Starwater Farm

Raising ducklings

This guide starts when you get your ducklings home, but if you are hatching at home then this guide will begin after your ducklings have moved to the brooder. First they must be dried in the incubator and be getting steadier on their feet. Usually almost 24 hours.

Leave these ones be, they are still too wet and just want to rest right now

Day 1

Set up the incubator the day before the ducklings are to arrive. Place the brooder in an out of the way place, like a garage or a barn, or even a bathroom. Ducks are prey animals and scare very easily. Turn on the heat lamp to get the temperature regulated and put the water in already so it can be room temperature. We fill our brooder with wood shavings, and have a special water setup, pictured below. Ducklings seem to thrive better and faster when we added electrolytes to their water, feed stores sell packets of this just for young poultry. We’ve used a few different duckling foods and as long as they’re a crumble, the ducks don’t seem to prefer any over another. We always include a thermometer in the brooder, they’re cheap and can give you a lot of good information on why your ducklings are doing what they’re doing.

Set up brooder
Turn on heat lamp
Don’t forget thermometer
Fill brooder with bedding
Place food, water, and thermometer n in brooder
Optional things like a mirror, a feather duster, or a stuffed animal are nice extras
Do not give treats the first week

Once you arrive home with the ducklings, take them to their brooder and put them in one by one. Do it that way so that you can gently dip each ducklings bill in the water for one second. Don’t worry if they drink it or not at this time, this is so that they’ll know where the water is.

Once they’re settled, leave them be for the rest of the day. They need a day to rest and figure out what they are and where they are and to figure out each other. Ducks can die from too much acute stress, but a simple day of rest can make all the difference in getting their little mojos back.

Be prepared to mistake your duckling for dead with the weird ways they sleep- don’t worry, it’s just normal Duck ridiculousness

It is good to check on them a few times so that they can get used to you and you can observe any oddities among them that may need attention, such as splay leg.

Week 1

For the rest of the first week you will spend as much time as possible with the ducklings. This is important if you want friendly ducks. You simply need to be by the brooder and occasionally talk to and pet them. Get them used to being handled by picking them up and putting them right back down.

They will need enough room for each duckling to walk around but the brooder for the first week should be smaller if possible, so that the ducklings can’t run out of reach in fear of you. The brooder should be 90-95 degrees this week. Refrain from letting them swim or giving them extra treats this first week.

A day old duckling with its egg tooth still visible

Wash the food and water once per day, disposing of any food that has become soiled. You will need to get the ducklings water at least twice a day even if one time is just to rinse the water setup, they really mess things up fast. I change my bedding as it gets wet and soiled but it will depend on how big your brooder is and how many ducklings you are raising.

Week 2

This is when things start to get more fun. Keep up the good habits from last week with a clean (for ducks anyways) brooder and lots of socialization.

1 week old ducklings’ first bath in a pool

We let our ducklings have their first bath this week. It’s important to make sure you only let ducklings splash and play when it is warm where they are, whether that is inside or outside. Until they have feathers, they can easily become chilled and die if they are allowed to soak themselves when in cold or chilly weather.

1 week old ducklings getting their first bath in the bathtub

I like to do their first bath in either the sink or bathtub so that I can use warm water. Just a little warmer than room temperature, we aren’t trying to cook them! The first bath usually is around two inches deep and I let them play for about 5 minutes before patting them with a towel and putting them back in their brooder. Once or twice this week is more than enough, and if you’re in a cold weather area don’t even do one yet.

Also this week, I introduce some kind of treat. There are all kinds of snacks that ducks love but some of my duck’s favorites have been tuna, peas, mealworms, chopped strawberry leaves, or just about any type of herb that’s safe for ducks. I feed it to them partly by hand and partly sprinkled into a dish of water.

A ducklings first treat- chopped up herbs for this group. No we are not pre-seasoning them..

You can give them a treat as frequently as once per day, but don’t give them more than they can eat in 15 minutes or so to make sure they are getting the main pet of their diet as the balanced crumbles. Anything you feed ducklings, make it small and soft, judge by the size of their bills what size they would bite.

Weeks 3, 4, and 5

You’ll probably have to update your brooder setup during this time period. Pay attention to the temperature and turn the heat lamp off if the housing they are in holds a temperature of 70 or higher. Switch out for larger feed and water containers if you find yourself filling them too often.

