Post by Mitra on Apr 14, 2008 8:35:59 GMT -5
Nothing cuter than ducklings, especially a box of them! Wow, 40 Khaki Campbells - how fun! Khakis are prolific egg layers. By Fall, you'll be wondering what to do with all those eggs - unless of course, these guys are for meat.
I don't see any reason not to keep them in the barn except for making sure that their area in the barn is predator-proof against raccoons and weasels.
Watering them can be a challenge. They dip their whole bills, full of food, into the water when they drink. A pristine waterer will have thick sludge in the bottom within minutes of them getting to the "fresh" water and ti has to be changed several times a day. To keep shavings or hay dry in their area, the waterer should be set on something with a wire mesh top. That way, all the water they rake out of the waterer goes under the mesh but they still have a dry area to stand on to get at the water.
I don't think the ammonia will affect them unless they are being pooped on by the cow (which I doubt!) They wil definitley still need heat lamps for the first couple of weeks. They aren't feathered out until they are about 8-weeks old so they should not be given a kiddy pool or tub until they are at least 8 weeks old. In the wild you'll see them swimming from day 1 but that's only because their mother will keep them warm and cover them with her duck oil before they feather out. This is the oil which makes the water "roll off a duck's back". Without Mama, you've got to keep the fluffballs warm and make them stay out of the pool !
What a fun adventure you are about to embark on! They are a barnyard "must".
I don't see any reason not to keep them in the barn except for making sure that their area in the barn is predator-proof against raccoons and weasels.
Watering them can be a challenge. They dip their whole bills, full of food, into the water when they drink. A pristine waterer will have thick sludge in the bottom within minutes of them getting to the "fresh" water and ti has to be changed several times a day. To keep shavings or hay dry in their area, the waterer should be set on something with a wire mesh top. That way, all the water they rake out of the waterer goes under the mesh but they still have a dry area to stand on to get at the water.
I don't think the ammonia will affect them unless they are being pooped on by the cow (which I doubt!) They wil definitley still need heat lamps for the first couple of weeks. They aren't feathered out until they are about 8-weeks old so they should not be given a kiddy pool or tub until they are at least 8 weeks old. In the wild you'll see them swimming from day 1 but that's only because their mother will keep them warm and cover them with her duck oil before they feather out. This is the oil which makes the water "roll off a duck's back". Without Mama, you've got to keep the fluffballs warm and make them stay out of the pool !
What a fun adventure you are about to embark on! They are a barnyard "must".