There is a lot of information on caring for your new duckling on the internet, and lots of helpful tips. We make no guarantee that the information provided here is the best way of caring for them but it’s the method we use and it has worked for us.
Accommodation
You will need a brooder for the first few days. We use a large plastic tote, you can get from any home supply store, but any box will work. I wouldn’t recommend cardboard due to the fairly excessive amount of water that ducks like to splash around. Make the tote big enough so they can have an area that is cooler than the rest in case they start to overheat.
We put an old towel in the brooder, under the towel we use straw. There are other things that you can use but try to avoid anything slippery – like newspaper. Duck’s legs are vulnerable and they can be easily damaged if they can’t get sufficient grip and effectively do the splits. After a couple of days we remove the towel (we have several and replace every few hours as they do get dirty fast), and just let them potter about on the straw.
We also move them out of the brooder after a few days into a fairly small shed with straw on the floor – we still have the heat lamp of course. We do this because we find that they outgrow the brooder quite fast when there are 15-20 ducklings in there. If you only have 2-4 then you could keep them in there for a lot longer
Temperature
Ducklings find it difficult to regulate their body temperature so we need to do it for them. For the first 3 days they need to be kept at a temperature of between 90-92 F. We use a heat lamp attached to a hook with an adjustable strap (we use a ratchet strap) the lamp is then lowered or raised as required to keep the temperature steady. After three days you can lower the temperature by 1 degree per day, until either the ducklings are fully feathered or the air temperature is warm enough.
If your ducklings are too warm they will seek out corners as far away from the heat lamp as possible, if you notice this raise the lamp. If they are too cold they will pile on top of each other in a big heap. Ducks are fairly sociable creatures so they tend to want to lie next to each other anyway so don’t worry if they are all just hanging out in the same corner, but if they are stacked 3-4 high – you might want to turn up the heat.
You will need a brooder for the first few days. We use a large plastic tote, you can get from any home supply store, but any box will work. I wouldn’t recommend cardboard due to the fairly excessive amount of water that ducks like to splash around. Make the tote big enough so they can have an area that is cooler than the rest in case they start to overheat.
We put an old towel in the brooder, under the towel we use straw. There are other things that you can use but try to avoid anything slippery – like newspaper. Duck’s legs are vulnerable and they can be easily damaged if they can’t get sufficient grip and effectively do the splits. After a couple of days we remove the towel (we have several and replace every few hours as they do get dirty fast), and just let them potter about on the straw.
We also move them out of the brooder after a few days into a fairly small shed with straw on the floor – we still have the heat lamp of course. We do this because we find that they outgrow the brooder quite fast when there are 15-20 ducklings in there. If you only have 2-4 then you could keep them in there for a lot longer
Temperature
Ducklings find it difficult to regulate their body temperature so we need to do it for them. For the first 3 days they need to be kept at a temperature of between 90-92 F. We use a heat lamp attached to a hook with an adjustable strap (we use a ratchet strap) the lamp is then lowered or raised as required to keep the temperature steady. After three days you can lower the temperature by 1 degree per day, until either the ducklings are fully feathered or the air temperature is warm enough.
If your ducklings are too warm they will seek out corners as far away from the heat lamp as possible, if you notice this raise the lamp. If they are too cold they will pile on top of each other in a big heap. Ducks are fairly sociable creatures so they tend to want to lie next to each other anyway so don’t worry if they are all just hanging out in the same corner, but if they are stacked 3-4 high – you might want to turn up the heat.
Water
Ducklings love water – they like to stand in it, swim in it and generally splash it around as far as possible. In the wild they do swim from a very young age, however momma duck regulates their water time to prevent them becoming chilled. In the domestic setting it is best not to let them have access to a bowl of water large enough for them to get in, however they do need to be able to submerge their beaks. We use water feeders with holes that allows them to dip their beaks but not their butts.
We stand our waterer on a fine mesh inserted in a painters tray, that way any water they manage to splash out is contained in the tray and doesn’t get the rest of their bedding wet. You need to build up the bedding around the tray so they can climb up to it.
The picture shows last year’s ducklings, a few hours old, in the brooder with water bowl, painter’s tray and mesh. Ducks need a constant supply of water and it should be changed regularly – at least twice a day, more often if you notice it is particularly dirty.
Ducklings love water – they like to stand in it, swim in it and generally splash it around as far as possible. In the wild they do swim from a very young age, however momma duck regulates their water time to prevent them becoming chilled. In the domestic setting it is best not to let them have access to a bowl of water large enough for them to get in, however they do need to be able to submerge their beaks. We use water feeders with holes that allows them to dip their beaks but not their butts.
We stand our waterer on a fine mesh inserted in a painters tray, that way any water they manage to splash out is contained in the tray and doesn’t get the rest of their bedding wet. You need to build up the bedding around the tray so they can climb up to it.
The picture shows last year’s ducklings, a few hours old, in the brooder with water bowl, painter’s tray and mesh. Ducks need a constant supply of water and it should be changed regularly – at least twice a day, more often if you notice it is particularly dirty.
Food
Ducklings don’t need to eat for the first 24 hours as they are still absorbing the yolk. We will let you know if your duckling is less than 24 hours old when you collect them. Start your ducklings off on starter food for ducklings if you can find it. Budson’s in Erin sells it, but in large quantities. If you only have a couple of ducklings they won’t eat it all before they are ready to progress to Grower food after a couple of weeks. We can sell in smaller quantities from our stock, please ask us. They can eat chick starter too but make sure you get the unmedicated version, ducks don’t need the medication that chicks do and they eat more so could overdose.
