We just picked up some 12 day old peeps or biddies[ whatever you call them] .
We also got two ducks that are one month old ,they are dark now but their parents are solid white .
Any suggestions or advice is welcome .Thanks
Biddie Question .
Thought i might add more info .
The chics are bantams, the ducks, just plain old common white ducks ,don't know the name .
I have no interest in showing them, just raising them for eggs ,except the ducks, they are for hubbys entertainment .
I had 2 bantams before but they were grown and when they hatched they had a hen ,these don't have a hen , only 12 day old baby bantams and two month old ducks.
I was told bantams are easy keepers and hardy . Is this true ? I know mine layed small green eggs
.
It's late now so we put the chicks on a heat pad covered with a towel and an old shirt on top of towel. Until today they were under a hen .
Hope we don't wake up to fried chics !
oh, dear, not fried chicks!
sorry noone has seen your thread yet. you can use a heat lamp like a shop light type. a 250 watt bulb, red or white, would suit them fine. they need 90 degrees at this age, about 85 at three weeks, and so on till about six weeks old. some bantams longer, if they feather in slowly, like bantam brahmas.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKBrooders.html
bantams are great, but i have very little experience with them, and they are all different.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingChicks.html
the ducks are old enough to go for a swim. and they need a tall drinking water container near their feeder....
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingDucklings.html
best of luck, enjoy!
tf
Bantams are fun. We have a bunch of little baby bantams and some full grown ones. One of our bantams is sitting on eggs right now. She is a sweety and a good layer.
You will enjoy them. Any idea what kind you have? If you can post pictures we may be able to help you guess.
Sure hope you enjoy your chicks and ducks. Do
you have a pond? Yes, we always love pictures!
Thanks all for the help .
The ducks are only 1 month old, I noticed my mistake in saying 2 months old .We have a container to fill with water for them, they need a good bath from being in small area 'rabbit cage'since late yesterday.
We like doing thing the hard way! Should have set first up then got them .
So now we are in a hurry.We still have the old covered chicken cage . it is 10x10 and has a chicken wire covered roof . We had to pull all the vines off it first and drag it out of woods one corner at a time .
I don't have proper system for pictures , wish i did .I don't think these have feathers on feet . The ones there looked pretty small . Hope i didn't get 5 roosters ,time will tell . Got to get back to the project, and thanks again.
Last night the chicks slept on heat pad .
^_^
We got the ducks in the pen and they are having ball ! We put a container in there [ 36x30 ] ful of water .They are swimming around in it and getting a good bath .
Anyone know the name of white duks that ae born blackish or charcoal grey?
Still working on chics.The websie was very useful .Guess i will be bay sitting for awhile now, thought I'd just bring them home put them in pen with , boy was I mistaking .They sure are cute, but they scratch alot, I won't even consider lice or mites until tomorrow. Do they scratch and peck themselves alot ? Oh well,much to do ,much to do ! Thank goodness for this site and so many nice knowledgable people.
they have an oil gland near their vent, and preen a lot as they greow in feathers. chicks can as much as double in size EVERY week, and regrow their feathers quickly too. thus, the high protein feed.
glad you love this forum, we do too! just keep searching, you will find lots of answers, and when you don't, just ask...
tf
Thanks Tamara . They are all so cute like al babies of any kind . I am posting in-between breaks . Going to hardware store for hardware clothe,chic feed with medication and starter for ducks without it.
Trying to learn alot quick!
Quick is good, Doc! Don't feel bad about being
behind the ball on preparation- is it a good incentive
to get things done. I have my half grown chickies, and
still only 12 posts in the ground for the chicken house
and run (DH will you pleeez get out here!?) So, you
are not alone! They free range all day, and have a
secure pen at night, just not their final destination. ;-)
Someone is always willing to help out here with just
about any question or nifty hint. So glad you love the
babies, I do too.
Truest I have to watch out for hawks and owls ,especially the one who ate my 18lb. 14 yr.old cat . Never thought he would be taken by an owl .Hubby wanted to shoot him [ he never could have done it ,he just vented], but like I told him, the cat killed and was never hungry, the owl killed for food.But he better not press his luck with my other animals.
I have a 10x10 cage for them .And plan on making itlarger soon .Maybe when ducks get bigger we can let them free range long as we watch .
These little babies are so cute now . I will check them better tomorrow . Hope I'm not asking for dirtections to rid them of anything that makes em itch ! Just thinking about it makes me itch .
I would not put them together for a little while, The ducks can trample those babies or get them wet and they wont make it. Bantams are very hardy once they get out of the chick stage.
Yea I figured that out right off. When the chics kept trying to get under the ducks. I kept them seperate in two boxes before we left where we bought them .
Plus the fact I also learned ducks are only second to cats with claws !Now I approach with gloves and other gear. I had a duck when I was a kid. I don't remember him having claws .I know he would peck my feet sometimes .He liked to follow me around and come into my playhouse and peck my dools feet.But I forgot most everything else.
