Update on my duckies and questions! :)

[DuckQueeen]

Hello.

Just thought i'd update everyone on my 5 baby ducks.

Quack&Black are 2 weeks old cayuga ducks.
Breakfast&Lunch are 1 week old pekin ducks.
Dinner is a 3 week old pekin duck.

So today 5-31-12 we allowed them to swim in a tub full of warm water.
They loved it!
They swam around, put their heads under... cleaned themselves.
The ducky usual i guess.
It had everyone in the house laughing and watching.
It was a 15 minute session and everyone loved it.

So next week we'll be building a duck pen.
I have a feeling they're going to love it.
I've been slowly weaning them outside of their indoor playpen.
Figured they could be out in 4 weeks.

So questions:

Is it good for ducks to swim at one week old?

Should i separate the breeds because there is ((one male pekin and one female)) and ((one male and one female cayuga))??

How do i get them to like me?? They are scared shitless ((Literally))

Thank you guys!

 

[bex46]

Definatley let them swim at 1 week old, as long as they are kept warm after their swim,to dry off.
My first hatch with ducks were call ducks and aylesbury, hatched together. The call ducks were super friendly but the aylesbury were just terrified. I reared them in my kitchen as i do with everything, so they both had the same amount of contact but the difference in freindlyness was very strange. I found The best thing to do is feed them from your hand, mash up some hard boiled egg, once they get the taste for it, they will come to you to get fed.

 

[dorsetduckowner]

Sounds fab! Yhey should be ok raised together and as long as they hzve heat yhey can swim at a week, not unattended though. Best treats are those with little nutritional value so it doesn't mess up their nutrient intake. Try peas or tomato or cucumber

 

[matt]

Hi
let my fourty have a swimm the other day, it was great to see that first time..
abit like watching your first ducks or chickens etc hatch.
Evan more for kids but I still sat up all night watching them, eat drink etc... better than the tv ...

Matt