After a couple of weeks they are ready to move on to grower. They can stay on this until about 6 months or until you get your first egg. At that point they need layer feed, the drakes don’t need the layer and we have read reports that it can be detrimental to them, we did try to continue to feed the drakes with grower while giving the ducks layer food but it was not at all easy as both groups really seemed to want to eat the other one’s food, so we gave up. We have seen no health problems in our males as a result, you may want to read up about this and make your own decision.
It is recommended that you supplement their diet with niacin which is good for their legs and feet.
Boy or Girl?
We sell ducklings as a straight run, meaning we have no idea whether they are male or female at point of sale. Our experience has been that we have a pretty much 50 50 split at each hatch.
We have found that the ‘quack’ is the most effective means of distinguishing. The females have a distinct, loud quack. The males sound like they would like to quack but have the world’s worst sore throat. They get their quack (or not) at about 8-10 weeks old.
Another method is to look for the curly tail feather, the males have a quiff to their tail feathers and the females don’t. Some of our males started out with curly feathers which then straightened as they got older so maybe don’t rely on this technique. Again they need to be a couple of months old and fully feathered.
As they reach full maturity the males are considerably larger than the females and tend to be the first to meet any threat (again not a fool proof method as we have a couple of cowardly males and at least one female that would walk through fire if there was a bowl of food on the other side).
It is also possible to conduct a physical examination, however this is quite hard to do, is most definitely not popular with the ducks and can cause damage if you don’t do it correctly. There are youtube videos showing you how to do this if you wish.
Temperament
Indian Runner ducks are very sociable and for this reason we will not sell you just one duck, unless you already have ducks at home. They form a strong bond with each other and are always to be found hanging out as a group. They have a tendency to be nervous and have a strong aversion to change. They will adapt within a day or two to a new routine but there will be much duck drama until they do.
If you want them to be pets you will need to spend a lot of time with them so they think that you are a part of their duck group. We had a family take a couple last year and those ducks went everywhere – even up to the cottage on weekends, we have a lovely video of them waddling after the family going for a walk around Port Credit.
Ours are not pets, they are hatched inside the house but are moved outside at the earliest opportunity. Even so they give us hours of enjoyment as we watch their antics in the warmer months as they potter around our land and dip in and out of the pond. I hope your Curly Creek Farm Ducklings give you as much pleasure.
Ducklings don’t need to eat for the first 24 hours as they are still absorbing the yolk. We will let you know if your duckling is less than 24 hours old when you collect them. Start your ducklings off on starter food for ducklings if you can find it. Budson’s in Erin sells it, but in large quantities. If you only have a couple of ducklings they won’t eat it all before they are ready to progress to Grower food after a couple of weeks. We can sell in smaller quantities from our stock, please ask us. They can eat chick starter too but make sure you get the unmedicated version, ducks don’t need the medication that chicks do and they eat more so could overdose.
After a couple of weeks they are ready to move on to grower. They can stay on this until about 6 months or until you get your first egg. At that point they need layer feed, the drakes don’t need the layer and we have read reports that it can be detrimental to them, we did try to continue to feed the drakes with grower while giving the ducks layer food but it was not at all easy as both groups really seemed to want to eat the other one’s food, so we gave up. We have seen no health problems in our males as a result, you may want to read up about this and make your own decision.
It is recommended that you supplement their diet with niacin which is good for their legs and feet.
Boy or Girl?
We sell ducklings as a straight run, meaning we have no idea whether they are male or female at point of sale. Our experience has been that we have a pretty much 50 50 split at each hatch.
We have found that the ‘quack’ is the most effective means of distinguishing. The females have a distinct, loud quack. The males sound like they would like to quack but have the world’s worst sore throat. They get their quack (or not) at about 8-10 weeks old.
Another method is to look for the curly tail feather, the males have a quiff to their tail feathers and the females don’t. Some of our males started out with curly feathers which then straightened as they got older so maybe don’t rely on this technique. Again they need to be a couple of months old and fully feathered.
As they reach full maturity the males are considerably larger than the females and tend to be the first to meet any threat (again not a fool proof method as we have a couple of cowardly males and at least one female that would walk through fire if there was a bowl of food on the other side).
It is also possible to conduct a physical examination, however this is quite hard to do, is most definitely not popular with the ducks and can cause damage if you don’t do it correctly. There are youtube videos showing you how to do this if you wish.
Temperament
Indian Runner ducks are very sociable and for this reason we will not sell you just one duck, unless you already have ducks at home. They form a strong bond with each other and are always to be found hanging out as a group. They have a tendency to be nervous and have a strong aversion to change. They will adapt within a day or two to a new routine but there will be much duck drama until they do.
If you want them to be pets you will need to spend a lot of time with them so they think that you are a part of their duck group. We had a family take a couple last year and those ducks went everywhere – even up to the cottage on weekends, we have a lovely video of them waddling after the family going for a walk around Port Credit.
Ours are not pets, they are hatched inside the house but are moved outside at the earliest opportunity. Even so they give us hours of enjoyment as we watch their antics in the warmer months as they potter around our land and dip in and out of the pond. I hope your Curly Creek Farm Ducklings give you as much pleasure.
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