Raising Ducklings Week by Week

Before they arrive

Set the brooder up and switch the heat on the day before, not the hour before. You want the floor at duckling height sitting at around 32°C (90°F) under the heat source, with a cooler corner they can walk to. With that gradient, the ducklings show you whether the heat is right by where they stand (eXtension and Metzer Farms describe the signs):

• Huddled tight under the heat — too cold.
• Pressed flat against the far wall, panting — too hot.
• Spread around the brooder, some eating, some drinking, some sleeping — correct.

A brooder plate that they walk under does away with the hanging bulb, and hanging bulbs start fires: Cornell Small Farms describes heat lamps causing two fires on one farm, one apparently when a brooder lamp fell into the bedding and one when a bulb dropped into dry straw.

Week 1: warm, dry, and fed properly

Heat: about 32°C (90°F) at duckling height.

Feed: a waterfowl starter, or an all-flock starter that has niacin and at least 20% crude protein (Metzer Farms), unmedicated. Ducklings need roughly double a chick’s niacin: Merck Veterinary Manual gives at least 30 mg per kg of feed for chickens and 55–70 mg per kg as an allowance that appears satisfactory for ducks. Metzer Farms says a chick starter made only for laying chickens probably does not have enough, and a shortfall shows as the bowed legs and swollen hocks that Merck describes in niacin-deficient ducks. If waterfowl feed is genuinely unavailable, Metzer points to a balanced starter designed for broiler chicks or game birds, and says that if niacin has to be added, tablets, vitamin packets or liquid niacin are probably better than brewer’s yeast, because the amount of yeast needed throws off the balance of everything else in the feed. The duckling niacin calculator works out amounts from Metzer’s figures.

Water: always available beside the food, and deep enough that they can submerge their whole head to clear their eyes and nostrils — the RSPCA’s welfare standard asks for at least 4.5 cm of depth and 4.5 cm of width from day old — but narrow enough that they cannot climb in and get soaked: the same standard requires drinkers that stop young ducklings getting very wet or drowning. See what ducks eat for the adult version of this.

Floor: pine shavings or chopped straw. Never newspaper or bare plastic — Metzer Farms says spraddle leg, where the legs slide out sideways, is caused by a day-old bird being on too smooth a surface.

Week 2: growing faster than you expect

Drop the heat about 3°C (5°F). Expect more mess as they grow: ducklings play in water and carry it everywhere, and wet bedding is a health risk — Merck Veterinary Manual says contaminated bedding that gets wet and then dries out is a major risk for aspergillosis, a mould infection of the airways. eXtension says all caked litter should be removed every day, and raising the waterer on a small wire platform with a tray underneath keeps much of the water out of the bedding.

They will be visibly bigger every morning. That is normal.

Week 3: the first swim

This is the week most keepers ask about. Ducklings can have a first swim at around three weeks — Metzer Farms’ rearing instructions say as early as three weeks, though its FAQ calls five weeks or more the safest — with three conditions:

• Shallow and warm. Water they can walk in and out of very easily, and not too cold (Metzer Farms) — a shallow tray, not a cold pool.
• Short and supervised. With you there the whole time, and out before they get soaked and chilled.
• Somewhere warm to dry. Straight back under the heat afterwards.

The reason for all the care is real: a young duckling chills easily. Minnesota Extension notes that ducklings are easily chilled when they get wet while still in the down stage, and Metzer Farms warns that “A wet duckling is not likely to survive.” Adult waterproofing comes from mature feathers plus preen oil; how water-resistant a duckling’s down is, and whether its mother adds to it, is less settled than often claimed (see ducklings). Wild ducklings are led to water within a day or two of hatching, and they depend on their mother to keep them warm in bad weather (Ducks Unlimited). Yours has you and a heat plate.

Weeks 4 to 6: feathers arrive

Heat comes down again, and in mild weather comes off altogether: eXtension reduces it about 3°C (5°F) a week until the ducklings are three to four weeks old or the pen is at 21°C (70°F); Metzer Farms turns the heat lamp off after two to three weeks; Minnesota Extension says supplementary heat may be needed for five to six weeks in cold weather but only two to three in summer. Real feathers push through the down, starting on the sides: in mallards the first feathers show on the sides and flanks, and the wing’s flight feathers only break from their sheaths later (USFWS brood-ageing guide).

Move them to a grower feed if your supplier offers one, or continue on all-flock. Supervised trips outside on warm dry days can start now if they have not already (Metzer Farms allows them from 10 to 14 days old in spring and summer) — grass, insects and space are excellent for them. Watch for the fox, the crow and the neighbour’s dog: Ducks Unlimited lists foxes and crows among duckling predators, and eXtension warns that dogs allowed to run free can be a problem for poultry.

Weeks 7 to 9: fully feathered, properly waterproof

By now they look like small adults, they are waterproof, and they can live outside permanently in secure housing. This is the point to read building a safe duck house if you have not already — the night your ducks move out is the night predator-proofing stops being theoretical.

Feed moves to a maintenance or layer ration at the age your supplier recommends. For a laying flock the published advice differs: NC State Extension and Minnesota Extension say to change to a layer (breeder) ration about a month before the first egg, Metzer Farms when you see the first mating activity or the first egg. Metzer puts sexual maturity at 20 to 24 weeks.

