can be as simple as a large cardboard box with a lightbulb for heat.
Heat
Waterfowl need somewhat less heat than chicks. The first week they should have 90 degrees. You can lower this in 5 degree increments each week through the fifth week. After this they are usually ready to do without supplemental heat.
If you don’t have a formal brooder, your heat source is usually a lightbulb or heat-lamp. Be careful with these not to leave them low enough for the babies to burn themselves. Also, especially with heat-lamps, be careful that the bedding can’t catch fire.
Bedding
I never use wood shavings for birds under 2 weeks. Too much chance they’ll accidentally eat them and get blocked up.
A slick surface like newspaper is a real no-no for newly hatched waterfowl. If you must use newspapers, for the first few days spread paper towels over them.
My favorite surface is wire! I take a piece of hardware cloth or an old window screen and cut it to the dimensions of the brooder. Then I put down a layer of newspaper and lay the wire on it. At cleaning time I just lift out the wire and hose it down, replacing a clean layer of newspaper beneath it. Be careful to make sure there are no sharp wires to hurt their feet. Either bend the edges under or tape them up.
If you can anchor the edges, old bath towels also make great brooder floors. Just shake ’em, wash ’em, and use ’em again.
It is very important for goslings to have good footing right after they hatch. They are prone to a condition called splay-leg, or spraddle legs, as they are quite unsteady for the first couple of days. If this does occur, you can lightly bind the legs together above the hock for a few days, using a rubber band or light cord to make the hobbles. If the weather is warm, a short time walking on the lawn each day is very good for their legs, plus they’ll start right in on eating some grass.
Feed and Water
Water
A constant supply of fresh water is necessary to ducklings and goslings. For the first week, a chick waterer will work well. After that they get too large to submerge their heads and clean their faces in the water. All waterfowl need to be able to do this. But you can’t just give them a bowl of water. There are two problems with this. First, you don’t want them walking in their drinking water or leaving droppings in it. Second, if they stay wet, they’ll catch cold and could die of it.
You may have to be inventive to figure out how to put together a waterer that lets older ducklings and goslings submerge their heads, but not get in it or tip it over. (If it tips over you will have a mess of wet litter and chilled babies.) Commercial brooders for waterfowl have a water trough outside of the brooding area which the youngsters reach by sticking their heads between wire bars. These bars are adjustable to allow for growth. One home-style method to take a flat pan and get some wire that the birds can reach through. You bend the wire into a cylinder that just fits in the pan and attach it so that the youngsters can’t move it. This creates a small “pond” that they can’t get in, but they can reach their heads into it. A heavy rock in the center will keep it from tipping over.
Just remember that the nature of waterfowl is to play in the water, and as the surrogate parent, you have to control this for the first few weeks. And be aware that you’ll go through lots of soggy cardboard boxes, even with the best watering situations.
Swimming: A mother duck or goose knows just how long to let her kids swim and when to take them out of the water and warm them and let them dry. But we don’t really know this. If you really want to see them swimming, set up a “swimming hole” away from their brooder in a warm place and let them swim, always supervised, for a short time daily. (Be very sure there is a ramp with good traction so they can easily get out of the water or they may tire and drown.) Then dry them and return them to a warm and draft-free brooder. You can start doing this after they’re a couple days old. It’s best if the water is room temperature while they’re little.
Feed
Waterfowl often fill their mouths with feed and then hurry to the waterer to get a big drink and wash it down. Therefore, you don’t want the water too far from the feeder, or they’ll drop all the feed on their way there. Also you don’t want it too close as you want to prevent the feed from getting too wet and developing molds (which can kill). Try to set your feeder up in a way that the youngsters can’t climb into it, either.
Feed should be available at all times. I never feed mash to young waterfowl. I use crumbles or pelleted feeds. You may be lucky and have a supplier available who can get you a duck starter feed. Otherwise, David Holderread, probably the foremost waterfowl guy in the US, recommends using broiler starter or a 50/50 mix of chick starter and turkey/game starter. It is good to supplement the diet of goslings with fresh grass clippings or lettuce (and great if you can give them a short run daily–if it’s warm out–to pick their own). If they get greens they should have grit available.
Warning: Never give young waterfowl medicated chick feed. Ducklings are voracious eaters and can overdose themselves and die from a medication that is correctly proportioned for chickens.
helena.gardner
July 22, 2013 at 3:06 pm
They are 3 easy steps All you have to do is feed them make sure they are well and love them it’s as easy as that
Mr.Penn ?
July 22, 2013 at 3:11 pm
Raising a domestic duckling is really quite simple.They need but only three things.Food water and warmth.They make a game bird starter/grower available at most feed stores.If you have a Tractor supply store in your area they carry a great chick starter/grower.As young as it is the duckling doesn’t need a swimming pool nor does it need water to swim in.It needs a water er to drink from and that’s about it.The 60 watt bulb should supply enough warmth.You can place a thermometer under the light long enough to check the temp.As long as it is near 80 degrees the duckling will be just fine.
If the duckling is by itself they tend to be a little noisier then one that has others around them.They are pretty much self-sufficient as long as they have food,water and a place to stay warm they will do everything else on their own.
Remember to buy non-medicated chick starter/grower.Medicated is designed for poultry species mainly turkeys and chickens.Game bird starter is none medicated and can be used for near all sufficient chick species.
ddstantlerstill
July 22, 2013 at 3:17 pm
Ducklings need to be kept warm. Although they need water to swallow the water needs to be in a container that the duckling can’t get into. They eat lots of things so a variety of food is best. Whatever you feed them, protein, calcium and phosphate are very important for the health of the duckling.
MLE
July 22, 2013 at 3:23 pm