SHIRLOCK ACRES Duck hatchery · Lancaster County, PA · shirlockacres.com EST. 2007

Your First Ducklings: a care guide for new flock owners

Everything you need to raise healthy, confident ducks — from the moment they arrive to the day they head outside.

Download the printable PDF ↓

Khaki Campbell ducks on pasture at Shirlock Acres

90°F

Week-one brooder temp

20%+

Protein in starter feed

5 weeks

Before free swimming

8–9 weeks

Ready to live outside

First time raising ducklings? Take a breath — you’ve got this.

We’ve been hatching ducks here in Lancaster County for over 18 years, and the same question lands in our inbox every week: “What do I actually need to do?” This guide is our answer. It’s the exact playbook we’d hand a friend showing up to pick up their first ducklings.

Start with the Quick-Start Checklist just below. Then come back to the deeper sections whenever a question comes up — they’re written to be skimmed, not memorized.

Quick-Start Checklist

The Essentials, in One Place.

Print this page and tape it to your brooder. If everything here is checked, you’re set.

Before they arrive — set up the brooder

Brooder space — clean, dry, draft-free (barn, garage, spare room)
Heat source set to 90°F at duckling level
Bedding — 2″ of pine shavings or straw (never sawdust)
Feed — non-medicated waterfowl starter, 20%+ protein
Waterer — deep enough to dip the bill, too shallow to swim in
Electrolyte supplement in their first water
Predator-proof from dogs, cats, rats
Turn the heat on the day before so bedding is warm

Day of arrival — the first hour

Pick up promptly from your post office
Move them home in a warm, quiet vehicle
Place each duckling in the brooder one at a time
Dip each bill in water and tip the head back gently
Inspect all ducklings — report any losses within 24 hrs
Let them rest — minimal handling on day one
Check temperature again after 30 minutes

01 · Setting up the brooder

Build them a draft-free starter home

The brooder is whatever you use to keep your ducklings warm, dry, contained, and safe for the first several weeks. A galvanized stock tank, a large plastic tote, a wooden box, or a partitioned section of a barn or garage all work. What matters more than the container is what’s inside it.

Location — Any space that is draft-free, dry, and predator-proof will do: a barn, outbuilding, garage, or spare room. Drafts kill ducklings faster than almost anything else, so check that walls or partitions block any cross-breeze.

Bedding — Use 2 inches of pine shavings or straw. Never sawdust — ducklings may eat it. Keep bedding clean and dry. Best practice is to add fresh bedding on top of the old bedding most days rather than stripping and replacing it daily.

Space requirements — Plan on ⅓ square foot per duckling for the first week. Ducks grow fast — much faster than chicks — so expect to expand the brooder within 2 weeks. By 3–4 weeks they’ll need closer to 1 square foot per bird.

Walls and containment — Walls at least 12–18 inches tall, smooth-sided so ducklings can’t climb out and can’t catch a foot. Make sure cats, dogs, rats, raccoons, and snakes can’t get in. A piece of hardware cloth over the top is cheap insurance.

Silver Appleyard ducklings, a few days old — spread out and settled is exactly what you want to see.

Pro tip from our farm

Set up the brooder and turn on the heat the day before your ducklings arrive. Warm bedding and a stabilized temperature mean they hit the ground running.

02 · Heat

The single most important thing to get right

Ducklings can’t regulate their own body temperature in the first few weeks. Cold ducklings stop eating, stop growing, and can die quickly. Hot ducklings get dehydrated. Your job is to give them a warm zone and a cooler zone so they can self-select.

Age	Temp at duckling level	What to watch for
Week 1	90°F	Active, eating, drinking, spread out
Week 2	85°F	Brooder feels crowded — time to expand
Week 3	80°F	Pin feathers starting to come in
Week 4	75°F	Time to switch from starter to grower feed
Week 5	70°F	Brief outdoor time on warm sunny days
Week 6–7	Room temp	Heat can usually come off if weather permits
Week 8–9	Ambient	Fully feathered — ready to live outside

Reading their behavior — Their behavior tells you more than any thermometer. Spend 60 seconds watching.

Too cold

Huddled directly under the heat, piled on top of each other, peeping loudly and constantly.
What to do: Lower the lamp closer or raise the temperature 5°F.

