How old does a duckling need to be before it can swim in like, 2 centimeter deep water?

Question

I am releasing my ducklings when they grow older. I want them to start getting comfortable with being in water. My ducklings are 2 and 3 days old. Can i put them in 2 centimeter deep water? If not, when can i put them in the water?

Answer 1

Hi Bubbly Girl!

The mother duck keeps ducklings away from the water until downy feathers grow out...  Once they have adult feathers, they can swim and dive... As babies, they lack proper feather oils to keep them from drowning!  Yes, folks, this part is not innate... They CAN and DO sog out and drown!

No point in getting all wet in advance.... when they are old enough, they will learn very fast...  have fun and be safe!

Answer 2

Ducks are born with a floating bag inside their bodies so, don't worry, put them in a lake of water you will laugh at what you see.

Answer 3

Simpsond. . . is exactlly correct.

  I raise ducklings in my home and when I clean out their box every 2-3 days I fill my bathtub about 2/3rds full of room temp water to let them swim. . . . really fun to watch them swim,dive and splash BUT I never leave them unattended because they can drown if they get tired and get up out of the water.

  Once they appear to be getting tired I take them out and dry off the majority of the water so they don't get too cold and then I sit back and watch them "preen" themselves.

   Look at the base of their little tails and you will see their oil gland where they get the oils needed to oil themselves.  The more feathers they get the more oiled they become from "preening" and this is what will help keep them afloat as grown ducks.

Answer 4

Yep, ducklings are what ornithologists call "precocial," meaning they hatch at a stage in which they already have a body covering (down), and are already able to eat, walk, , etc., unlike say, a bluebird, that is bald and totally dependent on its parents.  It's like the difference between a deer that can run shortly after being born, and a puppy whose eyes aren't even open.

Answer 5

Hiya !

Ducklings can swim (by instinct)  as soon as they are born - just provide a place they can get out of the water if they want to !

Answer 6

Your ducklings should already be able to swim. I went to see my grandpa's little ducks on they day they hatched and they were swimming around.

I just wish that I was that lucky. >_>