You Got a box of Chocolates? Well Guess what I got...

[AudgePadge]

So...instead of a box of chocolates...I get a box of....




Two little ducklings somehow came into my possession yesterday...an d...they're the CUTEST things in the whole world!!


I dunno what to do with them but, so far, we've cuddled, watched movies and played in a dish...


So...How do I take care of these little guys? I've done some searchin on the net...but any advice would be great!

[Icerotti]

OMG how sweet are they. I have no advice, sorry. I sure look forward to seeing more pictures.

[jesday]

I had a friend whose daughter just had to keep all her pets inside. Two baby ducklings were her latest plea. Mom said as soon as she found one bird poop, out they go! The daughter put premie baby diapers on them. They were the cuties things waddling around after the daughter with those things on. I believe she cut a small hole for their tails.

 

[KiraNGunnersmom]

How sweet!  My youngest would love to live with you,   you have all the cool pets....lol!
I would just feed them duck and geese mash and some occasional cracker treats and keep them warm.  Watch them so that thier down doesnt get water logged from being in the water too long.  Thier body temp can drop real fast.
Congrats duck-moma!!

[kathryn]

This is what I have done with ducklings.  I like the large rubber water troughs at the fence supply stores.  These are large enough for ducklings to move around in and give them different areas to use in the brooder.  I place their food bowl and a heat lamp in one corner this allows the ducklings to warm up after being in the water and helps keep their body temp up.  I place a towel over this corner of the brooder between the heat lamp and the ducklings.  Then in another area place a water bowl that's deep enough for them to swim around in but not too deep.  You want it easily accessible for them to enter or exit the water.  Watch their feathers to make sure that they are drying out.  If the feathers start to look really heavy and water logged remove the water bowl and see a vet.  That's a clear indication that something isn't right with the duckling.  You can get waterfowl breeder and maintenance food from your local feed stores usually.  You need the maintenance food at this point.  The high protein levels in breeder can cause angel wing where the wing tips flip up and over the wing.  If you have trouble with them eating the soaked maintenance food then you can add some torn up bits of kale or lettuce and some mealworms.  Hope that helps out some.  I love ducklings!  They are adorable.

[jesday]

Not to thread jack, but this reminds me of the time our beloved Bud, the one that brought home the baby deer and road-kill squirrel, came home one early winter day with a ring necked duck in his mouth. The thing was stiff as a board and I assumed it was dead and frozen. Who knows where he found it. I was getting ready to remove it from him and bury it when it blinked. OMG it was still alive. I put it in the chicken coop under the heat lamp for a few days then put it in our master bath tub to see what it would do. It hit the water like a well, duck out of water. It perked up and was swimming around like home. The problem was it was a wild water fowl and it wouldn't eat normal duck food from feed store. We released it at my folks house on a lake 30 miles away. There was a big flock of ring-necks stopping off on migration route and the little guy joined right in. Every fall/winter I'd tell my girls, "look, there's the duck Bud rescued." They'd ask how I knew which one was him. "He's the one winking at us silly."

[ZooCrew]

Good luck with the ducks. They sure are cute as ducklings but I hope you like to clean.
Ducks are worse than chickens when it comes to mess and smell.
A coworker's girlfriend bought a duckling at a garage sale w/o thinking it thru very well.  They live in town.  it lives in the house but is crated most of the time b/c its messy and quacks all the time.  helloooooo.... .....its a duck!    I really wish they would rehome it.

My experience with ducks is not with pets but with rare breed ducks and geese at the zoo.  There were probably about 20-30 different species.  All messy.  They like to spill food all over, including in their water.  They are stinky if in an enclosed area w/o adequate air flow.  Of course those ones weren't tame so forget about when you had to handle them, you would get cracked on the head with a wing or get pinched hard with a beak.    

But if you have an outdoor facility for them, i can see how they would be a fun pet to have.  Just make sure the area is completely enclosed (including the top/roof) to keep out predators.  They can be quite tame.  A friend of mine used to keep geese and chickens.  She's now down to one lone goose and hen and they will probably be her last birds kept.  But I enjoy hearing her stories of Sister Goose and Little Red Hen........... ...lol.

[Binky]

Awwwwww, they are soooo cute!  I have always wanted ducks but I've heard they're really messy so you'll just have to post a ton of pix so I can live vicariously through you   What are their names?