Too hot

Pressed against the walls away from the heat, panting with open beaks, lethargic.
What to do: Raise the lamp or reduce the temperature 5°F.

Just right

Spread evenly through the brooder — some eating, some drinking, some sleeping, some playing.
What to do: Hold this setting until next week’s adjustment.

Heat lamp — Hung about 18 inches above the bedding. One lamp warms roughly 35 ducklings. Raise or lower it to adjust temperature.

Fire safety

Heat lamps are the #1 cause of brooder fires. Secure the lamp with two independent methods — zip ties plus a chain, or wire ties plus a clamp. Never trust the spring clip alone.

Heat plate (brooder plate) — A safer alternative that mimics a mother duck’s warmth — ducklings press up under it for heat. Adjust the legs as they grow so they can still touch their backs to it. Heat plates have nearly zero fire risk and are our recommendation for first-time owners.

03 · Food and water

What they eat — and why ducks need water with every bite

The feed progression — Ducklings have higher protein and niacin needs than chickens. The wrong feed causes leg problems and stunted growth, so this matters.

Weeks 1–3: non-medicated waterfowl starter, 20%+ protein
Weeks 3–5: transition to grower feed (17–20% protein)
First egg or mating: switch to layer feed

Never feed medicated chick starter

Medicated feeds (often containing amprolium) can be toxic to ducks. If your feed store only carries medicated chick starter, ask for an all-flock starter or order waterfowl-specific feed.

Water — non-negotiable with every meal — Ducks must have water available whenever they’re eating. Unlike chickens, they don’t produce enough saliva to swallow dry feed — they will choke without water. Keep the waterer next to the feeder.

The right kind of waterer

Deep enough to dip the whole bill and nostrils
Too shallow to climb into or sit in
Elevated on a wire platform to control spilled water
Refreshed daily — duck water gets dirty fast

On supplements

For the first several days, add an electrolyte supplement to their water. It helps with transit stress and dehydration. After the first week, plain clean water is fine.

04 · The first 24 hours

What to watch for the day they arrive

Ducklings boxed at the hatchery the morning they ship

Ducklings boxed at our hatchery the morning they ship. They travel warm, but they travel thirsty.

Ducklings arrive tired and dehydrated from transit. The first day is about getting fluids in them, getting them warm, and giving them quiet space to recover.

The arrival routine

Pick them up promptly from the post office — most won’t deliver live poultry to your door
Transport home in a warm, quiet vehicle (no cold or hot trunks)
Inspect the box before opening it — confirm count and condition
Place each duckling in the brooder one at a time, dipping the bill in water as you go
Step back and let them settle for at least 30 minutes

What “healthy” looks like in the first 2 hours

Drinking within minutes of bill-dipping
Eating within the first hour
Spread out, exploring, peeping at a normal volume
Drying any down that got wet in transit

Warning signs in the first 24 hours

Dehydration

Signs: squinty eyes, weak, not drinking on their own. What to do: dip the bill in electrolyte water every 30 minutes until alert.

Spraddle leg

Signs: legs splayed out sideways, can’t stand up. What to do: tie the legs together loosely with a soft bandage at hock-width for 2–3 days. Usually resolves quickly.

Persistent huddling or lethargy

Signs: piled under heat, not eating, eyes closed. What to do: check temperature first. If it’s right and they’re still lethargic, call us.

05 · Swimming

They want to swim — wait a little anyway

Yes, ducks can technically swim from hatch. The catch: a mother duck normally coats her babies in waterproofing oils. Your hatchery-raised ducklings won’t produce their own oils until around 5 weeks of age. Until then, a wet duckling can chill and die fast. The good news is that supervised swimming, done carefully, is fine — and your ducks will love it.

A safe swimming schedule

Week 1: water for drinking only, no swimming
Week 2: 5–10 minutes of supervised play in a shallow pan of warm water
Week 3–4: small pool with easy walk-in / walk-out access
Week 5+: their own waterproofing kicks in — extended swimming is OK

The non-negotiable swim rules

Warm water only — never cold
Shallow enough that their feet touch bottom
Easy in and out — they will tire and drown if they can’t get out
Always supervised until at least 5 weeks
Dry them off before returning to the brooder (a soft towel; a low blow dryer if they’re cold)

Five-week-old ducklings past the waterproofing milestone

Past five weeks, waterproofing has kicked in and the rules relax.

