Baby Ducks (Ducklings): Complete Guide with Pictures

Ducks include a variety of waterfowl from the large Anatidae family, which also includes swans and geese. The smallest, shortest and most compact member of the family, ducks include everything from the incredibly flamboyant mandarin duck to the humble mallard and many other beautiful species.

But what about ducklings? Ducklings are the most famous of all young birds, as they spend most of their early years visibly floating on water or waddling with their mother on land.

This article explores everything you need to know about ducklings.

What does the duckling look like?

Most ducklings do resemble what most people think of as a typical duckling; small and fluffy with large flippers.

There are differences between different species of ducks and their ducklings. Mallard ducklings are probably typical ducklings, with a yellow belly and neck and darker undercoat on the head, wings, and back. These dark patches often form longitudinal stripes across their bodies.

Peking ducklings don’t have the same dark undercoat, but instead are bright gold. Many eider ducks have ducklings that are much darker in color, and golden-eyed ducklings are also dark gray in color. Wigeon ducklings are leaner and taller than some other species.

What all ducklings have in common is that they are covered in thick down when they hatch.

mallard duckling

How big is the baby duck?

Ducklings are small, only 10 cm long in most species. There can be considerable variation in the size of an average litter of ducklings, so some ducklings will be larger than other siblings.

Ducklings grow rapidly and reach skeletal maturity in about 2 to 3 months, but take another year and a half to reproduce. Male plumage can take about a year to fully develop.

How much does the duckling weigh?

Mallards weigh about 30 to 40 grams (1.0 to 1.4 ounces). Adult ducks range in weight from 0.45 kg for the smallest breeds such as Call ducks to 6.8 kg for the mighty Muscovy. So there may be some variance in the size of the ducklings, but overall they are likely to be in a similar range of weight.

Newly hatched muscovy ducks, sleeping soundly in the nest

What does the duckling look like?

Young ducklings begin to develop adult feathers at around 1 to 3 months, at which point the males will become increasingly distinguishable from the females. Ducks are often sexually dimorphic, with males tending to have shinier, brighter, more colorful plumage.

This is easily found in species such as mallards and mandarin ducks, but less so in race ducks and Peking ducks.

If we take for example the male mandarin duck, possibly one of the most flamboyant and brightly colored ducks, its young remain relatively unremarkable until fully mature.

After only 3 to 4 months, male mallard ducklings begin to display the characteristic blue speculum feathers.

Many female ducks look similar to their juveniles as adults.

a juvenile mandarin duck

what’s the duckling’s name

Ducklings are called ducklings.

The name duck is actually a common name with no real formal scientific meaning, and many birds that are considered ducks are not really related to each other. Nevertheless, all ducklings are called ducklings.

What is a group of ducklings called?

A group of ducklings is often called a litter. A flock of ducklings or adults on land may be called a raft (on water) or a waddle, badelyng or badling.

For more information on collective nouns given to a group of ducks, check out this article.

A large flock of ducklings (ducklings), often called a brood

What do ducklings eat?

The diet of a typical duckling varies depending on the species in question. Mallards, pintails, and many other ducks eat mostly aquatic plants. Some species, such as the merganser and Peking duck, feed primarily on fish and other aquatic animals, as well as insects, amphibians and crustaceans.

All ducks are technically omnivores, consuming a variety of foods depending on their aquatic environment. Many ducks also graze from land.

Unlike many baby birds, ducklings feed themselves a few days after hatching and watch their mother for signs of what they can and cannot eat. Ducklings eat the following foods:

• pond grass and duckweed
• aquatic plants
• algae
• worm
• small crustaceans
• insects and their larvae
• small mollusks

Baby duck eating with mother

What to feed the ducklings?

In captivity, ducklings are usually fed a high-protein waterfowl feed or chick feed. Plant foods ranging from vegetables like lettuce, carrots, and broccoli to fruits like apples and grapes are also great for ducklings.

