A Few Things Your Babies Will Need Right Away:

Waterer
Feeder
Brood Lamp
Bedding
Starter Feed
Optional Vitamins/Electrolytes

Ducklings

           
            Baby ducks are somewhat more hardy than baby chicks or turkey poults, but they still need to be handled gently and without stress.  Keep them at about 85 - 90^oF for the first week.  Watch them; ducks love to get everything wet, including themselves, which can lead to a chill.  For this reason, we don’t recommend raising them together with baby chickens or turkeys.  Provide plenty of bedding to absorb the water.  Decrease the air temperature by about 5 - 10^oF per week by gradually increasing the height of the brood lamp.  At about 4 weeks of age, the ducks should be feathered out sufficiently to withstand our typical spring climate. 

     Ducklings need a little more protein than baby chicks need.  We recommend a 20% non-medicated feed such as FlockRaiser Crumbles.  This is a complete feed that requires no other supplementation.  Never use medicated chick starter for ducks, as the medication could injur them.  It is fine to supplement with cracked corn if you wish, but you should provide grit when you begin feeding cracked grains.

Turkey Poults

            Baby turkeys (poults) are larger than baby chicks, but don’t think that makes them stronger.  They are slower to understand eating and drinking, possibly because their eyesight is poor.  Train them by gently dipping their beaks in water and feed.  Plan to watch them carefully for the first few days.           

    Turkeys prefer a slightly warmer environment than chicks or ducks.  Start at 95 - 100^oF, then reduce the temperature about 5^o per week until about 5 - 6 weeks.

    For best growth, turkeys should be started on a high protein (22-28%) feed for the first 6-8 weeks, then changed to a 20% protein feed such as FlockRaiser through maturity.  If this is too much trouble, you can satisfactorily feed the 20% feed from hatch to maturity. 

            Always wash your hands after handling your chicks (or any animals) to prevent spreading disease.

                                                                                                                                                             The Feed Guy