At the age of one month, feed ducklings with tiny fresh water snails and boiled unhulled rice. Give only enough feed to be consumed as they tend to spoil when left long in the troughs.

Mash feed for ducklings is composed of corn, soybean meal, fish meal, dried whey, rice bran with oyster shell and bone meal with vitamin-mineral supplements. Feed one day to 6-week old ducklings with starter mash with 10-21% crude protein; for 6-week old to 4-month old duckling with grower mash with 16% crude protein; and 4-month old ducks and above with layer mash or ratio wit 16% crude protein.

If mash feed is preferred, give only enough to be consumed quickly at one time for 10 to 15 minutes. Wet mash tends to spoil when left long in hoppers. If feed is given at intervals, ducklings learn to eat more readily and their appetites are developed to stuff themselves in between drinks, digest food quickly and be ready to eat their fill for the next feeding time.

Four to five feedings a day are sufficient for ducklings over 2 weeks old. Provide plenty of clean, fresh water as ducks drink after every mouthful of food.

Ducks are wasteful and slovenly while feeding. Provide proper adequate feeding hoppers to prevent much waste of food.

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Raising ducks and geese in small numbers

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1. They can be very messy!
2. Duck feed is not always available.
3. They grow up to be adult ducks and then what do you do?
4. They require care, housing and equipment.
5. They have very fragile legs. They should be held by the neck and lifted with the palm of the hand under their breast.

But you want to raise a few ducks anyway-fine. None of the problems mentioned (or others not mentioned) are insurmountable. Raising ducks can be a fun and satisfying past time.

Raising Ducks Tip#1 – Food

There are special foods made specifically for domestic ducks being raised in captivity, and these foods can usually be purchased at your local feed store. The food suggested for ducklings is called gamebird starter, and it should be used until the age of 5 weeks. From this point forward, gamebird grower feed is an excellent choice. It is a good idea to add some fresh greens to the duck’s diet every now and then for additional nutrients. Cracked corn can also be supplemented once in awhile as a treat.

It is vital to note that bread is not a healthy food for ducks. The same is true for snacks like popcorn or chips. Although this practice may seem fun and cute, it is actually like feeding the ducks junk food and has no nutritional value whatsoever.

Raising Ducks Tip#2 – Water

The water fountain should be big enough and deep enough to allow the birds to immerse their beaks and eyes in the water. This will help to clean the beak, nostrils and eyes of dust and sticky mash. A water pan with a wire guard, to keep the ducks out of the water is good for larger birds.

Raising Ducks Tip#3 – Shelter

The third consideration when thinking about getting a pet duck is space and housing. It is recommended that each duck have approximately 10 square feet of space to wander in. This space should be fenced or caged in so that they will be protected from any outside predators.

Your ducks’ living space should also include a place to swim. The best way to do this would be with a natural pond in their enclosure. While a kiddie pool can be used for this purpose, it must be altered to create an easy way for the ducks to get in and out. Ponds work much better because they generally have a natural sloping entrance and exit that make it easy for the ducks to go for a quick swim and get out whenever they are ready.

Besides having a place to swim, your ducks also need shelter from the elements. Ducklings should be kept inside until they are older than 5 or 6 weeks. Adult ducks can survive cold and freezing temperatures, and a lean-to style shelter is usually all they require as protection from rain, sun or wind.

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STOREY’S GUIDE TO RAISING DUCKS

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A small house of 3 x 5 m, made out of bush material will be enough for 20 ducklings. Make two windows to give plenty of light inside this house, as ducklings will not grow well in a dark place. Make the house cat and dog proof. In a corner of the house, make a small, covered room (of about .5 x .5 x .3 m) where the ducklings can go and sleep or huddle together out of the wind if they are cold. On the floor, put some deep litter. This can be sawdust, shavings, coffee skin, or dry, finely chopped kunai. This deep litter should never become wet.

Although it is a bit costly, it is recommended to feed the ducklings with a commercial feed for the first six weeks. Broiler starter, pullet starter, broiler finisher are suitable. Do not use layer mash or crumble, pullet grower or developer as these feeds are too low in protein. A duckling will eat about 3 kg of feed for this period. At the end of the fifth week, start to feed some locally produced feed with the commercial ration. Anything that people eat is suitable for ducklings. Choko, both leaves and fruits are very good for ducks. Cook the feed.