Ducklings — just like adults — also need to eat grit to help them digest the food in their gizzards. If they were foraging on their own, they would likely find their own grain of grit and swallow it instinctively. Otherwise, after about two weeks, they can be fed some “chicken litter” along with the food.

What do duck eggs look like?

The color of duck eggs varies widely, even between members of the same species or breed. Mallard eggs can be white, brown or even slightly blue.

Indian Runner and Magpie ducks often lay blue eggs. Other duck eggs range in color from brown to pale yellow.

Nest of eider duck with four eggs

How long does it take for a duck egg to hatch?

Most duck eggs hatch for about 28 to 30 days. Muscovy ducks have the longest incubation time, sometimes up to 36 days.

How many ducklings does a duck have?

Most female ducks lay 8 to 15 eggs. For mallards, 11 to 12 is average. Muscovy ducks can lay up to 18 eggs, with an average of 15 eggs.

A female mallard and her ducklings follow in a row

When do ducks lay eggs?

Very few species of ducks lay their eggs year-round, and most choose to spawn during the typical breeding season, usually mid-March to around the end of July in most parts of the northern hemisphere at least.

Some ducks, such as the black-bellied whistler, breed as late as November in Central America. Ducks bred in warmer regions may deviate more from the standard breeding season (i.e., spring) than ducks bred in colder or temperate regions.

There are a few species of ducks that can have two litters in one year, including the wood duck, which has reliable evidence of having two litters instead of the usual one, although this is rare.

A female tufted duck swimming with one of her ducklings

How do ducks feed their chicks?

Ducklings are able to feed themselves within a few days of hatching – the parents (in the vast majority of cases just the mother) just help guide them to edible food. She will tend to peck at edible treats while communicating with her ducklings through vocalizations.

They will also eat some of the hatched egg yolks, providing them with food for the first few days.

When can ducklings fly?

Ducklings spend most of their early days swimming and waddling, and won’t attempt their first flight until at least 40 days or so (usually more like 60 days).

They will first try to fly briefly over the water before trying to land on land which may not be comfortable if they fail!

Check out this complete guide to ducks and their flying abilities.

Ruddy Shelducks Family

When do ducklings leave the nest?

Ducklings depend on their mother for about a week for warmth and continue to remain under her close supervision for another two months or so until they develop their wings.

Once fully fledged, ducklings are not immediately independent, but may join nearby flocks, often with many other young ducklings. Most species of ducks are sexually mature after half a year to two years, when they start looking for a mate.

Do ducks reuse nests?

Ducks mostly build fairly simple, hidden nests close to water, usually within a range of 100 meters or so. Once the ducklings hatch, the nest may be abandoned quickly, but that doesn’t mean the ducks won’t return to the same breeding site next year.

For example, one study found that about 75 percent of female Canvasback ducks returned to the same breeding sites, many of them returning to the exact same potholes where they nested the previous year.

Tufted duck nest with eggs inside

How long do ducklings stay with their parents?

Most ducks are seasonally monogamous, meaning they form a new pair each breeding season, but some, like the whistling duck, are monogamous. Some ducks have been known to re-mate each season.

In any case, most male ducks spend little time with their young after they hatch, although some have been known to protect their offspring until the breeding season is over.

There are some exceptions to this rule – wood ducks and whistle ducks, unlike most other species of ducks, are often monogamous and even share brooding duties. Both the wood duck and the Australian wood duck have been observed as parents caring for their ducklings.

In almost every other species of duck, most of the rearing responsibilities fall to the mother, who keeps an eye on her chicks for about two months, when the ducklings begin to develop their feathers.

What is the survival rate of ducklings?

Duckling mortality is high – if the winter before the breeding season is particularly harsh, up to 70 percent of the ducklings may die.

Poor weather conditions are just one of the challenges ducklings face, along with predation on mammals such as foxes, raccoons and minks, fish such as bass and pike, reptiles such as snapping turtles, and numerous birds such as hawks and owls.

That’s part of the reason why there are so many ducks, usually 10 or more, because the survival rate is sadly low.