If the weather is warm and sunny, the ducklings can have an
outside run for a few hours a day as soon as they are three
weeks old. But don't let ducks younger than six weeks near
the pond, or try to give them water to swim in. They'll get
a chill. They are sensitive to not only moist cold, but sun
as well. So when they're permitted to go outside, some
shade must be provided.
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The feed mix for a duck brood is similar to that for
chicks. For the first week, feed wet mash from a shallow
trough six times a day. Give the ducklings as much as
they'll eat; then remove the trough till the next feeding.
Grit or sand must always be available. Each feeding should
be accompanied by fresh water in a fountain deep enough so
the ducks can submerge their bills fully. They need to
clean their nostrils of caked mash as well as to drink. Be
sure the drinking fountain is not so designed that they can
get their whole body wet, however. They'd love to, but even
indoors chances are they'd catch a bad chill. The second
through eighth weeks, the young ducks should be given a
growing ration fed three times daily. Keep the water
fountains clean and filled.
When they are six weeks old the brooder can be removed from
the house and the ducks allowed to range. At ten weeks
they'll weigh in at six pounds or so and are ready for the
roaster. This is the prime time for tender ducks, although
they are still very tasty if slaughtered a few months
later. Ducks are dressed the same way as chickens.
BREEDING
In some ways it's easiest to buy day-old ducklings every
year for a new flock. But you may want to keep a breeding
flock of your own. If you do, reserve the best of your
ducks for breeding stock. Select those with bills, feet,
and shanks colored an even, heavy yellow. Look for a solid,
compact body, with broad, full breast and short neck. The
plumage should be glossy and full, the eyes round, big, and
bright. You'll need one drake for every five or six ducks.
Keep a breeding flock separate from the laying flock if you
don't gather eggs twice a day. Eggs for hatching should be
fresh.
Ducks make poor mothers. So when one of your chicken hens
gets broody, let her stay that way instead of trying to
break her of it. Confine your ducks one night and the next
morning gather as many newly laid duck eggs as you can. If
you don't collect enough that day for the size brood you
want, you can store the eggs in a cool, damp place ... no
longer than five days, though. And make sure you turn them
twice a day. If not, the old wives' tale goes, the duck
will stick to the shell. True or not, fewer eggs will hatch
if you don't turn them.
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