Two mistakes to avoid

1. The wrong feed. A starter made for laying-hen chicks, run for weeks, with no niacin added. Metzer Farms says such a starter probably does not have enough niacin, and a shortfall shows as bowed legs and swollen hocks. A feed with enough niacin avoids it.

2. Water without supervision. A duckling that gets thoroughly soaked before it is waterproof chills fast, and a chilled duckling goes downhill quickly. If it happens, dry the bird gently with a towel and get it back under heat.

What good progress looks like

• Eating and drinking constantly, and noticeably heavier every few days.
• Standing square on both legs, walking without rocking or splaying.
• Bright eyes, clean nostrils, dry down.
• Sleeping scattered around the brooder rather than piled under the heat.

How much room they need, week by week

Ducklings outgrow a brooder faster than almost anyone expects. University of Minnesota Extension’s floor-space figures double between the first fortnight and four weeks, and double again after the first month:

• Weeks 1–2: about 0.05 m² (roughly half a square foot) per duckling.
• Weeks 3–4: double it — at least 1 sq ft (about 0.1 m²) each by four weeks.
• Weeks 5–7: about 0.2 m² (2 sq ft) each if they are kept confined; Minnesota says that by four weeks they should be feathered enough to be outdoors except in extremely cold, wet weather.
• From week 8: adult space — roughly 0.4 m² (4 sq ft) each in the house, eXtension’s figure for a duck shelter, and far more in the run.

Metzer Farms’ figures, which the housing space calculator uses, are more generous: about 1 sq ft each up to three weeks, 3 sq ft from four to eight weeks and 3.5 sq ft from nine to seventeen. Plan the upgrade before you need it. Moving eight half-grown ducklings at nine in the evening because the brooder has become a swamp is a job nobody enjoys twice.

Managing the mess, honestly

Ducklings and water are inseparable, and this is the part of duckling-raising that surprises people. A duckling drinks, then plays, then walks the water across the entire brooder floor. Three habits make it manageable:

1. Raise the waterer. Stand it on a wire rack over a shallow tray. Most of the spill goes into the tray and not into the bedding.
2. Separate the ends. Feed and water at one end, heat at the other. Wet bedding stays away from where they sleep.
3. Top up rather than strip. Add a handful of fresh shavings twice a day, take out caked litter daily as eXtension advises, and do a full change every two or three days. Bedding that gets wet and then dries out is a major risk for aspergillosis, a mould infection, according to Merck Veterinary Manual.

Warning signs in the first month

Ducklings go downhill fast, so it is worth knowing what to watch for:

• Sitting apart, eyes half closed, not eating. Check the heat, and make sure it is drinking: Metzer Farms links a sleepy, squinty-eyed look to dehydration. Then call a vet promptly — the RSPCA’s advice is to contact a vet as soon as possible whenever you are concerned about a duck’s health.
• Legs sliding out sideways. Splayed (spraddle) leg, which Metzer Farms says comes from a day-old bird being on too smooth a surface. Fix the floor immediately, but do not expect it to right itself: Metzer says the legs “will never recover without your assistance”. Ask a vet how to support the legs.
• Bowed legs or swollen hocks. These are the signs of niacin deficiency in ducks (Merck Veterinary Manual), so check the feed today: Metzer Farms says improvement is normally seen within several days if the duckling gets enough niacin within 24 hours of the first sign. If it is not improving within a few days, or is getting worse, see a vet — leg trouble has other causes too.
• Wet, matted down that will not dry. Chilling risk. Towel dry gently and put the bird back under heat, and call a vet if it stays weak.
• Gasping or open-billed breathing. Check the temperature first: Metzer Farms says ducklings breathing with their mouths open may simply be too warm. If they are not, check the bedding for mould and call a vet — laboured breathing is among the commonest signs of aspergillosis, a mould infection that Merck Veterinary Manual says can affect ducklings, with severe outbreaks usually in birds 7 to 40 days old.

Sexing, drakes, and how many to keep

You will not know what you have for a while. The reliable clues arrive with age: from about six weeks (University of Minnesota Extension) to eight to ten weeks (Metzer Farms) the voices separate — females keep the loud quack, while drakes develop a quieter, deep, raspy voice — and within about eight weeks a drake of every common breed except the Muscovy grows the curled tail feather that marks him as a drake (Metzer Farms).

It matters because of ratios, and the published guidance varies. Minnesota Extension says to keep one male for each five or six females. Metzer Farms says ten birds or fewer can be kept in pairs, but that a flock of more than 25 or 30 needs one male for every three to five females unless it has a large pen with plenty of hiding places, because too many males “will become very aggressive sexually and will harm some of the weaker females”. If you end up with too many drakes, plan for that before the birds are grown, not after.

Moving them outside for good

By week eight or nine they are fully feathered and waterproof and can live outside permanently. Do it in this order:

1. Finish the house and run before moving day, including the predator-proofing.
2. Move them in the morning, so you can watch them through their first day outside.
3. Shut them in the house every night: eXtension advises having the flock roost in a secured building with the doors closed and locked, and says most poultry can be trained to go in at night by being fed or watered indoors at dusk.