Longtime local journalist Bill Radford and his wife, Margaret, live on 5 acres in the Falcon area with chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, a flock of parakeets, goats, two horses and two ducks. Contact Bill at billradford3@gmail.com.
Surprise hatchlings
By Bill Radford
Our chicken population has increased more than once thanks to some sneaky hens.
Much earlier in our chicken-raising days, I was checking the nesting boxes daily for eggs — then eventually discovered that one hen was sitting on a batch of eggs out of sight in a corner of the coop.
Margaret wasn’t prepared to throw out eggs that might have half-formed, or more, chicks inside, so we let the hen sit on the eggs until some of them hatched; I don’t remember how many chicks we got that time.
More recently, we had a hen that would sneak out of the chicken area and make it all the way to the barn, where we discovered she had a nest with eggs in a corner of the goats’ stall. That time resulted in a half-dozen or so chicks.
And then there was the time we found one of our hens in the front yard being followed by a pair of chicks; we never figured out where that secret nest was.
Now our ducks — Jack and Mel, named after the two main characters on TV’s “Virgin River” — have joined the fun. For a long time, Mel was regularly laying eggs and we would retrieve them. Then came a long spell where she wasn’t laying, so we got out of the habit of checking — only to be surprised when we found a dozen eggs in the ducks’ house.
Once again, we let nature take its course. Enough time passed that we figured it was unlikely any of the eggs were going to hatch and we planned to gather them all up after a quick overnight trip away. Only when we came home and I went out to check on ducks and chickens, I saw some movement in the chicken pen right behind the ducks’ yard.
They were four tiny ducklings, small enough that they could go through the fencing — and obviously only a day or so old. We scared them back to their parents and got everyone in the duck house, then closed it up so everyone would be safe. And that’s where they stayed for several days — with food and water, of course, plus a brooder to help keep the babies warm — while I attached fine mesh wire to the bottom part of the ducks’ fencing. That way the ducklings were confined and we could let them roam freely in the duck yard with mom and dad.
The baby ducks were sticking close to Mel and we decided we wouldn’t separate them unless it looked like they were struggling. But the baby ducks seemed more resilient and sturdier than tiny chicks.
They also grow at a tremendous rate. At two weeks, they had grown from little balls to actual ducklings; at four weeks, they already looked like rowdy teenagers.
Keeping fresh water for the ducklings — or ducks in general — is a challenge as they like to quickly make a mess of things. Hoover’s Hatchery, via the Tractor Supply Co. website, offers this advice: “Ducklings need a ready source of clean water. Chick fountains are recommended. Water sources for ducks should be deeper than water sources for chickens so that ducks can dunk their heads.”
It adds: “Ducklings will play in water, making a mess and splashing out their drinking water.” (Uh, yeah, we noticed.) “Be sure to clean and refresh it often.”
Don’t make the water too deep in the first few weeks, though. “Unlike mature ducks, ducklings don’t have fully developed oil glands that coat and waterproof their feathers. Their initial covering, known as down, is not naturally waterproof,” birdhelpful.com notes. “This means that ducklings can easily become waterlogged if they stay too long in the water, which puts them at risk of drowning. Moreover, without the protective oil, they may get chilly in cold water, leading to potential health issues. However, by the time they reach their fourth week, their adult feathers and oil glands start to develop.”
As for shelter, Hoover’s Hatchery has this to say: “Not just an escape from predators and the elements, ducks need shelter to provide quiet and seclusion.” (Even when we initially offered the ducklings a chance to come out of their house, they stayed put for the first several days, confirming that desire for quiet and seclusion.) “The shelter for ducklings should be well ventilated and large enough that your ducks can fully expand their wings and groom.”
Birdhelpful.com agrees with me that ducklings grow “at a remarkable pace.”
“In just a span of 10 weeks, they can resemble almost fully grown ducks. By around 20 weeks old, these ducks reach sexual maturity and are ready to reproduce.”
We never really planned to have even two ducks; we took them on when their owner, a friend, worried they weren’t set up to take care of them over a winter. (This will be their second winter with us.) And we’re really not set up for six ducks. Our friend has another friend who is willing to take the youngsters once they get a bit older, so maybe they’ll take the parents too; we’d hate to break up the family.
If all the ducks stay with us, we have some work to do before the snow flies to expand their pen; the good news is their house (formerly a chicken coop) is roomy enough for the whole gang.
