Uncategorized – High Lonesome Ranch

Duckling 101 – water and baths

Many people like to think that their ducklings can just be put near the creek or in the bathtub and will just swim and swim… like you see in the wild.

Mother ducks have an oil gland at the base of their tail, that they use to grease their feathers to make them water proof. She will also do this to her ducklings. The ducklings oil gland is not developed yet.

I have read recently that this is not true and that ducklings can take care of their own oil on their down.

However, the most frequent cause of duckling deaths is chilling after becoming wet. And although they can swim, they also tire very easily. This causes me to be more cautious and not allow the ducklings to swim until they have mot of their adult feathers.

If you want your baby to swim, provide a small pan with warm water, and an easy way for them to get in and out and quickly under a heat lamp.

By doing this, their oil gland will develop and they should be swimming by the time they are 6 – 7 weeks old!

If the duckling gets water logged, you may have to dry it with a hair dryer, or it could easily get chilled, and possibly die.

Surprisingly, ducks do not have to have a pond to swim in. They do well with a baby pool, trough or even a mud puddle after a rain. Muscovys seem to be the least interested in swimming.
We raise an assortment of ducks here and do not have a pond. They will splash and play in their baby pool and then hop out and go about their business.

Muscovy Ducks

I love these ducks! They are quiet, which can be a good thing and a bad thing.
Because they are so quiet I sometimes lose them, can’t hear them and then I worry as they are free ranged here. They can come and go as they please.

To make sure I can find them, we have a couple of Welsh Harlequins who announce wherever they are. 🙂

Another thing I love about the Muscovy is that they are not tied to the water bowl, or a swimming hole. They are quite content to

Another difference is they have long, sharp claws which are used to attach to tree branches at night when they roost. These claws can make a difference in how you carry a Muscovy…you don’t want to end with your blood on it’s claws!

Put your carrying arm over and around its body, pinning both wings in place and with your hand, take hold of one or both legs (depending on the size of the bird and the size of you) gently but firmly. Carry the bird backwards, like a football.

Muscovys eat a bit of everything – grass, slugs, bugs, flies, grain They are great for pest control. Be careful around your vegetable garden as your lettuce might suffer, but they are fine around less delicate and perennial crops. Muscovys make great pets, they socialize well with people as well as other pets such as dogs and cats.
Muscovys are not great swimmers, so do not need a pond or large body of water. They are content with a pan.

Muscovys breed very easily, and before you know it you might have quite a few. If you do not want to eat them, then don’t let the girls go broody, and eat all the eggs instead. Muscovy ducks make fantastic mothers. Rainbow hatched out 13 eggs, which is pretty amazing as the girls aren’t all that big.

They will often fly up and roost, and are known more for flying around than flying away! Our first Muscovy, named Rainbow, did that within days of bringing her home. She flew off , much to my son’s dismay. But 3 days later she circled the homestead and came home. After that, we never worried when she took a notion to fly as she always came back.
She also was an excellent mother, nesting somewhere and then bringing us the cutest little ducklings.

Getting Started with New Chicks

Lavender Orpingtons and an Ayam Cemani chick in the first brooder

Before you decide to keep chickens, be sure to check with the local zoning laws. Many towns are now allowing chickens to be raised, with some stipulations as to how many you can have, and whether a rooster is allowed (most probably wouldn’t let you have roosters) But have no fear… you can have eggs without the rooster (he is only needed to fertilize the egg).

So where do you get chicks? To start off, check your local feed store (Southern States, Tractor Supply Company) they usually have a “Chick Days’ where they will have live chicks in the store. This usually only happens in the Spring around Easter.
Rural King offers chicks practically year round
The feed store may also know of some farmers that hatch out their own and are selling them. We sell our and advertise in a local paper. Many places are using Craigslist also.

If you are starting bigger, check out the poultry hatcheries such as Strombergs, Ideal, Cackle. You have to order 25 or more. There is a site called My Pet Chicken and they will sell just a few chicks (you need to buy a minimum of 3). Chicks are susceptible to cold, so the more chicks sent the easier to keep warm.

You will need to keep the chicks warm, so start them out in a small “brooder”. A brooder is a box of some type that has pine shavings for bedding, and a heat lamp. We add screen on top to keep unwanted cats from having a “happy meal” when we aren’t looking. We have had wooden boxes that hubby, Jim, has built, and plastic bins from Walmart. Something to keep them contained and without drafts, because they need heat. You can obtain a heat lamp from Lowes, Tractor Supply, etc. In a smaller bin, a 60 watt light may be warm enough if the bin is in the house and away from drafts.

When we were living without electricity, we heated a large pot with hot water, wrapped it in towels and put it in with the chicks. They huddled close for warmth. You will know if it is too hot for them as they will be spread out all over the bin trying to get away from the heat. If they are huddled close to the light, they are too chilly. If they pile on one another, the ones on the bottom could get smothered.

Chicks need to eat medicated chick starter. (Do not give this to any ducklings you may come home with, as it could kill them). Do not give them wild bird seed, or anything other than the medicated chick starter. As they get older you can give them table scraps, greens… just about anything. Chickens will eat everything with relish except citrus and onions.

Water is essential. Get a waterer specifically for chicks so they won’t walk in it, or dirty it up.