Duck Essentials

In order to properly take care of your ducks, you will need basic essentials. This will ensure that the ducks will be healthy.

In order to feed and water your ducks, you will need equipment specifically made for them. You can use chicken feeders and waters that are used for chickens. If you have a lot of ducks, these items will come in handy. 

If you have baby ducks, keep the waterer on a special stand. Otherwise, the young ones may make of mess of the waterer, causing the litter to get wet and turn into mold.

Starting out, you can keep the baby ducks in a small kennel. If you have at least ten of the young ones, have an allowance of five square feet. You will have to add more space for them to be house as they continue to grow and get older. Depending on the size of your flock, the size of the shelter should be small enough that the collected heat of the ducks will warm it, but large enough to provide the animals with freedom of movement and the ability to escape the heat should they get too warm. 

Make sure the air inside any shelter doesn’t become trapped or stagnant. If you are using a smaller shelter this can be hazardous. Small air holes combined with good insulation are key to achieving the right balance of heat and fresh air.

Get something that is sturdy and will protect them from getting wet. For ducks that are older, they can be on the pasture.

When you have young ducks, make sure that they stay dry and comfortable with litter made from straw material. They need to stay dry so that they won’t have to deal with mold, which can harm them. The key to make sure there is adequate, clean and dry bedding available for them. You’ll want to change their litter either every day or when it needs to be changed.

Ducks need to eat and drink just like humans. Provide them with a waterer so that they can place their head in the water. However, the water should only be enough for them to do only that. They can be fed chicken feed. Place the food in a hanging tube feeder. This can help them not to waste the food and have some for the next time. 

If it is really cold, adult ducks will need heat. Baby ducks will need heat while they are still young. You can get a brooding lamp with a 250-watt bulb for the young ducks. As they grow and acquire more feathers, they won’t need that much heat but need shelter during night. Essentially, you should either provide a shelter that the ducks can freely move in and out of (such as a Rubbermaid Shed), or you should bring them in every night into a garage or shed.

Pet ducks will also enjoy bathing and splashing in ponds just as the wild ducks, year-round. Pond area should be kept at reasonable heat. A pond heater is also a suitable addition to the duck supplies.