Ok we have had chickens, now ducks!!!!
I found a duckling in mid April, here is the story ...
This duckling was found wandering in the middle of a busy school carpark, at approximately 1 day old  on 19th April and I spent well over half hour walking around while trying to listen out for the mum. Nothing so brought it home, nicked a cage and some chick crumbs from a mate who keeps chickens and the rest is history LOL
He is now in a small dog crate, eating chick crumbs like mad, cuddled up to a soft toy!!! He goes out in the run during the day if warm, swimming in a under bed storage thing with a ramp to get in and out of it, !!!! LOL
He is growing like mad, and eating like mad LOL
Mum had  2 ducks that she hatched out after a fox had disturbed a nest years ago... the oldest one died at the age of 16, her sister was 15 when she died LOL

He is over 3 weeks old now and getting feathers!!!!
But is there anyway you can sex them before their proper feathers come through????
I am feeding chick crumbs at the moment, but we are going to get some layers pellets this week. BUT if he is a boy, does he still need layers pellets????
We are going to get another duck to go with him, but only after we find out what sex he is as I dont want a female gang XXXX as they do by a male :(
Anyone that can help with any questions please help :) :)
Dogs I can do, rabbits yes, fish yes, ducks, only remeber my mums all the time I was growing up!!!!
Lea :)

ducklings are really easy to sex. turn him upside down, look in his vent, gently open it a bit, and if theres a small wiggly bit....yes its a boy! :) we do all ours at under a week old. The diet neednt be any different even if its a male so dont worry.

Well I didnt see a wiggly bit, but dont know if I opened it far enough LOL
Will look again later :)
Thankyou Sam :) :)
Lea :)

he needs to go onto growers pellets as quickly as you can, over the next week , a lowish protein brand I would sugguest .  I use fancy feed grower on mine.  reason is that chick crumb is too high in protein once past first few weeks and it forces growth too much which can result in joint issues and a condition called angel wing where the wing tips stick out at an unsightly angle as end joint grows deformed.  with ducklings the game is slow the growth down as much as you can to make healthy adult.(so no tipbits either aside from grass!)

regarding his sex you can vent sex him as other poster described but it does take a bit of experience, or wait till he is about 8 weeks when his voice comes through-if a boy he will have pathetic little croak of a quack-if a girl a clear loud donald duck type quack. sexing off feather in ducks is not accurate as some types take months to take on their sex curls if male - and the bright male colours often don't appear till a duck is old enough to breed.
if you want a friend for him and are buying off an experinced breeder you could always ask them to vent sex him for you and sell you opposite sex. a good breeder should be able to do it.

This site is fascinating, you learn all about other people's hobbies, things which you would never have known!! Good Luck with it, had to smile when someone mentioned the pitch of his quack, can imagine it now!! Our boy who is almost a year old sounds like a small female with his yipping whereas his mum sounds male!!!!

Thanks guys :) Will buy some growers pellets this week :)
Well, I think I have deduced it is a female :) All I could see 3 sections intertwined together, nothing wiggly!!!! LOL And I made it stick out quite far :)
So now need a female duckling for a friend for her :) (I donnot want more ducklings, just eggs, so dont really want a male!!!!)
Lea :)

Blimy you live and learn on here we always waited for the feathers to curl, or not...

Well Sidney is now all grown up but was lonely.
soooooooooooooo
I have looked for weeks for another duck as a friend for her (deffinatly a her as quacking early along with our attempts at sexing her!!!)
But now we have 2 new additions curtesy of the guy a few doors down.
2 x Indian Runner ducklings!!!!!
They are about 3 weeks old :) :)
Brown with a bit of yellow but their dad is a pearlescent black :)
We have called them Elmo and Grover!!!!
Just tried sexing them and to the untrained eye they look female :) that may be because we dont know how to sex them properly but if they are thats great. If not then he will swap them for me :)
But its looking good so far :)
We must be mad!!!! LMAO
Lea :)

good luck Lea, i have also been on the mad medicine, went to the poultry sales to give up some of my cockerels and came back with an indian runner baby that no one wanted! far too young to be on its own, still in down and no feather--shame on the vendor. It is sitting comfortably in a crate with chick crumb and bath till it's old enough to go out in the run with my call ducks.

LOL, mine are from a farm, but were running around his gardem. They are in a small run at night or if we are not in, but if we are they are out with sidney(iuntil she takes to them)!!! It is so warm at night they are left outside (unlike sidney who was kept inside at night up to 4 weeks as on her own!!!)  Sexyiong them I noticed the dark feathers are coming through :)
What colour is yours??? :)
Lea :)

Do ducks lay eggs seasonally or year round like chickens?
Someone left a Duck in the pond at our work and a friend mentioned she loves duck eggs so I was wondering and no one I know seems to know the answer..:-)

Cheers
J

Same as chickens. ~Thery dont lay as often in the winter!!!!

http://farmingfriends.com/when-do-ducks-start-to-lay/
Lea :)

black with a yellow topknot and bib ;)

i've called him/her Arfur

poor little soul was terrified when i got him, starting to calm down now bless him

Elmo had a slight yellow on their wing and a slight yellow bib.
Grover has a very small yellow bib, and is slightly bigger!!!
Both very very dark brown, nearly black fluff!!
both can be caught, just!!!!!
Lea :)

Oh dear I want one or two, now how do I break the news to OH

ducks are lovely creatures, very messy but lovely.
just hatched 5 under a broody and not getting anything done now as too much fun to watch!

they lay seaonally. also depending on the breed of duck, (table or layer or even wild!) you may not get many eggs....oh and also they tend to lay them just anywhere in the mud or grass, not organised like hens, and youll never know how old they are when you find them so personally unless kept in until theyve laid, I wouldnt risk it!