Amending the nesting box to be a Nursery for ducklings

[@TinaShay]

They are beautiful!!! I want to get some!!!

[@conneraldrich2156]

Nice, can't wait to see the pool for the adult ducks :)

[@smithmal01]

Thanks. I didn't anticipate getting ducklings so quickly so that's slid me duck pool project back a few months.

[@jesseserfling6807]

Did you have problems introducing new ducks to the old ducks?

[@smithmal01]

Jesse, there's definitely a "pecking" order so to speak so dominance behavior will occur for 2-4 weeks until the flock settles down. I noticed some of the ducks missing some feathers on their neck due to dominance aggression. I was a little nervous about it initially but everyone settled in fine after awhile. The key is to make sure you don't blend male ducks (drakes) together without plenty of females present in your flock as males can become very aggressive to females if competition for mating occurs. You want to try and keep a ratio of 3-5 females for every male that you have in your flock.

[@jesseserfling6807]

@@smithmal01 good to know i was thinking of hatching some and keeping 2 males and around 10 females. But im thinking maybe starting off with 5 and 1 i don't want to over do it. I think it would be a great way to teaxh my kids where food comes from and how to appreciate life and hard work

[@smithmal01]

@@jesseserfling6807 I think that's a good idea to start with a smaller flock so you can figure out how much labor and feed cost is involved. What type of ducks are you going to be raising? Do you have your coop ready? Your coop should be 3-4 square feet in size per duck. For six ducks you'd want your coop to be 18 to 24 feet squared. Also its a good idea to get a feel on the amount of labor involved in the colder months (if you live in a zone that goes below freezing during the winter months).