Farming Friends

When to take ducklings out of the incubator after they have hatched is a very good question, so thank you Elizabeth for asking;

“I need some guidance on my soon to hatch ducks.  I am not sure how quickly I need to provide food and water for them.  I also need to know how quickly or slowly I take them out of the incubator?”

I leave my ducklings in the incubator for about 24 hours when they first start to hatch so that they are fluffy and dry when they are taken out.

You can take them out before but they will survive in the incubator for up to 24 hours without food and water.

The ducklings have a feed sac in the egg which they continue to digest upon hatching and it is this which allows them to survive for up to 24 hours without food and water.
I try not to open the incubator whilst the ducklings are hatching so as not to disturb any others that may not have started to hatch, but once the ducklings have been in the incubator for 24 hours I then take out those ducklings.

An article written by James Gulliver of Gulliver Geese on how buying goslings early in the season can save you money. Gulliver Geese are the largest producer of day old goslings in the UK and have goslings for sale from April through to August.

As Christmas looms on the horizon the last thing on goose producers minds are their intentions for next year’s goose production but early planning can help to save money and produce better quality birds.

Most producers in the UK don’t consider buying their goslings until the weather starts to warm up around the end of April and normally coincides with a drop in other seasonal farming activities. This is totally understandable but there is a fundamental problem with this approach.

Geese start laying eggs around the beginning of March and ramp up very quickly to production levels within a few short weeks. The first batches of eggs are ready to be incubated around the middle of March for a mid April hatch. The goose laying season continues through to August where a sudden drop in egg production then a complete stop within a couple of weeks.

Goose producers not considering buying geese until the beginning of April can only receive goslings a month later. This leaves the UK goose breeders with a surplus supply of goslings early in the season and a shortage towards the end. Inevitably this demand fluctuation is reflected in the price and the availability of goslings. After week 20, demand for goslings outstrips supply and the availability of the goslings is limited.

Goose producers buying goslings early in the goose breeding season benefit from a lower buy price and a reduced mortality rate as the geese don’t have to be pushed to meet the required weight before Christmas.   Though the geese have to be fed for longer, they can be fed on grass for a period from the end of spring to early summer which will keep feed costs are low. In addition to this, geese that have had longer to grow achieve better weights and are considered to be tastier.

So in conclusion, those goose producers able to take goslings a few weeks early will reap the benefits and ensure availability.James Gulliver of Gulliver Geese, produce day old goslings from April to August for the UK goose production market. For more information about Gulliver Geese please visit the Gulliver Geese website.

I am thrilled that my khaki campbell ducks have just started to lay. Since Friday, I have got a duck egg each day. I have read that ducks can start laying at about 20 weeks and my khaki campbell ducks are now 18 weeks old so they are on track. I haven’t cooked any of the duck eggs yet but I will let you know how they taste when I do.

One of my reader’s and farmingfriends, Lorraine sent me some photos of her lovely Khaki Campbell ducklings with her very interesting email;

Hi Sara Here are a few pics of my lovely ducklings.  They are pretty messy and we moved them last weekend at 2 weeks old from the brooder box in my Utility Room which they were out growing fast to a large rabbit pen we have which we took into the garage.  Keeping the heat lamp on for a bit as only sign of feathers so far is their tails but they grow bigger every day.  Am guessing they may need a few more weeks in the garage though but they have fun running around the big pen and don’t spend much time under the
lamp. The duckling we helped hatch is still smaller than the others - we named her/him Titch but very healthy.  Attached photo shows Titch after the hatch when it was quite poorly.  Incidentally returning one of the ducklings from the brooder in beside Titch in the incubator really perked the sickly duckling up! 3 are brown, 1 is light brown and gold and the other was a real surprise as he is black and bright yellow.  Sox had orange beak and feet when he hatched but beak is now pink though his feet are still orange.  Not sure at all that this one is a Khaki Campbell but I am hoping he/she keeps these lovely colourings.

I pop them in the bath every evening and they are such fun to watch.
For anyone who hasn’t kept ducks before yes they are messy but somehow they are such fun that you don’t seem to mind all the cleaning up after them.  Would you believe we actually bought new lino to put in the pen - needed something that would be easy to clean out.  A tip for anyone, they splash water everywhere when drinking, we now have proper poultry and seed feeders but they still splash - we bought a large tray from Garden Centre cover it with kitchen paper towel and put the drinker on top it keeps the water they splash under control and saves them slipping about.

Lucy is the light brown and gold
Daisy is the brown one in with Lucy in the pic of 2 ducklings in the incubator
Charlie is the smaller brown one - an amazing underwater swimmer
Sox is the black and yellow surprise
Titch - the smallest who we literally chipped out of the egg

They are all much bigger now but been too busy cleaning and caring for them to get recent photos!

Posted a question re health ie been reading on Internet that I should buy stuff like Red Mite Powder for use when they are outside and also some stuff about how they can get lice!!  Hope not!  Any advice, tips appreciated.  I’ve ordered a beginners book on how to care for ducks which should arrive anyday so that should help too.

Thanks for the info and think the website is great.  Hope your ducklings are all doing well.  I’m looking forward to learning who is male and female and it’s fun guessing as they grow and change!

Regards
Lorraine

I was delighted to receive this interesting and informative email and it’s great to see Lorraine’s ducklings. If you would like to share your duckling photos then leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

To increase the humidity levels in an incubator you can:

* add a jar or tray of water
* add a wet towel

I believe that low humidity is caused by high temperatures which dry out the water trays in the incubator and help the humidity in the atmosphere evaporate.

You could also try to increase the humidity levels in the room in which the incubator is. You may also need to regulate the temperature in the room in which the incubator is in so that the temperature in the incubator doesn’t get too high.

I have just filled a paddling pool with water for my 7 khaki campbell ducks who seem to be scared of it. It is an inflatable pool so all that huffing and puffing is to no avail at the moment and I bet I miss the moment when they decide to dive in!

Ducks love water. They like to dabble in it, swim in it, dunk their heads in it and generally splash about in it as well as drink it. So all in all water is a marvellous thing for ducks and it is a great idea to provide ducks with a pool or pond of water so that they can carry out their instinctive behaviour.

I will post some photos when the ducks are brave enough to have a paddle in the paddling pool.

My seven ducks are now 13 weeks old and are a real joy. They love the rain and dabbling in puddles down the lane. They also like to eat my flowers!!! They are very easy to get in on a night which makes a change from trying to find the guinea fowl that are trying to nest at the moment (6 guinea hens were sitting the other night!). I have just discovered that one of my ducks is a drake so I will be able to breed with my ducks next year. Hurrah. I think that it is a drake as I have seen a picture of a khaki campbell drake with a greeny black head. His call is different to the others. He doesn’t quack in a loud way but he has a quiet call. This is the first time I have been able to identify a drake from a duck.