-WATER-

• Keep food and water close by each other (otherwise they have to run mouthfuls between bowls)
• Check several times a day that they have clean fresh water
• NEVER okay to have food with no water
• Need to be able to submerge bill, but not get stuck in water dish.
• Need to keep the membranes in their nostrils moist at all times
• Swimming is recommended
• READ BELOW

-FOODS-

• Starter Feed (non-medicated)
• Waterfowl Feed preferable. Unique health needs.
• Add Brewers Yeast (for Niacin bone growth)
• Ducklings have no teeth
• Coarse sand or chick-sized grit needs to be available to the ducklings at all times to help them grind their food.
• Food must be finely chopped
• Sprinkle greens in water for them to retrieve
• Treat them to greens, fruit, and veggies
• Do NOT feed them BREAD, chocolate, onion, garlic, spices, cookies, sugared snacks, seeds, nuts, and moldy food can be FATAL

-BEDDING-

• NEVER use cedar, sand,
• If using shavings, ONLY larger "chip-sized shavings"
• Can include Herbal Sachets
• It's important to keep the brooder dry!
• Ducks will swallow metal objects (attracted to shiny things)
• READ BELOW

-EXERCISE-

• RSPCA says swimming important for health and well-being.
• As ducklings, swims should be short and supervised. hand dry chicks.

-How To Socialize-

• Easily startled. Talk/sing gently to them BEFORE you enter to NOT startle them
• Move slowly and gently
• No loud sounds, clanging, banging, yelling.
• Have a watering/interacting ROUTINE to help them feel safe/adjust.

-Co-Housing with Chickens-

• If you are introducing the ducklings into a run where there are chickens or other ducks, you should keep them in a small pen inside the run for a week or two so the two groups can get used to each other, just as you would do with pullets.
• Ducks love the outside and WATER. I think they would stay out all night if we let them.

-MISC. HEALTH-

• Monitor their poop and behavior daily for health
• Bumblefoot results from hard surfaces or poorly sized perches
• Aspergilosis results from being made to sleep on damp bedding and inhaling aspergillus fungi spores. Very difficult to treat.

WATER Access to clean, fresh water is very important for all ducks. Ducks need a constant supply of fresh water for drinking, as well as access to water for swimming and bathing. Ducks are very susceptible to botulism, and for this reason it is important that their water supply is kept clean and well aerated. In artificial ponds or pools, this means regularly removing dead leaves and other plant matter, as well as periodic draining and cleaning. In a natural pond, this means making sure the water is not polluted by household or industrial effluents, and removing any dead animals from the water. Plastic or stainless steel food and water dishes are safest for your birds. Zinc-coated, or galvanized, metal dishes can leach heavy metals into the water and food supply, causing toxicity. Wash containers with soap and water daily. Containers are best placed in a location where the birds can not defecate in them. Drip watering systems are difficult to clean, and encourage buildup or bacteria, algae, and parasites. We do not recommend their use.

BEDDING Concrete alone, however, is too rough for duck feet, and the floor must be covered with a thick layer of sand, pea gravel, peat moss or straw. It is important that ducks be able to sit with their abdomen on a dry surface, and litter must be changed or over strewn regularly to remove fecal material.