[Thompson24]

Hi guys

I went to the allotment this morning to be horrified! there was a carrier bag tied to the fence and it was moving!.  I looked inside and there was two ducklings! a note attached said i cant look after these dirty b****tards anymore you have them!. 

Ive never had ducks before in my life and dont know where to start.  What do I feed them, how can I sex them, can they go in with chickens etc?

I asked the other holders if anyone could help but most are just gardens.  Im willing to keep these as im rather upset about there past however feel i need a crash course on duck keeping.

Also is there away of finding how old they are, there not tiny but not that too big either, there a pale yello colour with some brown markings appearing and a yellowish beak.

Hope someone can help soon. x

[Kate and her Ducks]

OMG that's awful.

Well done for you on taking them in. As you can probably guess from my name I have ducks and love them.

About how big are they? Can you get a pic up to give us a guide? They sound like they probably need to still have some heat especially as there are only 2 of them to keep each other company. Nice warm box with an old towel in it an a lamp above is a good start. Make sure they have water available and then you need to work out what you are going to feed them.
Ideally chick crumbs but whateve it is it must not be medicated as the anto cocciwhatsit stuff can harm them. Layers pellets not ideal but provided unmedicated will do for now.

An now a deep breath an calm!

[chooknewbie]

oh the poor little loves... Easter prezzie/idea gone bad you think??   

Good luck with them... Kate is brill with Duckies so she will keep you right...

[Snap Dragon]

oh the poor little loves... Easter prezzie/idea gone bad you think??   

Good luck with them... Kate is brill with Duckies so she will keep you right...

Just what I was thinking... bet someone bought them as cute little fluffy bundles from a garden centre!!! 

I hope they are ok... you'll get lots of advice as there are some very knowledgeable people on here.

Fingers crossed for you 

[Vember]

I'm gobsmacked   

The poor little things 

Excellent advice from Kate and a pic would be good to get an idea of age

Well done for taking them on and thank goodness you got to them when you did

Sarah  ,    &  speechless x

[wysiwyg]

you lucky So in so!!!  Hopefully it will be 2 girls! my ducks always got on fine with our chickens - However if you have a drake - Be careful,  I lots 2 chickens to one of my boys!! :blink:  didnt realise what happened the first time but cottoned on by the second -  he was sooooo amorous that he literally loved them to death!!  Caught him in the act with 3 chicken!!  I ended up having to pen them in until he had had his way with his girls and was too tired to harrass the chickens!

All the same though Ducks are soo easy to keep, once they have feathered up make sure they have some water to bath in as they really do love it. - ducks i found are far better than chickens for sorting out slugs etc.

All the best with yours

[Kate and her Ducks]

How are they doing?

[nnbreeder]

On our ducks I used a 50/50 mixture of layer pellets and Alfalfa pellets made into a wet mash. If you could get waterfowl feed that would be great but whatever you feed I would keep the protien level below or around 20%. High protien feed can cause a condition called Angel Wing that is not reversable.

[Parsnip]

Unbelievable...

Luckily you got to them  when you did Thompson...

I'd look on it as a little gift...unfortunate circumstances, but lucky you..

[poultrygeist]

I'm horrified like the rest of you. Just catching up. 

If you have rabbit food to hand, that will be fine too.
Water wants to be in a dish, deep enough for them to rinse their bills in but no too deep that they can drown in it.
They WILL make a mess but that's not a problem from their point of view !

They'll probably need cleaning out every day to start with but you'll get to know them very well and they will reward you.

Well done for being compassionate.

Rob

[Thompson24]

Hi thanks for all the advice

Been down the allotment with them all day, they are soooo nervous god love them as soon as you go near the pen they run and squal so god knows what the poor things have been through.

Do you think tomorrow I should try regular handeling or is it best to leave them, they just seem to cower in the corner.

One of the old fellas on the allotment said i should look for an older duck to keep them company and show them the ropes lol

I also have an old bath, should i sink it into the ground in there new pen as and when i get to build it?

[poultrygeist]

Roughly how big are they do you think ?

I'd be tempted to leave the bath as is and make a ramp or two up to the rim. And one on the inside so they can climb out again 

If you check Vember's Titch thread http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=22320.1260 can you see a rough match compared to the photos she's posted up ?

ROb

[Thompson24]

its hard to find something to compair the size too. (and i dont have a digi camera)  I would say there about the size of a small hedgehog or small peigion at the moment.  There still a lightish yellow with some brown stripes apperaing

[poultrygeist]

Probably 2 or 3 weeks old maybe. Not sure about the flavour. The yellow will turn white so could be mallards or crosses but depends on where the brown stripes are.

Not really relevant. As long as they have fresh water, some food and a bit of warmth, they'll be fine. They should get used to you. Do they stand up straight at any time ?
Or do they tend to stay more duck-shaped ?
If upright, they'll be runners.

Rob

[poultrygeist]

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii117/TotallyBonkers68/Georgie002.jpg

This is teh only photo I can find with a hand for size comparison. This is one of Sarah's (vember).

Rob