When Can You Let Your Mallard Ducklings Start Swimming?

Brilliant green heads and purple chests on males and blue stripes on females make mallards a colorful addition to your backyard pond. You'll need to wait a few weeks before ducklings are ready to enter the pond, however. While baby mallards in the wild can swim shortly after birth, hand-raised ducklings can actually drown in water.

  1. Wild Ducks

    • Mother mallards preen themselves with oil from a gland near their tail and then preen their baby ducklings, waterproofing them and enabling them to swim when just hours old. The oil dissipates within a few hours, but is reapplied each time mom preens them or they snuggle under her feathers. Although they are waterproofed, the mother duck allows them into the water for only a few minutes at a time, as they can get hypothermia and drown.

    Hand-Raised Ducklings

    • Ducklings purchased at a feed store or hatchery will not have feather oils to waterproof them, so they will get wet and chilled easily. Hand-raised ducklings are especially sensitive to hypothermia, and you should not let them swim in your pond until about 6 weeks of age, when feathers and oil glands are fully developed. Let them practice ahead of time with brief indoor swims. Keep water shallow and warm, dry them thoroughly with a towel and return them promptly to the brooder.

    Water in the Brooder

    • A mallard ducklings will need constant access to water in his enclosure so he can rinse his nostrils, which keeps his mucous membranes moist. He will sip a mouthful of water with each bite of dry food, moistening it to avoid choking. You can supplement his diet with grass clippings or other nontoxic vegetation sprinkled on top of his water. Splashing in the shallow water also helps prevent a condition called pasted vent. Change water regularly so harmful bacteria does not develop.

    Drowning Prevention

    • Supervise your ducks during their first swims in a controlled environment, such as a child's wading pool. Make a ramp with a board covered with a towel to ensure ducklings can easily get out of the water when they are tired. When introducing ducks to your pond, sit with them along an easy-access shoreline so they can enter and leave the water as they desire. Don't leave mallard ducklings alone until they become proficient fliers who can evade predators.