If you’re in a warm weather area the ducklings can spend a few hours outside here and there, but make sure they have a secure area where predators can’t get to them. Look up for hawks and eagles, they can break through thin wire.

You can give deeper baths now, you’ll love it when they duck dive and start swimming like otters!

These ducklings are about 5-6 weeks old, and are the same age. Some ducklings grow slower than others

Continue spending as much time as you can with the ducklings to get them used to human interaction. It counts if you’re playing on your phone or reading a book nearby them.

Week 6

In all but the harshest climates the ducklings will be able to start moving into their permanent housing by the end of week 6. They’ll have much of their feathers grown in to protect them. At this time I usually let them spend full days outside with shelter, food, and water provided. Three days before moving them out into a coop if there are older ducks they’ll be living with, I put them in a large cage inside their future coops. On those nights I’ll let them sleep inside the coop inside a cage. This way the other ducks get used to the ducklings and after three days they are always able to get along in my experience. I’m sure there would be duck exceptions- just like some humans can’t get along, the same goes for ducks.

The ducklings can start eating pellet food or whatever you feed your adults at this time. I usually increase the number of baths they get to almost daily. You’ll notice that they are losing a lot of baby down every day to the point where they look more grown up after each bath. Letting them kick and splash and swim is much better excorcise than what they get in a brooder, so a ten minute bath is perfect.

If the weather is not ready or their coop is not ready yet, you should keep the ducklings in until 8 weeks.

Around this time you’ll start to be able to judge a duck’s gender by its voice also, just listen for a quack to know it’s a girl. It a raspy croak for a boy. This will get easier each week from here on out.

Weeks 7 and 8

I hope for you that your weather is great because ducks inside at this point get pretty stinky! Having them in a little longer can be great if you use the time to socialize them more.

Just keep them as clean as you can (it’s hard at this stage) and put them outside during the day for increasing periods to acclimate to the weather.

All done!

Now you can compare first day duckling photos to your full grown ducks, it’s truly amazing what you’ve accomplished in just 8 short weeks.

Don’t you want to just…start the entire stinky process over again? 😁

Incubating Duck Eggs

I am not trying to rewrite the book here, I just want to give a basic rundown on what we have found works for us. There are many factors that affect hatching such as outside humidity, breed of duck, the diet that the ducks are on, and much more that will be specific to your own location and eggs so just use this guide as a base and adjust it to your specific situation. At the end of the article are a couple links to some very helpful information about hatching.

Preparing for incubation

The very first step in a successful hatch is to choose the right eggs. Choose a good breed for you, and locate a decent seller of eggs. Be prepared to spend months waiting on good quality eggs if that is what you want. If you’re looking for a pet and not a show bird you can be a little less picky but do still make sure that you are still receiving healthy eggs and not being scammed.
You’ll also need to pick out and purchase an incubator. Take a look at the kinds of incubators available and find a decent one that fits your needs and has good reviews. We use the Nurture Right 360 and have found it very reliable and convenient. You’ll want to have your incubator set up and running two or three days before your eggs arrive to make sure that the new machine works properly. Putting an extra thermometer and hygrometer in the incubator assures that the readouts that the machine gives you are accurate.
After you have received your eggs, candle each one and remove any eggs that have cracks or that have more than one yolk. If you receive an egg with a detached air sac (you’ll see an air sac that doesn’t stay in one place when you move the egg around) you can find a helpful link at the bottom of the article on what to do. For all eggs that seem well and good, place them large size (air sac) up and let them rest for 24 hours before putting them into your incubator.

Each one of our ducks lays a different size egg

Days 1-7 of incubation

Day 7- candled and looking good and fertile!

After the eggs have settled for a day or so, place them in the incubator and make sure the temperature is set at 99.5 and add water and adjust the vent to bring the humidity to between 55 and 60%.
Immediately after setting the eggs, make a note; including the day they were set, the day they will be expected to hatch, the dates they need to be candled, and the date of their lockdown. I usually mark this on my phone calendar and on the fridge so I don’t forget. Trust me, you don’t want to forget!
Candle the eggs An experienced hatcher can tell if an egg is fertilized at around 4 days but most people prefer to candle their eggs at day 7. For this check you are looking for a dark spot with veins all around it. If you’re lucky you might see that dark spot beat, a baby heart beat! At this time you should remove any infertile eggs.

Days 8-14

“Always set a timer when cooling the eggs- this will save ducklings lives one day, guaranteed!!”