How do you hold a month old duck wihout hurting t or it hurting you ?
Peking (all white ducks) are pretty simple but I know Myscovie duck claws are vicious. Its always just kinda hard to hold ducks. They arent to crazy about it. LOL They grow really quick I know that much.
I won't be holding that much, just enough to check them for any skin or bug problems.
All the birds where I got them from seemed ok and healthy.
I have read that old timers put tobacco leaves
under the nesting material to keep bugs off. I
could see tobacco keeping a lot of things off,
but don't know if the birds would eat it??:-O
Trying to remember my nature films here, and how
Did they hold ducks? hmm.
I can't imagine (i've tried) an owl taking a big cat like
that. I have a 15lb cat that hunts, but he eats all that
he catches that I know of, he always brings it to the
porch and tells me about it first.
Great Horned owls regularly took cats and small dogs when I lived in upstate NY. I'm not sure they actually ate them. I was told that what usually happened was they would end up dropping them from some height when they realized they were too heavy and it was the fall that killed the pets. We so have very large Barn Owls around here but I haven't heard about them bothering pets. Mostly we worry about coyotes.
I have heard a lot about how brazen the Ca
coyotes have been lately. Scarey. We usually hear
about cats being killed by them nearer to urban areas,
but out here, you don't hear about it much.
One of our local vets posted a big red sign out front
that said Coyote Found Rabies Positive. That's scarey.
Very scary! The coyotes here are out at all hours....when I walk my dogs in the vineyard I have to watch the littlest dog, a 20 pound Boston Terrier, very carefully. Once I looked out and saw my 2 German Shepherds wandering around with what I thought was another owner's Golden Retrievers, then I realized they were too small and too dark. It was a group of juvenile coyotes! They say they will act friendly to lure dogs out and then attack them....but I think this group was just young and inquisitive. Two adult GSD would be too much for them. No reports of rabies so far this year. Everyone loses cats to them...in the country you just can't let your pet cats out at all.
Be careful truest. My uncle was walking in the woods one day and heard this ungodly noise coming from the underbrush and a rabid raccoon came snarling out. Thankfully he had his sidearm with him and shot it. A couple of years later, our neighbor called us up. There was a raccoon on top of the milkhouse in broad daylight just walking funny across the roof. We called the local police and they shot it. A coyote would be alot scarier!
I've heard of the luring trap. They are smart that way.
I've been fortunate so far with my cats. I love them
dearly, but also want them to have a full and happy
life- meaning they are so happy being able to roam,
and I value their mousing ability for around the farm.
They don't go far, and I haven't heard coyote yipping
in a long time. At least here, if your dogs can run the
fence and scent mark, they stay away. I used to hear
them when I first moved here, but that's been 6 years,
so maybe the dog thing is working.
Thanks, Sue. yes, I really worry about the rabies.
Where there's one, you know it caught it from
somewhere. I may start carrying a sidearm on
the property, we had a racoon come up one early
evening right after I put the chickies outside, and DH
shot it. I live in central Tx, and the state drops vaccine
bait down south and out west, but may start in the area
soon, I don't know.
I let my cat out too for the same reasons (minus the mousing), truest. She came with the house and has been out her whole life so I do my best to keep her safe and up on her vacinations, but she goes out everyday when she wants to.
Saanansandy, we do worry about rabies although it hasn't been a problem around here lately. The thing I didn't realize about coyotes is that they are naturally daylight predators--they only move to the night to avoid people. And here they just aren't afraid of people--so they are out at all hours.
Hopefully they state hops to it. Try and keep the problem to a minimum.
We've been lucky with our cat; she's 15 and only about 9 pounds. She's always had her choice of inside or out(mostly out!). We have neighbors who have lost theirs to fishercats and coyotes. She is an excellent mouser and we've never seen her go after the birds at the feeders. My only complaint: she is part siamese and when she catches something, she makes that howling sound that only a siamese can make!lol! You have to go, look at her catch and tell her what a good kitty! I know she'd be safer indoors but I just can't bring myself to do the litterbox! I'll shovel the barn out until the sun goes down but there's something about emptying the litterbox. My DH just shakes his head at me! :)
If we are to be gone over night I leave our 2 cats
in, with a litter box. I hate it too, and apparently, the
kitties refuse to use even a super-just-cleaned litter
box. I find that way cool, they ask to go outside if we
are awake, and hold it till we get up. So, I rarely have
any mess to worry about.
Hi everyone, I need to ask a duck question .
Someone here told me not to give ducklings medicated chic stater it can cause liver toxcitity' ducks are one month old '. Feed store has only medicated and she has ducks and said she gives all her turkeys, ducks and chics medicated feed stater.
But I know that nobody here would tell me not to give it to ducks for no reason . So what kind of starter do I give the ducklings ?
Also I was told I could give them small amounts of lettuce,and some other fruits. is this ok at month old ? I chopped up the lettuce rreal good so not to choke , they are eating the vines wrapped arpund the cage , so do the wild squirrels .