From our farm

A simple shallow casserole dish or pie pan makes a perfect first pool. The first time their feet hit water, you’ll understand why everyone loves keeping ducks.

06 · Growing out and moving outside

From brooder to backyard

Ducks acclimate to the outdoors faster than chickens, but moving them too early — especially in cold or wet weather — is one of the most common first-time mistakes.

When	What’s happening
Days 10–14	Brief outdoor time on warm sunny days, always supervised, always back to the brooder
Weeks 3–4	Longer outdoor sessions in fair weather — bring them in if it rains or temps drop
Weeks 5–6	Full days outside in good weather; nights still in the brooder
Weeks 7–9	Fully feathered — they can live outside permanently with proper shelter

Their outdoor home needs

Shelter from sun and heavy rain — a simple three-sided shed works
Predator-proof at night — closed coop, hardware cloth (not chicken wire), buried apron
Aerial cover if hawks or owls are around — netting over the run
Roughly 2.5–3.5 square feet of indoor space per adult duck
Fresh drinking water always available, even outside

Grown Muscovy ducks in a customer's backyard

Grown Muscovies in a customer’s backyard in California.

Weather note

Until they’re fully feathered, bring ducklings inside if overnight lows drop below 50°F, or anytime there’s heavy rain. Their down isn’t waterproof yet, and chilled ducks get sick fast.

07 · Common first-timer questions

Things every new owner asks

Q.Do my ducks need a pond?

No. They love swimming and it’s good enrichment, but they don’t need a pond to be healthy. Clean drinking water deep enough to dunk their head is enough. A small kiddie pool you can drain and refill is a great upgrade.

Q.Do ducklings need grit?

Not while they’re on starter feed. Once they’re foraging or eating whole grains, a small dish of chick grit helps them digest properly.

Q.Can I raise ducklings and chicks together?

It’s possible but tricky. Ducks make water messy, which keeps chicks damp and cold. Their feed needs differ too. If you’re new to both, raise them separately for the first few weeks.

Q.Are vaccinations required?

Vaccination requirements vary by region. For most backyard flocks, vaccinations aren’t necessary, but consult a local poultry vet if you’re starting a larger operation or have concerns.

Q.When will my ducks start laying eggs?

Laying breeds (Khaki Campbell, Pekin) typically start at 5–6 months. Heavier or heritage breeds (Silver Appleyard, Muscovy) start a bit later, around 6–8 months. Switch to layer feed once you see the first egg.

Q.How do I keep them safe from predators?

Secure housing at night is the biggest factor. Use hardware cloth, not chicken wire — raccoons rip through it. Bury an apron of wire 12 inches out around the perimeter to stop diggers. Aerial netting if hawks are an issue.

08 · Quick reference

The whole guide on one page

Temperature & growth at a glance

Week	Brooder temp	Feed	Water / swim	Housing
1	90°F	Waterfowl starter	Drinking only	Brooder, indoor
2	85°F	Waterfowl starter	Brief shallow swim, supervised	Brooder, expand
3	80°F	Waterfowl starter	Small pool, supervised	Brooder + brief outside
4	75°F	Switch to grower	Small pool	Brooder + outside warm days
5	70°F	Grower	Extended swim OK	Outside fair weather
6–7	Room temp	Grower	Free swim	Outside, in at night
8–9	Heat off	Grower → layer at 1st egg	Free swim	Outside full-time, with shelter

What you’ll need to buy

Brooder container (stock tank, tote, wooden box, or partitioned space)
Heat lamp or heat plate
2″+ pine shavings or straw for bedding
Non-medicated waterfowl starter feed (20%+ protein)

Waterer that allows full bill dipping
Feeder appropriate for ducklings
Thermometer for the brooder
Electrolyte supplement
Hardware cloth and predator-proofing materials for their outdoor home

We’re here when you need us.

Raising your first ducks should feel exciting, not stressful. If something doesn’t look right, or if you just have a question — give us a call. We’ve seen most things and we’re happy to help.

Welcome to the flock.

Phone

(717) 740-6671

Address

836 Mt Zion Rd, Narvon, PA 17555

Online

shirlockacres.com

For questions

shirlockacres.com/contact-us

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