On day 10, you can start cooling and misting the eggs once a day. This is supposed to simulate the mother duck getting off the nest to stretch and swim. To do this you simply remove the lid from the incubator, wait ten minutes, lightly mist the eggs, and replace the lid. Make sure that you always set yourself whatever timer you usually use to make sure that you don’t forget to put the lid back on. A one time mistake can cost a whole batch of baby ducklings so a small timer is worth the effort!
On day 14 you can candle again. You should see veins and usually movement, but sometimes they are sleeping and don’t move so don’t depend on movement as a definite sign. Remove any eggs that have obviously stopped developing but keep any eggs you aren’t sure about. Candling eggs gets easier with experience.

Days 21-28

On day 21 you can candle the eggs, or you can wait until lockdown day, Day 25 to do the final candle. Either way you should be looking for eggs that have mostly dark except for their air sac. Sometimes you can see veins, red shading, and movement. Those are good signs. Again check and remove any eggs that have clearly stopped developing.
On either Day 24 or 25 stop cooling and misting and put the eggs into lockdown. For lockdown you unplug and remove the egg turner or stop turning then yourself. Raise the humidity as much as your incubator allows when properly filled with water and open the vent all the way. While I am removing the egg turner, I like to lay down a non slip pad in the incubator. That will help the ducklings learning to stand more naturally and avoid splay leg
Days 26-31 are hatching days! Generally speaking, most ducks hatch on day 28. Muscovies are a few days longer and other breeds are a few days shorter. Also, the temperature and humidity affect if they hatch sooner or later than normal. After all the eggs have hatched I usually give any eggs I was not sure about 3 extra days before shutting down the incubator.

Hatching Days!

I have heard and read often of the distress people go through once hatching begins, all because ducks hatch really slowly. This worry seems doubly guaranteed if the person hatching the eggs has hatched chickens before hand. All this worry is over one simple fact; ducklings hatch very, very slowly. Apparently chicks just go ahead and get the job done once they start the process, and the fact that ducklings take forever could easily make a person wonder if the duckling is okay. So just remember, all ducklings hatch slowly and this is normal.

Step One

The first step in hatching (after the duckling has maneuvered itself into its hatching position) is for the duckling to internally pip. This means that they use their bill to break into the air sac and get their lungs working for the first time. This is when you can start to hear them peep at you and you can whistle back to encourage them.

Step Two

Wait. For about 24 hours, often closer to 30 in my experience. The duckling now is absorbing its yolk and getting its lungs working. The veins all around the duckling on the egg’s membrane are drying up so the duckling can break through.

Step Three

The external pip is next. Sometimes they are so big that they look like they’re trying to hatch right then. More often though, I see small cracks. They can be so small that you wonder if air itself can actually fit through the crack. Any size is perfectly fine, don’t worry!

The egg on the right has an external pip.

Step Four

Wait. All that important stuff they were working on? Yeah, they are not fine with that stuff yet. They needed more air so they had to make a hole in their shell, but they are not ready for this world just yet. They need to rest 24 or more hours.

Step Five

It’s time! Now the ducklings are ready to come out and you’ll see the pip start to grow longer, and the duckling will zip. That’s when they make a line around the top of the egg so that they may pop the top off and come out. Once they start, zipping should only take up to a few hours and tada! New baby flappy feets!

The first baby on Starwater Farm, a little Cayuga duckling not even five minutes old.

Step Six

After the duckling emerges from its egg it will be exhausted and wet. Right after hatching, ducklings will lay down and rest for several minutes. It will go through cycles of trying to move and learn how their feet work and resting. During the wake phase, the duckling will learn to move, peepcheep for the other eggs and ducklings (they encourage the other eggs to hatch by doing this!), and they always give good entertainment with the things they try to eat. Their own shell, their brother’s toe, the floor mat, nothing is safe from hungry newborn duckies. During the sleep phase the duckling does just that, sleeps. At first you will have to run over and check that the duckling is still alive because they pass out in positions that are totally weird and lay almost perfectly still. After a few hours they’ll start to move around more normally and you’ll often find them cuddled up next to their hatch mates or next to an egg that hasn’t hatched yet. Warm eggs make great pillows. Leave the duckling in the incubator until it is completely dry. This is a life saving direction here folks, do not put a wet duckling in a brooder. It will get too cold!