Does anybody know how to take care of ducklings?

So, I come downstairs this morning and find that my dear mother in law has acquired three orphaned ducklings. Apparently the neighbour's cat herded them into our back yard. No sign of any adult ducks around.

They seem healthy enough, right now they are in a cage with the baby minah bird our cat brought in a few weeks ago.

They are squeaking for their parents though, poor little things :(

What do ducklings eat? The minah seems to be doing well on the bits of pork the MIL shoves down its throat.

Do they need a pond? Will their skin suffer if it is not kept wet?

Thanks muchly for any advice (recipes will not be considered 'advice'!)

Any one of them ugly?

What do they eat?
haha...LOL......whatever it is, just don't let them too close to your..err U know:mid:
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Anyway...below are my experiences raising them when I was a wee wee little.

They seem healthy enough, right now they are in a cage with the baby minah bird our cat brought in a few weeks ago.
You need to cage them part of the day, esp at night
safe from other animals and cats eating them, esp if they are still baby ducks

They are squeaking for their parents though, poor little things
Look for their parents, or just play with them /cuddling them, they will be fine.

What do ducklings eat?
left over cook rice, soft fruits, small fishes/shrimps (fresh, dead/or alive), and many waterweeds/some soft aquatic plants out there.

Do they need a pond? Will their skin suffer if it is not kept wet?
YEP, they need pond to play in during the day...add some fishes, shrimps, & plants in the pond.
Just build a cage nearby the pond, they like to slide down to the pond.
By evening, gather them for dinner and shoo shoo them back to the cage.
They are early risers around 5-6 am, so feed them breakfast then leave the gate open all day.
In a few weeks they will know the routine. Mine were so smart, they would wait around for breakfast first, before they go out and play in a canal - our house's by a canal, but always be back just in time for thier dinner!..LOL

That's all I know ....they are cute even when older, but poo poo alot...so put the pond and cage away from the house a bit:)

best of luck

best to marinade overnight and cook in a plum sauce

Here's a snap of the little fellas, they are very cute!

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/08/493.jpg

^Cute, make sure you keep an eye on them as lots of animals like eating ducklings :)

YouTube - Piranha Devours a Duck

^ Moby Duck bites the dust :)

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Originally Posted by mooncake

YEP, they need pond to play in during the day

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OK, they are now doing laps in an old ice-cream container. They keep taking it in turns to hop in, paddle about and then get out.

We put in a slice of papaya but they all went and sat on it :confused:

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Originally Posted by slackula

We put in a slice of papaya but they all went and sat on it

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Did you expect the papaya to paddle as well?:)

They are supposed to eat it, not use it as a life-raft. :/

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Originally Posted by slackula

Does anybody know how to take care of ducklings?

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I have no idea where you live but they are a magnet for snakes!

We had ducks when we were young and they are dirty smelly things and unless you are going to eat them don't make good pets.

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I have no idea where you live but they are a magnet for snakes!

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Phuket, and my Mrs is petrified of snakes, this could be bad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

We had ducks when we were young and they are dirty smelly things and unless you are going to eat them don't make good pets.

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We don't want them, but I'm not sure what to do with them. If we leave them outside they're dead for sure, too many cats and dogs around here. I am thinking of going over to a neighbour who has a few chickens in a big cage and asking if they want them. We've already got two dogs, two cats and the stupid, noisy minah and we didn't actively get any of them, they just arrive and we end up taking them in!

My house is turning into a menagerie :(

Meh, just for the hell of it here are a couple more pics of Huey, Dewey and Louie in their aqua-park:

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif


https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/08/502.jpg

Their roommate is not impressed with his new guests:

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/08/503.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

We had ducks when we were young and they are dirty smelly things and unless you are going to eat them don't make good pets.

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For sure, everytime their head goes down they shit a meter up the wall, and especially those convict bastards, they are the worst.

Don't have so much water they can drown in.

They like to spash about and must always have fresh water to drink, they are messy drinkers so change it frequently.

They have a herd mentality for the first month, so keep them enclosed as their
feathers will not have the resistance to wetness.

They look like the ducks that make the typical quack quacking sound when they get older, so be warned.

knows what all ducks eat!
Quackers!:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slackula

So, I come downstairs this morning and find that my dear mother in law has acquired three orphaned ducklings. Apparently the neighbour's cat herded them into our back yard. No sign of any adult ducks around.

They seem healthy enough, right now they are in a cage with the baby minah bird our cat brought in a few weeks ago.

They are squeaking for their parents though, poor little things :(

What do ducklings eat? The minah seems to be doing well on the bits of pork the MIL shoves down its throat.

Do they need a pond? Will their skin suffer if it is not kept wet?

Thanks muchly for any advice (recipes will not be considered 'advice'!)

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That mynah bird looks really grumpy!!! Cute ducks.

^Maybe you would be too if you were locked in a cage for the rest of your life.

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Originally Posted by English Noodles

Maybe you would be too if you were locked in a cage for the rest of your life.

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Actually I think the MiL is planning to let it go once it is a bit bigger.

Sadly the ducklings didn't make it. We went away for three days and when we got back she told us two of them had died. The third died a couple of days ago :(

The myna was released yesterday morning, this afternoon it flew back and landed in front of MiL while she was sitting in the back garden. She managed to get to it before the cat did.

I guess he just couldn't handle life on the outside. He's a welfare bird who likes his free 3 squares a day and accommodation. :confused:

:)

thanks for the updates, although it's sad that the ducklings didn't make it.

When I came down this morning MiL invited me to see her bird, and I was greeted by this:

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/09/491.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/09/492.jpg

The handsome specimen had got in during the night but he couldn't get out because of the bulge which used to be MiL's bird,

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/09/493.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/09/494.jpg

The neighbour and I carried the cage to the back of our house which is basically forest and after a bit of coaxing the snake came out and disappeared gracefully up into a bamboo thicket to digest his breakfast.

What started out as the cutest thread I've ever seen ended up real horror-show in the end.

:(

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Originally Posted by flash

best to marinade overnight and cook in a plum sauce

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You can get the pancakes at any good Chinese supermarket.

What type of snake is that. Don't say bird eating snake. We got loads just like it.

Firstly, let me send my sadness about the birds that have perished.

Secondly, the snake with a full belly, is a Boiga cyanea - Common name: Green catsnake. They are primarily arboreal, and eat lizards, eggs and birds.

Let me commend you for letting it loose, although it created a trauma at the time. Most people will beat it over the head with something, like a shovel.

Just for reference, the 'catsnake' does possess a very toxic venom. Being rear-fanged, it is unlikely that a bite will produce any reaction. It would be difficult for a human to be envenomated.

If you don't mind revealing, where are you located in Thailand? Most of this species seems to be mainly on the islands, and not the mainland. Sorry, I just saw your location was Phuket!