We gave the ducks a little kiddie pool and they LOVE IT !
I too was told not to give them the medicated feed but on a waterfowl site they said there was no problem with giving them medicated food so I have and have not seen any problems.
Mine love lettuce and at first I chopped it but soon found out they enjoy tearing it up themselves. They'll also scarf down earthworms!! I go to the garden and dig a few. They love it and if they think they're too dirty they dunk them in water first and then swallow them. Mine are 11 days old.
MollyD
Thanks Molly, so yours are just babies and they get lettuce ? What other treats can I give them ?
My bamtum chics are 14 days old today . They are getting use to me now, since they moved into my living room and hear us talking.
I woulnt give medicated feed because I have always been told it could make them sick. It best not to feed medicated feed anyways. It like antibotics for someone who is not sick. On a daily basis they build up immunity and when they really need it it wont help. My motto is no medicated feed unless it is nessary. It just makes good sence. Boiled egg yolk is an excellent source of protein for any young chicks to help them get off to a good start. You can feed you baby ducks Hog food. tell them you want the hog mash that is like a powder. It is just finely ground. I get mine froma local famer cause its cheaper but my local grain store sells it to. I feed it to my chickens or small ducks but most of my grown ducks just froage the yard eating whatever poop, bugs or grass they find.
whatsupdoc I pull grass for them too. The geese really like the grass and the ducks eat it though they're happier with the earthworms. I'm thinking of buying them at the bait store instead of digging up my garden looking for them.
MollyD
Our game bird feed is medicated around here. I am told it
can kill some species of quail when they are tiny. It is
a few percent higher in protien, and I don't think it will
hurt them at all at this age even medicated, if that's all
you have. I give my quail and chicks these items ground up
as a nutritional boost and mix it with crumbles as a treat:
pecans, budgie seed (parakeet) dried craisins. If they are
at least a couple to 3 weeks old, I give them finely chopped
orange, grapes and apple, too. Lettuce is good, they won't
choke- and tearing it up gives them something to do. I use the
chopper for raw yellow and zuchini squash, as well as give
them a bit of leftover pasta. Avoid potatoes and peels.
Make sure you provide them with a 10:1 ratio of small
bird gravel if they are still penned, especially if you feed them
the bird seed. They need this for digestion. Ducks love
greens and grasses, as do chicks. McMurray sells an item
called baby cakes, it's a blend of seed and fish and more
for them to pick at and keep busy with something new. It's
a bit pricey, and I will make a slurry of fruits veggies and
artificial crab meat (fish) and freeze it in cubes, and feed
them that to pick at, and it's about the same but cheaper.
When breeeding age comes, I have heard that too much
fruits can inhibit fertility. But until then, or free range time,
a big variety always is good. they will fight over bread, but
this is just a treat! and they will fight over worms- it's a
good thing, them worms. LOL
Meal worms are a great source of protein and its really easy to grow your own. Fresh veggies are wonderful. I always ask for left overs in the grocery store or at the flea market. Cabbage, grapes,and so on. I am still gonna have to say I wouldnt do Medicated feed unless you just had to. I find it makes birds weker as adults when they no longer have that so to speak Plastic bubble protecting them.
you all already know that i agree with Jumipn4Joy when it comes to anitbiotics. i would like to suggest that the reason some people have done it with success is that they feed other things as well, so the ducks do not overconsume on the medication. however, i doubt any of those saying it is 'OK' has butchered those ducks to eat and compared it's liver to that of a duck fed no antibiotics. our chicken and ducks and geese have nice looking livers!
keep giving them treats, they will be goo dfree rangers and not dependent on processed feeds or grain fillers, and you will have healthier birds for it!
Thanks all .You people are real helpful .Now I know no potatos, but pretty much most other veggys. They ducks tore them apples up! And the lettuce. We did what you said and tore it up .
We started our coop or brooder today. Got 1/4 in hardware for babies and half inch for ducks. We figured about 3ft.off the ground , what do yall think ? We will put handles on the ends so we can move it easy.
My bird hound is still guarding the ducks.Shes taking out her frustration on the squirrels though .
Jumpin and Tamara I think your on to something, but for now until next week I have to feed medicated.
I use to have a package from the extension agentcy on raising chics organically , but then things happened and we gave away the few chickens we had. I am not a stickler on oraganics I will use non organic if I need to. but try to stay close .
Well for me its not a matter of being organic as just keeping the birds healthy, being organic is just a plus. I hope all goes well with your birds. sounds like your really trying and it can be very rewarding.
Thanks jumpin, the people here have saved me and my birds lots of trouble.I had birds for several months once, but not babies without hens. I also forgot most of what little I learned.
Any time and I hope I helped. Chickens are so much fun and I have had them for around 13 years now. I teach a 4H group we call The Mighty Peppers and it is so cool to see what these kids learn and their parents. I am new to showing but we are enjoying it thats for sure. Take care and keep them dry.
just remember not to use their waste in the garden for a while... or the bedding, OK? just not good for the enviroment...