They truly are growing faster than I even imagined. Now, I won't say that they grow faster than our Cornish Cross chicks, but they are growing faster than our average chicks. At two weeks, they are about 8 inches tall without stretching.... which they do that a lot, too. We have two 15 chick warmers in their brooder to handle the eight of them. They splash their drinking water EVERYWHERE and keeping that contained is a regular chore. No amount of shavings at this point, keeps their floor dry. We have rubber mats and use those to lift and dispose of the shavings, then we hose them down and replace them with dry rubber mats topped with shavings. We tried using grass hay under their warmers this time, but they just wanted to eat the grass, so we made certain that there is plenty of grit available for them to help with digestion.
We had another swim day. The moment they hit the water, they poop. I am assuming it is an instinct? Once they get swimming, they dive and splash and generally make a lot of happy peeps. They don't "quack" but sound more like baby chicks than ducks.
Because water is an issue in their brooder, we hang their food now so that it doesn't get as wet. Can't remember if I mentioned that we are adding Brewer's Yeast to Organic Chick Feed. 1.5 Tablespoons per 1 cup of feed is what we were advised. They seem strong and I don't notice any wobbly legs, which is what the niacin from the Brewer's Yeast is supposed to help with healthy bone development. So, I take a half gallon canning jar, fill it with six cups of feed, pour in a half cup of Brewers Yeast, and shake, shake, shake until it is all mixed in. That is three pounds of feed that lasts for a few days for eight peeping ducklings.
The water in the tub was not very deep.... at any point that they wanted, they could stop swimming and stand up, which they did every so often. Yesterday, they were two weeks old. I've noticed a few feathers coming in on their tails.