Do not keep more than 40 ducklings at any time. Otherwise, it is most likely that garden produces will be in short supply and the ducks will not grow well. If more than 40 ducklings hatch at about the same time, it would be best to sell some to other interested farmers.

Water must be available inside the house all the time. Troughs made out of bamboo are quite good. It is better to have a creek or a pond where the ducks will be able to drink and wash later on, but it is not absolutely necessary. 44-gallon drums cut lengthwise, or a big cooking pot in the ground will be enough, provided that they are refilled regularly.

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The flock grazed in the orchard. The geese had no knobs on their bills and their height was no greater than the usual size for this breed.  They were fiercely protective of their territory – chasing, hissing, cackling and menacing everyone and anything that came too close.  They were the aggressors, anyone or anything that came into the periphery of their vision were liable to be attacked.  The dogs ignored them.  Adults, if they held their nerve, could catch them by their necks and intimidate them into backing off. There was only one die-hard gander who refused to be shaken by any form of backlash.  One couldn’t help admiring its spirit. Nevertheless, as a flock they were really annoying.  Children didn’t have much chance in avoiding their attacks and would end up being chased.

You could tell how old the mothers were by the ‘pouch’ which formed under their bellies.  The lower it hung, the older they were.  They make for tasty eating though their flesh tended to be very fatty which would explain why a way of preserving the meat before refrigeration was to cook it in its own fat.  The cooled fat solidified and surrounded the meat and in this way it was able to be preserved.  The end product is called  ‘confit’ and is quite often regarded today as a delicacy.

Around 2500 BC it was found that their livers could be made to greatly increase in size – up to 10 times of the original size.  This was done by force feeding them, called ‘gavage’ – a method which today is (and may have been in the past) quite an emotive issue. Moistened food is pushed down a funnel leading into a long tube which is inserted into the bird’s oesophagus.  The Egyptians used figs as the food, though pellets are more commonly used today.  Perhaps mercifully, the goose does not have a ‘gag’ facility.  The downside of which would be that their throats would suffer much harm.  The end result produced ‘pate de foie gras’ – goose liver pate to the uninitiated.  Apparently the liver has a buttery, rich flavour.

The fact that the goose is a migratory bird means that built in to its metabolism is the ability to put on weight rapidly within a short period of time.  Just before they migrate they are able to convert their food to fat very quickly.  This allows them to sustain their long flights to the more genial surroundings of their natural winter habitat.  It is this built-in mechanism that is used to produce the pate.  The geese are prepared by first feeding them on grass and then confining them until finally they are force fed up to 4 times a day.  The whole process may not take much more than 12 weeks.

Their watchdog characteristics are often used for just this purpose.  A fairly well known account exists of them being used in around 300 AD when the Romans had been routed by the Gauls and they took refuge on Capitoline Hill, a place easy to defend because of its elevation.  The Gauls besieged the city without success.  Then one night, under the cover of darkness, they scaled the hill to the bottom of the city walls.  Fortunately for the Romans however, they did not factor in the geese that had been placed in cages on the wall to alert the Romans of just such an occurrence.  The cackling of the geese roused the Romans who repulsed the Gauls and saved the city.

The geese in the orchard used to put on a good show when they stood up on tiptoe flapping their wings and rushing off in whatever direction took their fancy.  It was pleasant to watch. They were prolific breeders and were obviously greatly contented in the orchard.  They were also very good parents, the goslings changing from grey to white as they grew up.  Few predators attacked them.  During the day they roamed free, and at night were penned up.  To keep the numbers consistent, the adults were sold, live, to people living locally.

In North America, the Canada Goose and the American Buff Goose are both successful reared by breeders.  Species like the Greater White-fronted Goose (Specklebelly), the Emperor, Ross’s Goose and the Cackling Goose are not found in as great numbers as before.  Some are in the decline because of hunting.  They are best viewed today on trips especially designed for this, or by leisure paddling on your own or with friends. 

For more information about canoes, kayaks, boats and North American Geese visit:

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After all, it can be a difficult experience if you don’t have the proper information on hand. To avoid a possible disaster, you need a guide that can help you easily raise and take care of ducks.  Since I was considering raising baby ducklings, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic.  

Lucky for me, I came across a book that is full great information about raising ducklings that I want to tell you about.  It is really helpful as it shows you how to avoid the common mistakes that other people make when raising baby ducks.  It delivers valuable information that will help put you on the right track for raising baby ducklings properly.

Learn about the different duck breeds and get advice to help you select which breed of ducks you should raise.  Discover the essential facts you need to know about ducks as well as tips for buying them.

There is even information about hatching and nesting, taking care of ducklings and adult ducks, duck behavior and even a chapter about how to prevent duck diseases.

So, if you are considering raising baby ducks, I strongly recommend you get your hands on this guide book.  You discover exactly where to find it by visiting the resource box below this article.  

Good Luck!

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Ducks are primarily raised because of their meat. The most popular breed for food in the US is the Pekin duck, a breed that originated from China. The Pekin duck matures fast and they lay more eggs compared to other breeds. A fully mature Pekin duck, 4 to 7 months old, can weigh up to 11 pounds. The mature Pekin duck also can lay up to 200 eggs per year.

A variety of guide to raising ducks include detailed protein levels that should be fed to ducklings until they mature. Basically, all they say is that the duckling stage of 3 weeks since hatching is the most crucial for growth, so they must be fed with starter feeds with 22% protein. After that, protein levels may be decreased.

This guide to raising ducks like most others would recommend that most breeds of ducks should be grown for their meat, not for the eggs since ducks consume 75 percent more laying feeds than chickens do. Eggs are usually not harvested for selling but for food or hatching. The ducklings are then sold later.

Duck shelters need not be expensive. The shelters can be made up of assembled bamboo or wood. The key thing is that the shelter should be kept dry so that bacteria will not grow and cause diseases. This can be done by covering the flooring with layers of rice or peanut hulls and corn cobs. 3-4 square foot space in the shelter should be allotted per duck.

It is also advisable for the shelter to be situated near a stream so that the ducks can swim and exercise. It is better if the body of water is moving freely. If it is a closed pond, the droppings of ducks can make it green and dirty in just 2 weeks so the water must be replaced regularly.

Ducks should be fed with multivitamin feeds. At least once a year, they should receive pesticide spray so that they will not be attacked with mites, free or worms. This is just a quick overview guide to raising ducks. If you want to learn about the feeds and the medical supplies for ducks, agricultural and farming agencies can give you detailed information.

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Ducklings do not take heat well, so be sure not to overheat them. They like a temperature of 90-92 degrees for the initial 3 days, then 85-90 degrees for days 4 to 7. Thereafter, decline the temperature by approximately 5 degrees for every week until they are fully feathered. They should continuously be able to move away from the high temperature. Out of breath and drooping wings are a sign that they are too hot. As soon as they leave the brooder, it is a useful idea to furnish them a heat lamp at night in favor of the initial week or so, except the weather is very hot. Every time make sure they have some shelter and a place to walk out of the sun. Raising ducklings is a fairly inexpensive operation, but as they get older the price increases.

When raising ducklings, be reminded that they like their feed wet, and adding a little water to the feed helps to keep them from choking. They will also appreciate fresh greens daily, and bugs and meal worms are a special treat. Sprinkle thinly chopped greens in their water to keep them fresh and clean, as they will not munch filthy or wilted feed.

Be sure to always have clean, fresh water available. It should be deep enough to get their heads submerged, to clean out their nostrils and prevent them from getting a condition called “sticky eye”, but they should not be able to get their bodies into the water. Duck feathers are waterproof for the reason that they oil them, and young Ducklings cannot yield oil until they are several weeks old. When their mother raises them, she will oil their feathers for them, so they can go into the water at an earlier age than as they are artificially brooded.

Ducklings can have a chick waterer for the first week or two, and then they should contain something deeper. It is important to keep ducklings warm in the first week, especially during the first two days. All ducklings can be raised together after two weeks. Use a plastic bowl with 2″ chicken wire over the top, so they can get their heads in but can’t get into the bowl. The water will need to be changed often, as ducks are dabblers and will get feed into their water constantly. Once they are fully feathered, they will be pleased about some swimming water. Continually make sure they can get out of the water, or they will drown. A ramp into and out of the swimming pool is a good idea, until they are big enough to get out on their own.

Ducklings make quite a untidiness while eating, and their droppings are prolific and wet. They must be kept clean and dry, so change bedding often. Pine shavings produce good bedding for ducklings. You can also raise them on wire mesh. It takes a LOT of time to care for ducklings.

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Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition

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